US must stand united in aftermath of Dallas

In a nation dazed and CONFUSED by the chain of police-initiated killings, mass shootings and terror incidents in recent weeks and months, Thursday night’s brazen and reprehensible sniper attack on Dallas police officers shocks our nation’s collective senses as they’ve rarely been shocked before.

Referring to the shooting rampage at a protest march in which five officers were killed, nine wounded and two civilians hurt, Indianapolis Police Chief Troy Riggs aptly asserted, “We have crossed a threshold we never wanted to cross.”

Riggs is correct. The casualty toll from this single attack on law enforcement ranks only behind the 2001 terror attacks on the nation and the 1995 bombing of a federal office building in Oklahoma City. Unlike those attacks, however, the bull’s-eye in Dallas was squarely on cops.

Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings called the sniping the city’s “worst nightmare.”

Recovery from that nightmare will take time. Even though one sniper – Micah Johnson – was killed by an explosive robotic device during a standoff, the investigation remains in its early stages. Many questions about its execution and other shooters or co-conspirators will not be completely sorted out anytime soon.

For now, Americans from all walks of life should unite in offering prayers and condolences for the families and loved ones of those killed or wounded. That unity also should include decrying all acts of violence and strengthening our resolve not to permit senseless slaughter to become the new norm for America.

Texas Gov. Gregg Abbot sums up that calling best: “In times like this, we must remember and emphasize the importance of uniting as Americans.” Likewise, President Barack Obama, who called the acts “vicious, calculated and despicable,” is urging all Americans to “stand united with the people and the police department in Dallas.”

POSITIVE SIGNS OF UNITY

Encouraging signs of such unity already were visible Friday.

Bitter presidential campaign rivals Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump canceled campaign appearances, and both decried the Dallas tragedy as well as the senseless killings of two black motorists in Minnesota and Louisiana earlier this week that precipitated that fateful Dallas march.

Black Lives Matter, sometimes seen as a foe to police agencies, strongly clarified that it hates police brutality but does not hate police. Shaun King, a blogger for BLM, condemned the police slayings: “This violence is wrong on every level.”

Congressional Democrat and Republican leaders also displayed uncharacteristic solidarity. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said “Justice will be done; justice must be done. Also mercy must be done.”

Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan struck a similar chord: “It’s been a long month for America... but a few perpetrators of evil do not represent us; they do not control us.”

Some in Dallas have likened the aura from the horrific shootings to the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy, which occurred mere blocks from Thursday’s tragedy. Others make comparisons to the scope of carnage on police officers in the 9/11 attacks.

In both of those national calamities, Americans united in grief, support and determination to move forward. As a strong and determined country, we must again muster up that same solidarity and resolve to move beyond Thursday’s heinous attack.