The assassination attempt against former president Trump was a shocking inflection point in an already highly charged and emotional election cycle.

We still don’t know the shooter’s motives. Since he is dead, we may never find out, but it could have been anything. We know, for example, that John Hinckley reportedly shot President Ronald Reagan in 1981 because he wanted to impress a celebrity, Jodie Foster.

But the conversation around what happened in Butler, Pa., very quickly turned to the threat of politically motivated violence. It was already on the rise along with Americans’ support for violence as a political tactic, according to a recent poll.

That’s appalling and totally unacceptable. And while calls to “lower the temperature” are important and welcome, we must be more specific about what that means. We have to do more as a society to reduce the risk of political violence, and here are five ways we can start.

• Protect democracy. People who have faith........
  

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