In a democratic nation, political polemics are to be resolved through ballots, not bullets. What happened Saturday is nothing short of a near disaster, regardless of what your views are on Donald Trump. Love him or hate him, we cannot allow this election cycle to descend into tit-for-tat political violence. For now, we can breathe easy, Trump was only lightly injured, and the electoral campaign can proceed normally. It is not an exaggeration to say we were mere inches away from disaster though, not just in America, but the world over.
In a campaign as incendiary as the one we’re living through in 2024, it won’t take much more to turn it from ugly to downright dangerous. The rhetoric has been dangerously irresponsible from pundits down to the candidates themselves. As a result, we have an America where Americans profess to love their country but hate each other often more than any foreign adversary. Now, when the reality is that we’re in a new Cold War that could easily turn hot, with potential powderkegs all over the place, we have an America where Americans are more likely to fight each other than any outside enemy. I fear it is not an exaggeration to say we were a head tilt away from what could have deteriorated into widespread civil unrest.
This is not about Trump himself as it is about the future of the republic. It would not be the first assassination of a president or presidential candidate, but it would be the first so close to the election itself, and a black swan moment at a time where the integrity of the republic has been stress-tested more than at any point since the civil war itself. The situation is delicate enough even without Saturday’s events. Trump’s death at the hands of a politically motivated assassin would have been the trigger for disaster, given the expected reprisals from his supporters against anyone perceived to be responsible. Proper investigation be damned, had Trump been killed, that would have been but the start of the bloodshed.
Let this all be nothing more than a close call. Both presidential candidates and their camps need to commit to trying to dial down the temperature of the situation, for the good of the country. It is imperative to honor the centuries old American tradition of peacefully contested elections now more than ever. If American democracy falters, what hope is there for the world’s other democracies? Do we really wish for the return of a more bestial time where might made right and the law was made by fire and blood? No? Then it is imperative to bring this all back from the boiling point, before it becomes too late. Our success or failure on this front will decide the course of the 21st century. That is no exaggeration; we were at an important historical inflection point before Saturday and we most definitely are now.
Whatever happens this November, we are in for an era of profound change. Political violence will ensure that this change is rather negative. If we want to preserve the liberal democracy that we grew up in, our weapon of choice must be ideas, compelling solutions for the problems we face that the public can understand and support. Otherwise, expect public anger to lead to more extreme options becoming mainstream, further eroding our social cohesion and fomenting more violence like what we saw the other day. Saturday, we got lucky. Next time, we may not be so lucky.
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