Our Opinion: Assassination attempt spurs call for civility

Reducing a rolling boil to a simmer and twisting the volume dial from deafening roar to conversational hum were political leaders’ favorite metaphors in a national call for civility following Saturday’s shocking assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.

President Joe Biden urged Americans to “lower the temperature in our politics” and “cool it down.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson agreed: “Everyone needs to turn the rhetoric down.”

TV talking heads and opinion journalists joined in. Elliot Ackerman’s painfully personal essay published Sunday on The Atlantic’s website is headlined “Lower the Volume.”

Heat and noise. Scorching and screeching. For Americans fed up with the harsh language of no-holds-barred presidential politics, those figures of speech say it all.

The clarion call to debate issues instead of vilifying opponents is one we’re proud to amplify. The caveat? Such admonitions can’t hinge on the false premise that name-calling, fearmongering and finger-pointing are chiefly to blame for a would-be assassin’s attack.

“The hysterical and incendiary rhetoric directed at President Trump is fueling this unAmerican political violence,” Sen. Ted Budd, R-N.C., wrote on the X platform. “It must stop.”

Why speculate that Trump critics’ verbal jabs radicalized alleged shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks and instigated his horrific plot? FBI agents are in the early stages of what’s sure to be an exhaustive investigation. After combing the suspect’s cellphone and reviewing his internet use, investigators may have a clear picture of his motive and influences.

Suppose Crooks had binge-watched anti-Trump diatribes on YouTube and left behind a manifesto echoing opponents’ claims that the former president is a danger to democracy. Could we then lay blame at the feet of Trump’s Democratic Party detractors? Not unless Martin Scorsese’s decision to cast Jodie Foster in “Taxi Driver” caused President Ronald Reagan’s 1981 assassination attempt. (John Hinckley Jr. cited his obsession with the actress and desire to impress her as his inspiration for the crime.)

Blaming a figurative war of words for the literal blasts of gunfire that injured President Trump and two supporters and killed firefighter Corey Comperatore during Saturday’s rally diminishes the shooter’s agency. Reducing the attack to an inevitable consequence of others’ malign influence lets Crooks off the hook. This domestic terrorist made contemptible choices for which he alone is responsible. Should authorities learn what influenced him, let’s not confuse contributing circumstances with mitigating factors.

Could political candidates and supporters face punishment for intemperate words? Only in the narrowest of circumstances, such as incitement to imminent lawless action. Your thesaurus may list “provoke,” “stimulate,” “foment” and “encourage” as synonyms for the word “incite,” but the U.S. Supreme Court sets a high bar for incitement cases. Combat metaphors are common political hyperbole, and our highest court has long refused to treat figurative calls to action as literal battle cries.

“Strong and effective extemporaneous rhetoric cannot be nicely channeled in purely dulcet phrases,” Justice John Paul Stevens wrote for an 8-0 court in the 1982 NAACP v. Claiborne Hardware Co. decision. “An advocate must be free to stimulate his audience with spontaneous and emotional appeals for unity and action in a common cause. When such appeals do not incite lawless action, they must be regarded as protected speech.”

Overheated political rhetoric didn’t cause Saturday’s Trump rally shooting. We needn’t believe otherwise, however, to offer a ringing endorsement of calls for unity on both sides of the aisle.

In times of national tragedy, there’s a tendency to rally around the flag. We hope Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs will meet the moment by changing the way we talk about our politics. Let’s eschew ad hominem arguments and attack rivals’ ideas instead of their identities. Let’s embrace spirited debate and discussion as a mechanism for solving problems rather than empty point-scoring.

Lower the temperature. Turn down the volume. Elevate the conversation.

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