We were surprised to discover we had slept pretty well after a startling disruption to the evening. We had stayed up late attempting to process the news. We had been working on a draft for a story to be run to bridge the messaging of the NATO Summit week to the rising torrent of reporting on the GOP convention that will start tomorrow in Milwaukee.

Preparing to retire as the evening drew in, we were struck by a note that mentioned JFK’s formal nomination for the Presidency in 1960. It was one of the first public events some of us recall. We were actually typing out some platitude about it when a mild popping sound emanated from the flat-screen at the end of the conference room. A glance up and our world teetered like the erect podium positioned in mid-screen as bodies flew first down and then around it.

We saw it in the corner of our eyes, doing something else, and the stark horror of the moment took a while to fade into an amazement of what we had apparently just seen.

We will not attempt to provide “answers” this morning. First reports are always wrong, by our experience, or rather constitute an agreed bumper sticker of news based on incomplete reporting.

Blame, attribution and exploitation of the event are prominent this morning as we expected, and we will not accept any of it until the official story, messaged with focal groups and disseminated in the most reliable distribution channels is promulgated. Disagreement will naturally be castigated.

As an example? Initial reporting of the shooter’s identity included the name of the official who made the announcement, then a Hispanic name allegedly associated with Antifa, and this morning, that of a 20-year-old Registered Republican.

One factor clear even at first reporting of the incident were months-old stories that additional Secret Service protection had been denied in response to requests first made by the RFK, Jr., and subsequently that of Mr. Trump’s detail.

We have no idea if those are true, but we do know that it was reported as being true. Which as we all know now, is hardly the same thing.

So, we will follow the messaging on this, with the stark realization of just how close to a fatal event it was.

There is so much we don’t know. When appearing in public, are the garments worn by high-value protectees reinforced with ballistic resistant material? The scarlet baseball cap? Did that mean the target area was limited even more than the portion of the torso exposed above the dais?

All we know for certain this morning, beyond the undeniable fact that something awful happened, is that it is Bastille Day. That is something similar to our 4th of July for the people of France.

They call it the Fete Nationale Francaise to commemorate the storming of the central prison- le Bastille- in the Revolution of 1790. There is an obvious temptation to try to weave imagery and emotion together in the swirl of current events.

But we will leave it at this. We are saddened that our lives are punctuated periodically by stark reminders of the fragility- and sometimes remarkable resilience- of the human spirit. There was a spirited discussion about how to introduce today’s episode of Life in America.

The empty podium in Butler, PA? Some scene from an ancient painting? The iconic fist in the air with blood on the cheek?

We will just go with the one above. It is a line of sorts. We are confident of that.

Copyright 2024 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com