ASSASSINATIONS

Assassinations are a certain death that occur when prominent individuals, often politicians, are deliberately killed It is formally described as an “act of assassination.” The grim act is most often carried out to eliminate someone for political purposes and revenge. Common synonyms for the act are to dispatch, execute, kill, murder, and slay someone. None of them are nice things to happen.

The numbers of assassinations have risen over the last decade, and 772 cases were reported in 2019-2020. “The Americas and Asia face the highest rates, with Colombia, Mexico, Somalia, Pakistan, and Afghanistan being major hotspots.” (from the Internet)

Four American presidents have been assassinated by gunmen: Lincoln in 1865, Garfield in 1881, McKinley in 1901, and Kennedy in 1963. There is also a long list of attempted presidential assassinations as well.

On April 14, 1865, Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, and one month into his second term, was shot by John Wilkes Booth, a Confederate sympathizer.

On July 2, 1881, James A. Garfield, the 20th president of the United States, was shot in Washington, D.C., less than four months into his term as president. His killer was a mentally unstable lawyer and an aspiring politician.

On September 14, 1901, William McKinley the 25th president of the United States was shot while shaking hands in the public. His assailant was Leon Czolgosz, an unemployed radical who viewed McKinley as an elite politician who ignored the struggles of the working class.

On November 22, 1963, John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated while riding in a motorcade in Dallas, Texas. He was killed by Lee Harvey Oswald, a former marine who had previously defected to the Soviet Union. Oswald was in turn killed by Jack Ruby, a nightclub owner.

Certainly, none of the presidents wanted to die, but they had enemies who were intent on killing them and it was difficult to stop them.

Other U.S. presidents were also shot at and wounded: Ronal Regan was shot and wounded by John Hinkley Jr. in Washington, D.C. in 1982; Theodore Roosevelt was wounded in 1912 while on a government presidential campaign; Geral Ford survived two attempts on his life, both in 1975; Andrew Jackson survived an 1835 attempt at the U.S. Capital and somewhat heroically subdued the attacker. Addition presidents who were targeted include Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, Richard Nixon, George W. Bush, and Donald Trump.

I read online that “Worldwide assassinations have significantly altered history, ranging from ancient times to modern targeted killings driven by political, ideological, or militant motives. Major incidents include the assassination of Julius Caesar (44 BCE), Archduke Franz Ferdinand (1914), and leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi (1948) […] Recent, notable, global cases include the killing of Benazir Bhutto (2007), Jamal Khashoggi (2018), and Shinzo Abe (2022)”

Assassinations also occurred in the Bible. For example, In the book of Esther, the story is told of how Haman had a sharpened pole set up to kill Mordecai, “the man who saved the king form assassination” (Esther 7.9). Instead, the king had Haman killed.

Saul tried to have David assassinated, but was not successful, and David could have returned the “favor.” Instead, David allowed Saul to live.

Assassination was also a favored way to get rid of kings: King Egion of Moab was stabbed to death by the left-handed judge Ehud (Judges 3.12-30); King Sennacherib of Assyria was killed by his own sons (2 Kings 19.37); King Joash was murdered by his court officials (2 Kings 12.20-21); King Amaziah was assassinated by conspirators (2 Kings 14. 19-29); King Amon in his own palace by his servants (2 Kings 21.23); King Nadab was murdered by Baasha (1 Kings 15.27-28); King Elah by his chariot commander (1 Kings16.9-10); King Jehoram in a violent coup (2 Kings 9.24); King Zechariah by his own people (2 Kings 15.10); King Shallum by Menahem (2 Kings 15.14); King Pekahiah by his army captain (2 Kings 15.25); and King Pekah by Hoshea (2 Kings 15.30.) Of the kings on record, 15 were killed by other people, God killed 3, and 2 killed themselves. Note also that Queen Athaliah of Judah was executed by the royal guards in a temple coup.

Clearly, although assassination was not an unusual way to die, no one wanted to “go” that way.

Karl Franklin