John Buttrick writes from his Vermont Folk Rocker in his Concord home, Minds Crossing. He can be reached at johndbuttrick@gmail.com

Donald Trump, candidate for president of the United States, said in a recent campaign speech this election is “a choice between strength and weakness.” Later when he was shot in the ear he demonstrated his understanding of strength. “As the agents began moving Mr. Trump offstage to safety, he called out, ‘wait, wait, wait, wait,’ then made a point of pumping his fist at the crowd and seemed to defiantly shout, ‘Fight! Fight!’ The crowd roared and responded with chants of ‘U.S.A.! U.S.A.!’” His strength was defiance. It was an impulsive response to his injury, an act that brought the crowd along with him.

Giving Mr. Trump the benefit of the doubt, his spontaneous aggressive defiance and the crowd’s response may have been a result of the momentary shock of the shooting. However, after a little time had passed, some people, both party members and those with no party affiliations, became convinced that the anger, mean-spiritedness, blame, and hateful rhetoric must not continue during the presidential campaign. Those things only perpetuate a culture of aggression and gun violence that has been plaguing the country and threatening its political leaders and their families.

The reality is that rather than asserting strength, these actions reveal weakness fed by fear and hidden behind bluster. For many followers of this culture, blame, and conspiracy theories ease their anxieties. Change is difficult because few people are willing to admit weakness or abandon a relationship with perceived winning coercive strength.

However, it may be possible to use this shooting experience as a way to motivate restorative human emotions and reactions. For example, we’ve heard little about the others shot during the attack on presidential candidate Trump. It is indeed frightening to realize his death was only missed by the width of an ear. But also, it is deeply distressing and heartbreaking to consider the death of a rally participant and the critical injuries of two others, a Republican and a Democrat. Corey Comperatore, 50, a father of two daughters, worked at a plastic manufacturing company and was a volunteer firefighter. He was fatally shot in the head after he dove to cover family members who accompanied him to the rally. David Dutch, 57, of New Kensington, Pa., and James Copenhaver, 74, of Moon Township, Pa. were in critical but stable condition at the time of this writing, in Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh. In addition, this disaster included the death of the shooter.

It takes strength to face the tragedy with compassion and empathy, with a refusal to ever perpetuate a violent response to attitudes of aggression. It takes a strength of character to express condolences to the family of Comperatore. It takes the strength of self-control to avoid placing blame for the tragedy. And it takes the strong confidence of empathy and prayer for those critically injured, David Dutch and James Copenhaver. It takes strength to avoid revenge and retribution while seeking to unify over a common tragedy – one Democrat and one Republican were seriously injured that fateful day.

The greatest strength of all surpasses weights and exercise machines of the fitness center. It surpasses the pumping of the fist, the bluster of accusations, conspiracy theories, and self-aggrandizement. The real issue is not whether one is strong or weak but rather the kind of strength one uses.

Perhaps this near-death experience of Mr. Trump, the death of Mr. Comperatore, and the critically injuries of Mr. Dutch and Mr. Copenhaver will awaken in many people the latent impulse to listen, seek understanding, reject reasons for violence, and respect one another. There has been much speculation about how this shooting will affect the outcome of the presidential election. However, perhaps a more appropriate speculation would be the possible ways the shooting will strengthen the integrity of the electorate: never again make room in our lives for violence in any form: words, threats, or actions.