Congress seems to have a bipartisan agreement that politicizing tragedies is wrong. However, Democrats and Republicans disagree on which tragedies should or should not be politicized. It is important we remember governments are established to prevent anarchy and resolve iniquitous conflicts.
Politicians skewing dismal events for capital gain has been a problem since the recording of history. The war between the Puritans and the Pequot Native Americans perfectly grasps the distrust in politics. When a white trader and Native American kidnapper were murdered in the 1630s, English elitists placed blame on the Pequot Native Americans. This was used as an excuse to plan a massacre against the Pequot where an estimated 1,500 people were murdered or enslaved.
Centuries later, a 14-year-old named Emmett Till became the subject of political upheaval in the U.S when he was lynched. The tragedy that occurred to Till was created in a political atmosphere when every black person’s fault was politicized.
Till was with his friends at a gas station in Money, Mississippi, when a white woman accused him of sexual harassment. Her relatives became vigilantes as they unjustly murdered Till with no right to due process. All the men involved with the murder were acquitted in less than an hour.
This politicization of black American crimes was used because the Thirteenth Amendment states, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” One can infer that black Americans were being marked as criminals to push the political agenda of keeping them enslaved.
The origin of the War on Crime is typically connected to former president Lyndon B. Johnson’s administration, but the effects were seen much earlier. In the 1915 film “Birth of a Nation,” black men portrayed by white actors using blackface were demonized as rapists and antagonists, while the Klu Klux Klan was celebrated as the film’s protagonists.
After former president George H. W. Bush’s administration, many political analyzers argued that if Democrats wish to regain power, they must become tougher on crime. In 1992, former president Bill Clinton abided by this advice. His rhetoric on crime lead to the infamous “superpredator” label used by
Hillary Clinton in a 1996 campaign speech. The super predator label stereotyped black American men as nefarious and lacking a conscious. Bill Clinton’s Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act lead to higher mass incarceration than any previous presidency.
Perhaps the most infamous case of tragedy politicization was the destruction of the Twin Towers in 2001. The attack by 19 hijackers lead to the death of over 2,000 individuals. The U.S. quickly used that number to engage in war with Iraq and kill over a hundred thousand Iraqi civilians. 
All these events may lead someone to think politicizing tragedies should be prohibited. This is not a problem of politicizing. These tragic moments have been altered in the spreading of false propaganda.
If Till’s mother, Mamie Bradley, had never left his casket open during his funeral, the disturbing image of his distorted face would have never sent ripples of change through the fabric of American justice. She politicized his death because she wanted to spark a political movement, one that would fight for another mother to never feel the loss of her son due to inexplicable racism.
Terrorist organizations are a threat to society, no matter the region they are threatening. It is not the politicization of terrorist attacks regarding the Middle East that is harmful, it is some of the solutions presented.
In recent years, the politicization of mass shootings has sparked outrage from the political right. It has been a vendetta of the right to ostracize Muslims with anti-immigration laws after politicizing any act of terror committed by a Muslim. They also fabricate events like political consultant Kellyanne Conway’s “Bowling Green Massacre.”
There seems to be a double standard when discussing gun control. Till’s mother utilized her tragedy to spark change. It is odd we do not do the same for the victims of gun homicide. There are over 30,000 gun-related deaths a year in the U.S. CBS News reported Americans are 10 times more likely to be a victim of gun violence than any other developed nation.
Inversely, Australia has yet to have a mass shooting since their 1996 gun ban. They also possess one of the lowest gun homicide rates of the developed nations. Gun reform followed a mass shooting in 1996 that killed 35 people and injured 23.
Ostensibly, the U.S. seems to be dividing further. As we attempt to unify and progress as a nation, we cannot forget political discourse is a prominent component of this process. Conflicts should not be left for the grievances of those affected but should create a discussion.
 Soheil Saneei is a 19-year-old biological engineering freshman from Metairie, Louisiana.