It’s become an all too familiar story. A group is gathered in a public place. Shots are fired. Panic ensues. A number of people are left dead or seriously wounded.

On Wednesday, the victims were Republican congressmen and their staffs just outside our nation’s capital. We’d like to think that this is an isolated incident, but in our current state of hyper-partisanship, we fear there will be more to come.

Name calling. Vitriolic hyperbole. Manufactured false stories. These are all contributing to an atmosphere of divisiveness and downright hate.

Read the comment sections of various news and media outlets on both sides and you’ll see anonymous calls for uprising and action. In a Thursday, June 15 story in The Washington Post about the shooting you could find comments that included; “Jefferson’s words ring true, and the blood of patriots will be shed to restore Democracy.”

The comments get worse from there. It doesn’t matter what site you are on, what story you are reading, you’ll inevitably find a commenter calling for the deaths of people they don’t agree with.

How did we get here and how do we fix it?

In the hours after the shooting, which left Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana in serious but stable condition, most politicians called for unity and prayers for the victims. But not everyone. Some politicians pointed fingers. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, said after the shooting: “America has been divided, and the center of America is disappearing and the violence is appearing in the streets and it’s coming from the left.”

When Rep. Gabby Giffords, D-Ariz., was shot in 2011, many on the left pointed fingers at the right for fomenting hate.

We’d like to see a new era of civility and compromise in politics. Until we can stop the name-calling, anonymous threats, partisan rhetoric, secretive decision making and labeling of entire groups of people, nothing will change.

There was a glimmer of hope in the aftermath of this horrific event. Members of both parties in Congress got together, held hands and prayed for the victims. They contemplated how each can do their part to be less partisan, more civil and treat each other with kindness and respect. Let’s hope it doesn’t take another tragedy to keep them focused on those thoughts.

— Mankato Free Press, June 15