WASHINGTON: Tragedies such as the attack on a congressional baseball team cry out for interpretation, and resist it.
By intention or not, the shooter was strategic in his malice, going after one of Washington’s few remaining symbols of openness and normality. Members of Congress—who are some of the best, most interesting people I know—spend much of their time treated either like mini-monarchs or like beggars at the gate, asking for money and votes. Sport is a rare chance to be teammates and friends. Political violence, among other horrible things, makes it harder to be human in public.