Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson and his wife said Wednesday that the "racial and political strife" from Charlottesville should be opposed, "but let's use the right tools."
"Regarding all of the racial and political strife emanating from the events in Charlottesville last weekend, let me relate a story," Ben and Candy Carson began in a Facebook post.
"Several years ago we bought a farm in rural Maryland," they said. "One of the neighbors immediately put up a Confederate flag.
"A friend of ours, who is an African-American three-star general, was coming to visit and immediately turned around concluding that he was in the wrong place.
"Interestingly," they noted, "all the other neighbors immediately put up American flags shaming the other neighbor who took down the Confederate flag."
The Carsons then discussed a recent racial incident at their home in Virginia.
"Our home in Virginia along with that of a neighbor was vandalized by people who also wrote hateful rhetoric about President [Donald] Trump," they said.
"We were out of town, but other kind, embarrassed neighbors cleaned up most of the mess before we returned.
"In both instances, less-than-kind behavior was met by people taking the high road," they said. "We could all learn from these examples.
"Hatred and bigotry unfortunately still exists in our country — and we must all continue to fight it, but let's use the right tools."
The violence Saturday killed Heather Heyer, 32, of Charlottesville, and injured 19 others when a car allegedly driven by James Alex Fields Jr. plowed a crowd in the city's downtown mall area.
Fields, 20, of Maumee, Ohio, faces second-degree murder charges and other offenses stemming from the attack. He remains in jail without bond.
In addition, two Virginia State Police troopers died in a helicopter crash relating to the violence.
Regarding the Maryland neighbor with the Confederate flag, the Carsons said that the person "subsequently became friendly.
"That is the likely outcome if we just learn to be neighborly and to get to know each other."