Letter to the editor: We should pursue more care in our actions and words

It's not my practice to watch the Trump rallies. On the day of the assassination attempt, I had just settled in from my usual habits on Saturdays, which includes cooking supper for the household in thanks for not complaining about my golf outing! I turned on the TV, and it was on Fox, so I thought I would listen in for a couple of minutes. I noted the way the former president began and his immediate reference to a giant screen showing data about the border crossings over the last decade or so. He kept turning around to see and point, and then it happened.

Immediately I began praying for him. For the next six hours, I watched the coverage on FOX, CNN, MSNBC and NEWSMAX. The next day I spoke a few words about it at my church. In the almost one week since then, I have read and listened to a great deal of the coverage and also watched the RNC National Convention. I also have been following the news concerning the Democratic Party's confusion with respect to the current president and his viability to remain in the race, or even to remain in office given his frailty.

The act of praying for a man who had just been shot should be the normal reaction of most people. I am sure millions did the same. Trying to put all of this into perspective, however, is a giant task that still burdens me. As one who believes that God is not a creation of the will as in Marxism, and also not some supra-natural sugar-daddy who gives us what we want regardless, it is most important for me to know what He actually thinks and actually is doing.

In this vein, there are no quick and certainly no easy answers. Yes I believe God protected the former president. Yes I know that He did not protect another man at the rally who heroically threw himself on top of his family to protect them. No one can answer the issues raised in our minds. I also believe God loved, and loves, both men equally and no one could come close to explaining that either.

We all are merely passing through. We all have unique characteristics. We all, I believe, exist with a plan and purpose, which again we cannot explain in full, or even in part. If we Americans can learn anything from this, it would be that since we have more questions than answers it might be a good thing to pursue a bit more care in our actions and words. It also might be a good thing to treat each other with as much respect as we can muster. And, it might be a really good thing if we could daily remind ourselves that life is much more than what we merely see, think or feel and is actually wrapped up in the mystery and majesty of the One who created us.

JAMES R. CHANDLER JR.

Sumter