If political assassinations are the answer, then I reject the question

Yesterday's murder of the American political activist, Charlie Kirk, is yet another warning to American politicians that, if you keep defining your opponents as evil vermin, you shouldn't be terribly surprised if there are those out there who see it as a challenge to act.

It isn't the first such incident by any means, as the murder of Minnesota State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, and the attempted murder of her colleague John Hoffman and his wife in June should have rung alarm bells at the highest levels. These heinous crimes were condemned by most right-minded politicians, who know better than most how vulnerable they are to attack, but the level of misinformation that followed represented a deliberate attempt to blame the "left" for them.

Those of us who have read their European history of the inter-war years will watch events with a degree of nervous trepidation. The collapse of the Weimar Republic was marked by a spiral of political assassinations by the extremists on both sides, leading to a justification of ever more draconian measures against the enemies of the state.

In this country, we have seen a surge in violence against minority populations by thugs claiming to represent the "silent majority", even though polling shows that they aren't silent, and they're certainly not a majority. But we're fortunate in that we have very strong gun laws, meaning that the risks are mitigated to an extent. The United States is not like that, with gun ownership at levels we find difficult to comprehend, and access to both weapons and ammunition far easier than I for one am comfortable with.

And, regardless of what you think about gun control, leadership means lowering tensions, not ratcheting them up for short term advantage. Given what I see of American politics and the unlikelihood of passing gun control legislation any time soon, one can only hope that politicians see that treating their political opponents with a modicum of respect whilst arguing their differences over policy passionately is in everyone's interests.

We don't know much about the apparent gunman in Utah, although that doesn't appear to be preventing an alarming spectrum of people from conjecturing baselessly. You can't stop people from doing that, but you can wonder what their agenda is.

Ultimately, we have to trust the authorities to find the guilty party, and for the judicial system to try them in a court of law independent of political influence. In a country where independence appears to generate suspicion from extremists across the spectrum and conspiracy theorists have platforms that allow them to reach millions, that isn't an easy stance but, if you want real justice, you have to test whether the protagonists can step up to the mark.

These are nervous times for our democracy, but holding one's nerve and standing firm for freedom of speech and belief is what is called for now more than ever. Thoughts and prayers, my friends, thoughts and prayers...