“I’m so scared,” my daughter said to me late last night. I hugged her as the tears flowed and her words described her heightened fear of dying suddenly. She explained her brain was stuck in an endless cycle of thinking about the horrible assassination of Charlie Kirk and the ever-increasing tragedies of school shootings. My wife and I did our best to address her fears. Eventually she gave us a final hug before going back to bed, tears dried and nerves calmed.
This morning, it was me who awoke with gripping fear and sadness. (As far as I could tell from my daughter rocking out to songs from “K-Pop Demon Hunters” on the car ride to school, she was thankfully in better headspace today.)
Now it was me who was shedding tears as I drove home after school drop off. While I had the answers to help a scared kiddo in a moment of panic, I didn’t have the answers for what must be done to meet this tense and terrible moment in our society.
The fact is people (children and adults) are being gunned down — in schools, in neighborhoods, and at political events. It’s now become commonplace to celebrate the mistreatment of our fellow human beings who think or look different than us. All the while, some politicians in power set the bar for success at destroying (or “owning”) those of the opposite party, while making no attempt to seek solutions.
Thankfully (and tragically) we’ve been here before as a nation. Maybe not exactly here, but there’s no question the string of politically-motivated murders and surge in violence during 1960s and 70s sent this country spiraling down a dark hole that was unprecedented in 20th Century America.
There’s one speech in particular that I found today that offers the kind of hope I want my daughter to experience when she struggles with fear: Robert F. Kennedy’s remarks on the “Mindless Menace of Violence.” Kennedy gave this speech the after Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated.
I could summarize Kennedy or give some bulleted points to think about, but that would not do his words justice. And frankly, every single word rings true in this moment nearly 60 years later.
Like any leader of an advocacy organization, I can’t raise a problem without calling for action. But my ask of you is a simple one: listen or read this speech. And do it soon. Internalize every word. And if you feel compelled – share it with friends and family. And if you want to do more and live the words of RFK, then reach out to someone you disagree with and share this speech with them.
