I think what we need is a national moment of silence for the violence done to 100 casualties by one hater with a military assault weapon.

That the Florida mass shooting fell upon and cracked fault lines in the presidential election is not hard to see. The Afghan-American man suspected of an LGBT nightclub massacre claimed his loyalty to the Islamic State group shortly before he died in a firefight with police. The savage attack was the worst death toll ever in a mass shooting in American history, claiming 50 lives.

A one-man Islamic terrorist rampage – if that's what the investigation reveals – will further inflame the sensitive body politic. And it has torn open the wound of unchecked gun violence. The nine murders in a race-based shooting at a Charleston, South Carolina, church shook the nation only one year ago.

President Barack Obama gave a brief address to the nation, saying in part that the attack is an attack on all of us. If we do nothing to control violence, that is a choice, too, in deciding our country's character. As always, the man of reason. A gaping hole in his remarks: Authorities had watched and interviewed this man, but did nothing to prevent him from obtaining an assault rifle. If we're going to have such an extensive security and surveillance state, why don't we use it?

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Predictably, Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, showed no shame. Exploiting the tragedy for his own political gain, he declared his proposed ban on Muslims was vindicated.

Trump didn't miss a chance to characterize "our leadership" – i.e. Obama – as weak and ineffective, in a tweet. It's bad form to criticize the American president in a tragic moment, but who cares? Not the egomaniacal Manhattan mogul. None of the usual rules of civility apply. Accepting "congrats" for himself trumped even compassion for those murdered in mayhem.

In dealing with the devastating event, Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic nominee, properly gave the president time and room to have his say. She issued a written statement, calling the attack tragic,"an act of terror" and "an act of hate." Character counts in a crisis.

There is consoling community in silence, deeper than words, as the Society of Friends have known. We the people of the United States – most of us anyway – found the shattering scene of the worst mass shooting hard to take in. Gobsmacked. That's the English expression for shell-shocked out of one's mind.