The Charleston Shooting — Politics or Compassion? The Choice is Yours

We woke up this morning to news that nine Americans were murdered in cold blood inside a house of worship in Charleston, South Carolina.

Everyone will make their own opinions known on Facebook and Twitter, but before the first sentence is ever typed, you and I must make a choice.

Do we allow politics to consume us or do we love one another?

For some, this is a problem. Over at Salon, the author of  “Charleston church massacre: The violence white America must answer for” scolded white Americans and called the Charleston shooting a “likely right-wing domestic terrorist assault.” To my knowledge, the alleged shooter’s motives are unknown.

The author of the Salon piece listed questions he assumed the media would never ask (also highlighted in The Daily Caller):

1. What is radicalizing white men to commit such acts of domestic terrorism and mass shootings? Are Fox News and the right-wing media encouraging violence?

2. Is something wrong with the white family? Why are their sons and men so violent?

3. What should law enforcement and white politicians do about white crime?

4. Is the Charleston mass shooting just one more sign that America needs sensible and reasonable gun control policies?

5. Where are the white fathers in the white home?

6. When will white leadership step up and stop white right-wing domestic terrorism?

7. Is White American culture pathological? Why is White America so violent?

8. Are there appropriate role models for white men and boys? Could better role models and mentoring help to prevent white men and boys from committing mass shootings and being seduced by right-wing domestic terrorism?

Nothing to see here. No agenda behind those questions.

No Salon, white Americans do not have to answer for the killer’s crime any more than any other American demographic has to answer for crimes committed.

Opportunists, no matter who or where they are, look at the actions of a few to blame many, and if we were honest with ourselves, we have all been tempted to do the same. To lie in wait and when tragedy strikes, POUNCE on the opportunity to advance an agenda is not the best way to show compassion towards the victims and their families.

Why don’t we ask these questions:

1. How can we help the families involved?

2. Is there a fund set up to help the church and families?

3. How can we consolidate our influence and resources to combat violence?

4. How do we change the hearts and minds of people to turn away from hate?

5. How can we improve race relations?

6. How do we begin to heal?

We will encounter news stories and commentary that burrow just beneath the surface to plant the seed of hate, and the decision to water that seed can only come from within and let’s face it, politics and division sell. Compassion and empathy aren’t as provocative.

Our country is at a critical point, and her survival could be at stake. No one is perfect and emotions are high, but we must ask ourselves if our comments are advancing productive dialogue.

Salon sees a political opportunity. I hope reasonable Americans will see fellow citizens in desperate need of our prayer and compassion.

Only YOU can decide to choose hate or compassion, politics or prayer.

We value our right to choose, and this could be the most critical choice of all.

Photo credit: www.huffingtonpost.com