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Contributed commentary by Montgomery County Democratic Party Chair Charles Uffelman:
Following the attempted assassination of former President Trump, I recognize the need for us to come together as Americans with the aim of holding free and fair elections. I am saddened by the loss of life at the rally in Pennsylvania, and I hope for a speedy recovery for those injured, including Mr. Trump. Political violence makes the democratic process impossible. Every American must be able to make a choice in the voting booth free from threat or intimidation. While there is only so much we can do to prevent this type of violence as long as weapons can fall into the hands of sick or dangerous people, keeping our rhetoric within the bounds of healthy debate is part of our personal responsibility to reduce violence.
The level of threats and attacks on elected officials and activists is on the rise. I myself have received personal threats that required police attention through my role as chair of the MCTNDP. This is a consequence of the devolution of our political debate, the outsized influence of social media companies that profit off our anger, and real world events such as the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and the partisan expulsion of the two Black members of the Tennessee Three.
The attempted assassination, the storming of Congress, and threats made to local leaders all present threats to our democracy. We cannot accept this level of chaos in our politics.
I have seen a rise in charged and harmful language from local officials that have targeted specific identities and communities. Too often it is our Black, brown, LGBTQ+ and women neighbors who bear the brunt of this hate speech and violence in our society. We cannot accept that kind of rhetoric, and we should all take a hard look at our complicity in this public hate. Healing cannot start until we acknowledge harms done.
In that spirit, I invite people of all parties and ideologies to find ways to coexist through our election process with deep respect for the freedoms of speech and assembly. We must reject the chaos that endangers our freedoms. We must reject the division that harms our neighbors that look and love differently than us. Let’s commit to free and fair elections that respect the will of the people and condemn political violence as the threat to our democracy that it is. It will take all of us to get through the days ahead.
Charles Uffelman