The horrific public murder of young conservative activist Charlie Kirk is the latest evidence that political violence is now a frequent and terrifying fact of American life.
His political assassination was made even more tragic because his movement, Turning Point USA, was built though political debate.
Kirk would appear on college campuses and welcome all comers to take him on with questions and opposing points of view.
He demonstrated courage at the height of cancel culture and the worst of violent mobs on campus intending to shut down conservative speakers.
Kirk’s death may drive a divided nation even further into its partisan silos, amplifying animosity between the political parties.
Each sees the other as uniquely dangerous. It’s ‘us versus them’ on steroids.
The left points to the bludgeoning of Paul Pelosi, the shooting of two Democratic state lawmakers in Minnesota that killed former Speaker Melissa Hortman, the Gov. Gretchen Whitmer kidnapping plot, and the Jan. 6 Capitol riots.
The right points to two assassination attempts on President Trump, the GOP congressional baseball practice shooting gravely wounding Rep. Steve Scalise, the intended assassination of Justice Brett Kavanaugh and now Kirk’s murder.
Last year, nearly 9,500 threats were made against Congress members, the U.S. Capitol Police reported.
In 2017, the number was less than 4,000.
Judges have been targeted.
Compared with 2021, threats against federal judges doubled to 457 in 2023, the U.S. Marshals Service says.
Utah GOP Governor Spencer Cox offered wise counsel in the aftermath of Kirk’s shooting:
“I think we need more moral clarity right now. I hear all the time that words are violence. Words are not violence. Violence is violence. And there is one person (shooter Tyler Robinson) responsible for what happened here.”
The left hasn’t understood what it unleashed when it declared that words are equivalent to violence, which some unstable people hear as a call to kill.
A new YouGov survey taken after Kirk’s fatal shooting shows liberals are more likely than conservatives to say violence can be warranted to achieve political goals.
That Sept.10 poll found the more liberal respondents were, the more likely they were to say violence can sometimes be justified.
Younger Americans were also found more likely to say political violence can sometimes be justified.
However, the biggest divide in support for political violence isn’t ideological, it’s generational.
Another national survey last year found good news — 80% of Americans reject efforts to silence speech they find personally offensive, with large majorities of Democrats (77%), independents (80%) and Republicans (82%) all saying violence is never acceptable.
The bad news is the story changes dramatically when looking across generations. While 93% of baby boomers and 86% of Generation X say violence is never acceptable, only 71% of millennials and 58% of Generation Z do.
The central cause for young people willing to justify violence involves social-media dynamics.
Cox urged Americans to “log off, turn off, touch grass, hug a family member, go out and do good in your community,” while calling social media “a cancer.”
There are too many people whose mental stability has deteriorated after hours spent marinating in online rage.
Progressives have tried for years to define a category called “hate speech.”
This misunderstanding of the First Amendment was repeated by Attorney General Pam Bondi after Kirk’s assassination.
“We will absolutely target you, if you are targeting anyone with hate speech,” Bondi threatened.
Charlie Kirk’s opinion: “My position is that even hate speech should be completely and totally allowed in our country.”
Free speech isn’t absolute, but the Supreme Court held in the famous Brandenburg v. Ohio case (1969), that the government can only punish speech as incitement if it’s likely to produce “imminent lawless action.”
We need leaders committed to the idea that violence is never an acceptable response to speech.
The opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Nevada News & Views.
