Two photos. One Ohio. One shows the political culture we have allowed ourselves to normalize: a sitting elected official posing with a life-size cutout of a woman running for Governor, giving her a thumbs-down as part of a political campaign built around ridiculing her. The other is from today. After an armed man forced his way toward Dr. Amy Acton at the Canfield Fair, knocking people to the ground and injuring attendees, Amy, a physician, stayed and helped care for one of the people who was hurt. The juxtaposition speaks for itself. We do not yet know the attacker’s motive, and I’m not going to claim we do. But after everything we have witnessed in this country, I refuse to accept the idea that the way political leaders talk about and portray one another doesn’t matter. We can disagree on policy without dehumanizing people. We can campaign without turning opponents into objects of contempt. And elected officials, especially, have a responsibility to model that. Political violence has already taken far too much from this country, from Republicans and Democrats alike. And women in public life face an especially ugly level of threats, harassment and intimidation. Today could have ended very differently. I’m grateful Dr. Acton is safe. I’m grateful she stayed to help someone who wasn’t. And I hope every one of us, regardless of party, takes a hard look at these two photographs and remembers that our humanity has to come before our politics. 1/2