Bill Dalton: Only inches

EDITOR'S NOTE: The views and opinions expressed are those of the writer and not of Ottawa News Network.

An inch one way or the other can make an astonishing difference in life.

In the case of Donald J. Trump, the difference between life and death. Not only for him, but for fellow Americans and others around the world.

If the bullets fired by Thomas Crooks from an AR-15 style rifle on July 13, 2024, at a campaign rally near Butler, Pa., had only been one or two inches to the right, Trump probably wouldn’t be here today.

But thousands of others would probably still be alive.ICE protestors in Minnesota and detained immigrants in custody, to name a few. Then there are the children, both born and the unborn, in America and overseas, who are dying or will die because they weren’t vaccinated against preventable diseases.

In the coming days, possibly thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of Iranians, Israelis, Lebanese, and other inhabitants of the Middle East — including invading U.S. soldiers — could be dead as well.

An inch or two made a huge difference in all their lives.

It’s always sobering to reflect on how much just one person’s life, and not just those of presidents, can affect the lives of others. It was the moral of the classic Christmas movie “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

But who wields presidential power truly is a matter of life and death. It’s the reason the person bestowed with that awesome power is one of the most important decisions anyone can make, who might not want to lose their own life.

It’s impossible to know with any certainty what might have happened if Trump had died and some other Republican candidate picked up his sword. Or if Kamala Harris had been elected president instead.

Maybe nothing would be different today. Maybe we’d still be at war with Iran. Maybe the United States would still be deposing leaders of other countries, threatening Greenland, and dancing on the knife’s edge of a dysfunctional Democracy.

Maybe, but not likely.

It should also go without saying that it’s morally wrong to wish anyone — even someone as despicable as Trump — to be murdered by a crazed gunman, and that’s certainly not my wish. Not in the least.

Yet the consequences of elections offer not only a punishing reminder of how random and unpredictable our time is on Earth, but also how important our intentional choices are.

Who we choose to lead matters. If we’re vengeful, reckless or uncaring in our choices, people can die. Maybe people you care about. Maybe even yourself.

Trump didn’t die that terrible day in Pennsylvania only because he was incredibly lucky. Innocent bystanders, such as firefighter Corey Comperatore, weren’t so fortunate.

Images of Trump’s blood-spattered face and defiant fist in the air, urging followers to “Fight, Fight, Fight!” all but assured his disastrous return to the Oval Office.

His most ardent supporters undoubtedly were emboldened by Trump literally dodging yet another bullet in his astonishingly charmed, gilded life.

He would live on to fight another day.

For the rest of us, it has only meant death and destruction.

— Bill Dalton is a former reporter and editor for The Kansas City Star and worked for several Michigan newspapers. He spends summers on the family farm near Fennville. His new novel “The Bank Game” — a crime thriller — is available from Amazon along with “Dalton’s Bend.”

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