Steve Scalise’s return to Congress can serve as a reminder of the dangers of political division

On the morning of June 14, I walked into my newsroom internship in Washington, D.C. and immediately learned about a shooting at the Republican practice for the Congressional Baseball Game.

The rest of that day, the newsroom operated in shock as we watched and contributed to the coverage of the shooting in Alexandria, Virginia, that injured House Majority Whip Steve Scalise and four others. The shooting was a wake-up call about the sobering extent of the political division in America when it became apparent that the Congressmen were targeted because they were Republicans.

In the tragedy’s aftermath, I watched as Republicans and Democrats temporarily put aside their differences and stood together united against this hatred and division.  Our nation has become increasingly polarized, and unfortunately this was the cost.

Since the shooting, a lot has taken place that has proven that the strivings for unity after the shooting were short lived.  Republicans proposed healthcare bills to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, sparking anger and protests.  White supremacists marched in Charlottesville, Virginia and launched a discussion about the legacy of slavery and the Confederacy in the United States today.  NFL players kneeled, linked arms or remained in the locker rooms during the national anthem to protest racial injustice, and President Trump suggested boycotting the NFL because of it.

All of these things occurred during the three-and-a-half months that Scalise was absent from his job in Congress.  On September 28, Scalise returned to Congress, and ABC News reported that he was met with a standing ovation and hugs from his fellow Congressmen as he entered on crutches.

Scalise spoke before Congress and thanked the Capitol Police officers who shot back at the shooter despite being injured themselves and his Republican and Democrat colleagues who had supported him during his absence.

“It’s only strengthened my faith in God, and it’s really crystallized what shows up as the goodness in people,” Scalise told Congress.  “I got to see that goodness in people and so while some people might focus on a tragic event and an evil act, to me, all I remember are the thousands of acts of kindness and love and warmth that came out of this that kept me going through all of it and again.”

It saddens me that it takes a tragedy like the shooting in Alexandria for people to show the love, warmth and compassion that Scalise experienced during his recovery.  I am also saddened that any sort of conviction about the division and hatred in our political dialogue and what it can lead to that occurred after the shooting appears to be forgotten, as Americans find new topics to argue about.

Now that Scalise is back in Congress, I hope that when Americans see him in the news, they will remember the incivility that led to his hospitalization.  As a constant, daily reminder of what happens when political differences turn into hatred, I hope that Scalise’s reentrance into public life will help Americans rethink the tenor of national discussions.

I know it is not the final solution, or even the primary solution.  Despite this, I hope it will have a part in healing our divided nation and ensuring that we never have to witness another baseball shooting to alert us of how far we had fallen.  As a nation, we have a reminder of what can happen when we let division take root in our nation, and I hope that it inspires us to never let this happen again.