OPINION

By TATIANA PROPHET

In America, we don't get much closer to a common non-religious religion than baseball.

So on Wednesday morning when my niece told me to turn on the television, that some congressmen had been shot on the baseball field, there was a dream-like quality to the day's unfolding. It seems not only were our political leaders under physical attack, so was our favorite pastime.

By now, nearly everyone one has heard that 66-year-old James T. Hodgkinson, of Belleville, Ill., opened fire with a rifle at a baseball field in Alexandria, Va., early Wednesday morning on Republican members of Congress who were practicing for the game the next day.

Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.), the majority whip, was hit as well as four others. They are all being treated, with Scalise sustaining severe injuries. Scalise, incidentally, was a major player in the House passage of the American Health Care Act.

The players had gathered to practice for the Congressional Baseball Game for Charity, a tradition since 1909 designed to "solidify friendships on and off the field," according to organizers, which is still scheduled to take place.

Hodgkinson was shot and killed by officers who responded. If it hadn't been for Steve Scalise's security detail on account of his high position in the Republican House leadership, many might have died.