Rep. Kim Op-Ed: At This Time of Distrust and Division, We Turn to Lincoln

MOORESTOWN N.J. – This morning, the Star-Ledger published an op-ed written by Congressman Andy Kim in response to the assassination attempt of former President Trump that occurred this past Saturday.

Full Text of the op-ed is available below or can be viewed online here:

When President Lincoln was shot, he wore a coat embroidered with the phrase, “One Country, One Destiny.” I’ve turned to those four words to help me process this moment.

This assassination attempt on former President Trump was one of the worst events I’ve seen in our democracy. It feels like we are a country unmoored, but it does not have to be this way.

These are confusing, unpredictable times, when moments like these will shape the generation to come. So what does this particular moment mean? How can we make sense of it? I reflect on a passage from Hannah Arendt, the seminal political thinker who escaped Nazi Germany, who wrote, “Power and violence are opposites; where the one rules absolutely, the other is absent.”

The deep unease we carry is, in part, the fact that we witnessed one person trying to use the means of violence to impose their will upon a nation of 330 million, and subvert the power of people that underlies our very democracy. The resulting trepidation is a reminder how “the practice of violence, like all action, changes the world, but the most probable change is to a more violent world,” as Arendt pointed out. We fear retaliation, reprisal or escalation because of a sense that things cannot get better.

In the aftermath of other recent shocks to our country, we failed to unify, and instead sadly grew more divided. I had hoped that these shocks would be what I called defibrillator moments that would shock our irregular heartbeats into normal rhythm, but we fell short.

It’s not just that our divisions have grown so wide in our country, but our willingness to perpetuate a mutual contempt. It’s not just a disrespect that we see towards one another, it’s a deeper disregard and a disgust of one another.

We are losing touch with the understanding that we are part of something bigger than all of us. And as those four words of Lincoln – One Country One Destiny – remind us, the commonality we share runs deep and should not be forgotten.

Violence is cowardice, not strength. It is fiercely undemocratic. As we process this shock, we can choose to realize that we’ve gone too far as a society down the path of contempt. We are not each other’s enemy. We are not at war. One Country, One Destiny doesn’t mean we all agree, but instead reminds us that we share the same fate.

Choosing to unite instead of incite does not mean we dismiss the magnitude of our differences.

But it compels us to be cautious and precise about our next steps, our words, and our actions in this unbelievably precarious moment. It reminds us that unity does not exist without hope, and that apathy and despair only further create a void in which only violence and hate fill.

We collectively mourn the death of Corey Comperatore, and we are relieved that Trump wasn’t seriously injured. These may be anxious, unpredictable, and even violent times, but they can still be shaped by our actions. Now is the time to unite around Lincoln’s vision of One Country, One Destiny to condemn this violence and start the long but necessary process of anchoring our nation in these turbulent times.

Rep. Andy Kim has represented New Jersey’s 3rd congressional district since 2019.

As a son of immigrants and a graduate from New Jersey public schools, Congressman Andy Kim has been proud to represent his home community in Congress. Andy is a young father of two little boys and represents a new generation of leadership stepping up to fix our broken politics. As a former national security official, Andy previously advised President Obama on counterterrorism and worked for four-star generals in Afghanistan. Andy went on to win a Congressional district that Trump won twice by defeating three consecutive self-funding republican millionaires.

In his three terms in Congress, Andy has worked hard to lower costs for New Jersey families, help support small businesses through challenging times, and has battled House Republicans in the fight to restore protections for women in the aftermath of the 2022 Dobbs decision. Andy is now stepping up to run for senate to fight against corruption and restore integrity to public service