THE failed assassination of former president Donald Trump is a stark reminder of the intense political discord and polarization among Americans. Since 2020, a trail of political assassinations has reverberated and shocked the world. The impact of these violent acts on human civility is incalculable. It reveals people's most evil instincts and casts aside paths toward peaceful dialogue.

In July 2022, former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe was murdered by a member of the controversial Unification Church as he delivered a speech outside a train station. In November of the same year, Imran Khan, a former prime minister and head of Pakistan's opposition party, was ambushed by a gunman while he was on top of a container truck during a protest march. Khan was shot in the shin and right thigh but narrowly escaped death.