The Violence Enigma
By Gene Aronowitz
In my memoir “A Bridge toward Better” (footnote: https://genearonowitz.com/b/index.php/memoirs/a-bridge-toward-better), I described my involvement in A Course in Miracles. In it, I wrote about my attempts to be less judgmental toward Donald Trump and, in fact, to view his often-outrageous behavior with forgiveness. I admitted that his lying and deceptive behavior made me angry, but, on reflection, I saw those characteristics as just extreme examples of my own behavior. However, despite my efforts, I still cannot shake the animosity I feel toward him. I don’t like him, but that doesn’t mean I wish him harm. That’s why I was gratified about the failure of the assassination attempt on his life, which took place during a campaign speech in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024. Trump was shot and wounded in his upper right ear by 20-year-old Thomas Crooks, who fired eight rounds from an AR-15 rifle, and was later killed by a Secret Service agent.
I recently watched West Side Story for what I think was the fourth or fifth time. It is a tragic story that supports my continued conviction that violence is misguided and irrational. Nevertheless, it is known that some individuals made some online comments, regretting that the assassination attempt on Donald Trump failed. Recent studies conducted in the United States indicate that many people believe that violence is justified at times, particularly to achieve political objectives.
I am distressed by such views and am thankful that President Trump did not die. I once thought people could disagree with public figures without resorting to violence, but history seems to indicate otherwise. Four United States presidents have been assassinated, and there were assassination attempts on seven others, including the July attempt on the life of Donald Trump. Twelve members of Congress have been assassinated, as have three federal judges, eight diplomats, four governors, twenty-eight state legislators, two state judges, nine mayors, and three city council members. The attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, put many public officials in great danger.
One recent experience showed that one doesn’t even have to be a public official to be targeted for political assassination. This was the killing on September 10, 2025, of Charlie Kirk, a right-wing political activist. Killing someone, or even just thinking about it, over a disagreement, is the ultimate antithesis of how I think people should behave toward others.
I have spent considerable time trying to understand why people who differ politically from me hold the views they do, and I have made some progress in that area. But even though I am a former mental health practitioner, I don’t have a clue why anyone would want to kill someone just because they disagree with them politically. Perhaps they see the thoughts and words of someone as direct threats to their own safety and security, and they consider their violence to be a form of preemptive self-defense.
Aside from people getting tired of beating up each other, which I mentioned in my previous memoir, I really don’t know how or even if killing each other will ever end. Incarceration and capital punishment have not stopped it and probably never will. But if those who make significant contributions to human knowledge keep working at it, they might come up with some ideas about how to put an end to this horrendous cycle of violence.
A version of this memoir is included in the book 23 More Memoirs.