OPINION:
For multiple reasons, I thank God that Donald Trump was not killed, injured or shot at in the latest attempted attack by a domestic terrorist who appears to have been politically motivated (“Suspect in Trump assassination attempt called former president a threat to democracy,” Web, Sept. 15).
There will always be those are inclined toward violence, some of them pursuing that path for reasons we may never understand. But it is past time to attack one of the seeds of political assassinations: the rhetoric that we hear from our leaders. It is past time for these leaders to do their part to attempt to restore a measure of domestic tranquility. That means thinking about the words they speak before they speak them; it means being civil.
When one demeans, degrades or dehumanizes their opponent through extreme terms or implies that violence against foes is acceptable, we risk anarchy.
Can our political figures not disagree without being disagreeable? Can they not challenge an opposing ideology without engaging in vicious personal attacks against the proponent of that ideology?
If we continue down the road of an escalating level of polarization, our country and its institutions and system of governance are at risk.
I pray for the safety of Donald Trump, JD Vance, Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.
OREN SPIEGLER
Peters Township, Pennsylvania
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