Editorial: Naming and fighting terrorism like that in Charlottesville

When it comes to describing human actions, we all know there is a subtle power in names. We all know, too, that a name is just that, and that the most important thing is how we respond to that description.

So, let it be clear that it is beyond disappointing that it took two days, two missed opportunities and a steady torrent of broad-based criticism for the president of the United States, the leader to whom we look for a national expression in times of crisis and shock, to clearly pin a name on the outrage in Charlottesville, Virginia.

"Racism is evil and those who cause violence in its name are criminals and thugs, including the KKK, neo-Nazis, white supremacists and other hate groups that are repugnant to all that we hold dear as a nation," President Donald Trump told White House reporters Monday.

Well, at last. The characterization still falls short of the accurate term "domestic terrorism" that the president's daughter and vice president acknowledged, but it at least offers some hope of knowing the president's heartfelt stance on the actions of a man who turned his car into a tool of murder at a peaceful counterprotest against white supremacist views. His previous tweets and statements on the topic left much in doubt about his position.

Now, he at least has turned the voice of the nation on the despicable hatred at the core of Saturday's attack. And the importance of that cannot be overstated. For, perhaps even more troubling than the president's slow response was the size of the turnout for Saturday's rally. What does it say about our nation and the climate for bigotry that so many individuals and groups were emboldened to put their hate on parade in the first place?

Such a climate makes it even more important that everyone - from the president on down - loudly condemns these viewpoints. Perhaps that involves merely reaffirming with our children and our families the values of universal respect and acceptance we want our society to uphold. Perhaps it involves speaking out in our churches, clubs and community groups. Perhaps it involves attending a peaceful rally like Sunday's in Chicago or a candlelight vigil like the one set Monday night in Naperville.

Certainly, it is evident in the leadership shown by the mayor of Geneva. The city Kevin Burns leads is 800 miles from Charlottesville, yet the mayor reached inside himself to find something more than "simply being disgusted and upset" as a show of solidarity. He ordered the flag at City Hall to fly at half staff through next Sunday.

"My hope," he said in a prepared statement, "is that this small gesture will send an unmistakable message to our citizens, businesses and guests of our community that the City of Geneva shares the pain of the good people of Charlottesville, Virginia."

Sometimes in the face of evil, we are relegated to small gestures. Yet, if enough of us make enough of them, we can send a powerful message. It was, one assumes, a profusion of small gestures that finally unloosed the tongue of the president. It surely will take an even greater profusion to move the hearts and minds of the "criminals and thugs" President Trump called out.

Let us all hasten to add ours, without wavering over the name, to acknowledge that the fight against terrorism includes the fight against individuals or groups, whatever their cause, who target innocent people for violence, injury and death.