When 100 Democrats voted last week to block $3.3 billion in U.S. aid to Israel, it was the clearest sign yet that lawmakers are responding to voters’ overwhelming sentiment. But it still remains unclear whether this will lead to actual policy change.

The comments in the mainstream media after the Capitol insurrection — that political violence is somehow un-American but worthy of Arab countries or “banana republics” — show an ignorance of U.S. history. The U.S. has regularly visited violence on other societies and has a rich history of domestic violence too.