The shocking assassination attempt on former American president Donald Trump during an election campaign rally on the weekend has brought to the fore a fundamental crisis afflicting not just the United States (US) but many other countries worldwide. The episode is a reconfirmation that we are living in an age of extremes where centrist ideas like consensus, compromise, coexistence, and middle ground are collapsing and are being replaced by the notion that politics and public life represent a no-holds-barred struggle where one must give no quarter to the enemy.