After the Jan. 6 riots, I heard politicians use one breath to condemn Donald Trump for telling his mob to “fight like hell,” then use their next breath to shout, “Fight! Fight! Fight!” The intellectual dishonesty was unsettling and the violent rhetoric was frightening. I vowed then that I would never again vote for candidates who used violent rhetoric.

But every politician called for fighting. If I kept my vow I could not vote. I began talking with politicians one at a time, urging them to abandon violent rhetoric. A few listened and said they would watch their language. Most disagreed with me. Some explained at length that we are “in a war.” One called me a coward.

I came to understand that fighting means something different to them than to me. I was a soldier during the Vietnam War. My

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