Hate speech, or rather what to do about it, is the big topic in America after last week’s killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk in Utah. The Trump administration, for example, blames left-wing rhetoric against Mr. Kirk’s views for driving the accused gunman, Tyler Robinson, to act – as if such verbal attacks will help solve the problem of political violence. At one point, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi even threatened to “absolutely target” anyone engaging in hate speech.
Such government threats to a basic right like free speech are an echo of what Mr. Robinson himself revealed as his motive. “I had enough of [Mr. Kirk’s alleged] hatred,” he wrote in a message to his roommate after the killing. “Some hate can’t be negotiated out.”
Cooler heads in the United States are now asking if ending political violence means helping Americans find better ways to “negotiate” with hate speech – peacefully. A few ideas came Tuesday in a speech by Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat and himself a survivor of an arson attack at his official residence last April.
He told of two gatherings at his home soon after the political attack that might “bring light” to “the dark cycle of violence.” One was of five former governors of the state, both Republican and Democrat, who joined him in affirming the civic values that drive out hate. “We need to create more opportunities for peaceful and respectful dialogue,” Mr. Shapiro said.
The other gathering, over a meal of gratitude, was with the firefighters who responded to the attack. A Christian chaplain from one fire department gave the governor, who is Jewish, a handwritten prayer from Numbers 6:24-26:
The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn His face toward you
and give you peace.
The governor said the prayer is one of comfort, healing, and hope, directed at individual thought. The late chief rabbi of Britain, Jonathan Sacks, wrote that this prayer is also about the unconditional love of God: “To make peace in the world we must be at peace with ourselves. To be at peace with ourselves we must know that we are unconditionally valued.”
The grace of God, he added, is a “quality which sees the best in others and seeks the best for others. It is a combination of gentleness and generosity.”
To make sure that America is “stronger than hate,” said the governor, “starts with each of us.” And, he might have added, a simple blessing given by God more than 25 centuries ago can help end today’s political violence.
