Last night was a calm night in Ferguson compared to the night before.

Only six people were arrested in Ferguson, Missouri, overnight as fewer “agitators and criminals” attended protests in the wake of the fatal police shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown, police said.

It wasn’t because a militarized police force rolled through town in their armed personnel carriers.  It was because the police (with one notable exception) dealt with the demonstrators with a proportional response and attention being paid to the concerns of the people on both sides by people who can make a difference in both tone and law enforcement.

People listening to other people has made the difference.  Or, to paraphrase Winston Churchill, “talk, talk, talk is better than war, war, war.”