The sudden passing of Senator Lindsey Graham was a shock because he apparently had no obvious health issues. Just before his death on Saturday, he returned from Ukraine, a grueling and long flight. Graham served in the Senate for twenty-three years; some liked him, others did not.
Never publicized was Graham’s adoption of his sister, Darline, when both parents died a short time apart. Because of Lindsey’s help, she was able to go to college and start a family, a normal progression of life for her without having parental influences during her formative years.
Unlike politicians who enter Congress and leave with vast sums of money, Graham did not enrich himself from insider knowledge and cushy deals. As far as Washington, D.C. elites are concerned, he was not considered one of the high rollers. Moreover, over his decades of service to South Carolina, he was not accused of fraud or unbecoming behavior.
Mentioning some of Graham’s virtues is not meant to be a eulogy or to canonize him but a reminder that he was not the personification of evil. There is plenty to disagree with Graham about, most notably his hawkish military stance on foreign policy. Regardless, Graham was a Senator and, most importantly, a human being who deserves some modicum of respect upon his passing. This used to be an unwritten rule of civilized society, but it no longer holds for some factions in the country.
We often hear that we live in a divided country, and it is assumed that this refers to different political ideologies. Although true, there is also a huge divide between those who are respectful and civil and those who are not.
Author Seth Harp posted, “I was going to go piss on Lindsey Graham’s grave, but when I got out of the army, I vowed that I would never wait in line for anything ever again.” Upon hearing that Graham had died, Ana Kasparian, the co-producer of The Young Turks, went on X and wrote, “Good riddance”. Not to be outdone, Kasparian, her coworker, went to social media and wrote the following: “Lindsey Graham has moved on to the next step in his journey, trying to convince Hades to attack Zeus and Poseidon. He says it’ll only take a couple of weeks and won’t require any ground troops. And there’s no way Poseidon can close the Strait.” There are many more who jumped on the bandwagon, and there is no need to continue; the point is made.
We live in a country where many people no longer observe social sensibilities. For them, nothing, absolutely nothing, is off the table if mocking has a political advantage. They have lost any sense of empathy and decency, and are shells of a human being driven by hate.
Although the political divide is real, the more important divide in a free country is between citizens who adhere to the rules of decency and those who act barbarously. In a country dependent on the principle of self-governance, the most caustic and deadly trend is not a political stance but a moral one.
The moral order exists to discipline a person to act in ways that benefit their survival. Eliminate God and the moral order, and self-governance will be impossible. This is why there is a rise in communist adherence in this country, because it encourages viciousness and mob mentality devoid of human virtue.
In a free country, these despicable people have a right to say what they please, but we have the same right to condemn their words.