Rising to the Occasion

Journals like this one exist, generally speaking, not to praise politicians but to chastise, to upbraid, or at least to criticize them. And so, after hearing about the terrible shootings at the Alexandria baseball field the morning of June 14; after making the mistake of sampling the incivility and stupidity that some of our fellow Americans from across the political spectrum were spewing on television and on Twitter; after thinking of all the ways our public officials might fail to say what should be said—we feared the worst. But our fears were unwarranted.

The speaker of the House, Paul Ryan, reminded us that the decent and eloquent expression of sound sentiment has not departed our public life:

My colleagues: There are strong emotions throughout this House today. We are all horrified by this dreadful attack on our friends and colleagues, and those who serve and protect this Capitol. We are all praying for those who were attacked and their families: Steve Scalise, Zachary Barth, Matt Mika, Special

Agent David Bailey, Special Agent Crystal Griner.
We are all giving our thoughts to those currently being treated for their injuries at this moment. And we are united. We are united in our shock; we are united in our anguish. An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us.

I know we want to give our thanks to the first responders and the Alexandria Police Department, who were on the scene in minutes. And I know this House wants to state unequivocally that we are, as ever, awed by the tremendous bravery of the Capitol Police. .  .  .