Extreme words, extreme actions

The dispute over an issue as vital as the reform of higher education is legitimate, even when it is intense. 

However, the use of inflammatory rhetoric, which is based on civil war-era stereotypes, seems to be already fueling acts of intimidation against politicians. 

The memory of how extreme language can lead to extreme actions remains fresh in many minds. 

All political parties should have learned the lesson by now that they must not let disagreement slip into hatred against their political opponents.