I spent much of my professional life as a small-town radio reporter. Admittedly, it is not the most lucrative career one can pursue, but a journalist in a rural area experiences a level of familiarity with his audience that reporters in more populous cities do not.
The Green River runs past the community where I lived and worked. It is popular among river runners and particularly with trout fishermen. From time to time, the local kids will dive in for a refreshing dip in the water except in those areas on federal land and where boaters take on the rapids.
Like many rivers, the Green looks placid on the surface. However, it is extremely treacherous, and the currents can carry a swimmer away in seconds or drag them under. Its appearance is deceptively serene. One bright, warm day, some children went down to the Green to swim. One little girl went under – and did not come back up.
In the days before radio encryption was popular, a small segment of the population made a little extra money by constantly monitoring the police scanner traffic and alerting the Salt Lake media if something big was afoot. It was not long before the vans with their satellite dishes carrying expertly coiffed and nattily dressed reporters began rolling in from the Wasatch Front. One station even sent its helicopter, which set about hovering over and strafing the scene.
I stayed at the office. I was on excellent terms with the sheriff's department and placed a call to ask them to let me know when the situation was resolved. The last thing responders needed at the time was another idiot reporter with a dumb look on his face getting in the way. Besides, the idea of standing at the river's edge waiting expectantly for the divers to bring the little girl's body out of the water struck me as ghoulish and gratuitous. Such a moment did not need to be highlighted by a television camera or even a microphone.
I was working in our tiny newsroom when my phone rang. I was expecting the PIO from the sheriff's office. It was the little girl's father. His voice was ragged from grief and fear. He told me that the Salt Lake reporters were everywhere and were being intrusive and obnoxious. It was another stressor in what should have been a private moment. Not only was his daughter likely dead, but a pack of media hyenas had descended to record and amplify every moment of the tragedy that they could. They were displaying that characteristic that is all too common to the media: namely, having the sensitivity of a doorknob. "Lincoln," he said, his voice almost cracking, "can you just get them to leave us alone?"
I knew I could not get the Salt Lake media to leave his family alone. I had dealt with those reporters on previous occasions and knew that they generally viewed their rural counterparts with a level of arrogance bordering on contempt. I told the father I would call the sheriff and ask him to have the deputies brush the media monkeys back to a respectful distance.
I was thinking about that story today as I read different accounts of Nathan Clark's appearance before the Springfield, Ohio, city council meeting on Tuesday, during which he said:
You know, I wish that my son, Aiden Clark, was killed by a 60-year-old white man. And I bet you never thought anyone would ever say something so blunt. But if that guy killed my 11-year-old son, the incessant group of hate-spewing people would leave us alone… This needs to stop now. They can vomit all the hate they want about illegal immigrants, the border crisis, and even untrue claims about fluffy pets being ravaged and eaten by community members. However, they are not allowed, nor have they been allowed to mention Aiden Clark from Springfield, Ohio.
According to The Blaze, Clark said that his son's death was an accident, not a murder, and he specifically named Donald Trump, JD Vance, GOP Senate candidate Bernie Moreno, and Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) as the chief offenders. Many Blaze commenters took Clark to task, noting that the death was the result of the crush of illegal immigrants in Springfield and that the blame should land at the feet of the Biden-Harris administration. Some felt the prophets of the Left had brainwashed him and were regurgitating the usual talking points while remaining blind to the overarching problem.
Or he could just be a father who is coping with immeasurable grief and is tired of seeing his son's name in the news. As in the story above, he just wants to be left alone. And can we really blame him?
In the age of the 24-hour news cycle, particularly during an election year, the spotlight is white-hot and constantly on the move in search of the latest incident, accident, or tragedy. Every news report must feel like a fresh punch to the gut for a man still struggling to sort out such a fresh tragedy. And had Aiden's death not involved an illegal immigrant, it likely would have disappeared from the radar by now. We should add that Aiden's death would be no less tragic had it occurred because of a 60-year-old white man.
Conversely, other families who have lost loved ones or been otherwise victimized by the mounting numbers of illegals in this country have come forward to speak out and warn others of the dangers posed by our current immigration policies or lack thereof. This, however, does not mean that everyone wants to go public with their stories, and those who desire time, space, and privacy to grieve should be permitted those things.
However, there is no denying that Aiden's story is one of a growing list of tragedies and injustices that have resulted from the influx of illegal immigrants. There is increasing corroborating evidence that stories of Springfield's struggles are not false reports and that the problems go beyond missing pets, dead waterfowl, and traffic issues.
Springfield is by no means alone. Across the nation, it is undeniable that incidents of drug use, human trafficking, sex crimes, and violence are up, while native-born Americans lose out on housing and jobs because of the sheer number of illegal immigrants crossing into the country. A desire for power, devotion to a political ideology, and, in some cases, plain greed on the part of people in power or who crave it have combined to create a crisis that has passed the red line and is a threat to everyone. There are no sanctuary cities for Americans.
These stories must be told if Americans are to truly understand the danger they are in. But at the same time, it is imperative that in the heat of the moment, even in the "most important election of our lives," souls are attached to the headlines, speeches, and X posts. A human life should not be reduced to a sound bite, even if it is part of the vital testimony to our dire national situation.
Rather, let those who must speak, write, or legislate treat these victims with dignity, gravitas, and respect. Let those who must speak, write, or legislate be ever aware of the weight of these matters and treat them with the utmost seriousness and solemnity. After all, those responsible for this nationwide travesty have no respect for human life. Let us change that part of the narrative.
