Reflections on Political Violence: What Is Happening in America?

The governor of Utah struggled to find the right words to describe the question so many have been asking: What is happening in America?

The silence lasted nearly 10 seconds. He looked down. He opened and closed his mouth.

“Our nation is broken,” Spencer Cox finally said, hours after the public killing of Charlie Kirk. The governor described violent attacks on both Democrats and Republicans, including the killing of Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, two assassination attempts on President Donald Trump, and the firebombing of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s official residence.

His words stood out not just for the stark language about America’s troubles, but for his sober acknowledgment that the violence reaches across the political divide.

It can be hard to remember all the scenes of political violence in just the past few years. Taken together, they are enough to make Americans wonder: Is there a way forward? What might it look like?

“Nothing I say can unite us as a country,” said Cox, a Republican. “Nothing I can say right now will fix what is broken.”

A troubled nation

Many people, of course, feel America is broken. You can hear about the country’s many troubles — its ideological divides, its anger, its lack of civility — from conservatives and liberals. It is, perhaps, one of the few beliefs that unites Americans right now.

So many seem to genuinely want those divides to be mended, for the country to be knitted back together. But the question of why America is broken, and who is to blame, and how to repair it? That’s where things get complicated.

Because no matter what you believe, today — in both the myriad reactions to Kirk’s violent public death and in general — you can pick the America you want.

You can see a president who is systematically removing the rights of Americans, or a president who is standing up for a forgotten middle class. You can see signs of fascism in immigration agents hauling people off the streets, or an administration that is finally enforcing immigration laws for the good of all citizens.

In Charlie Kirk, you can see a polite, boy-next-door type with a captivating debating style who loved America, the church, his family, and the resurgence of conservatism across the country, or you can see a political hybrid of the social media age, willing to exploit America’s racial divide in search of support.

When Cox spoke mournfully about America’s predicament, he clearly hoped Kirk’s death could help bring America together. More likely, though, the killing could drive the wedges deeper.

A divided society, a divided reaction

In the hours immediately after the shooting, officials in both parties appeared anxious to show restraint and decorum, expressing their grief and support for Kirk’s family.

“Words cannot describe the shock and horror I felt today,” Arizona Republican chair Gina Swoboda said, saying America “must never condone or excuse acts of political violence.”

Maine’s Democratic governor, Janet Mills, echoed sentiments of horror at the violence.

As time progressed, reactions became more polarized. Trump conferred martyr status onto Kirk, blaming leftist rhetoric for the tragedy, while some on social media denounced Kirk as a casualty of incited violence.

The country’s politicians strive to balance it all

Online anonymity can shield the extremes, but politicians often find themselves under scrutiny to model civility in their responses.

Former Presidents Biden and Obama offered kinder reflections, whereas Trump emphasized the divide. Unified statements emerged from various groups, including college Republicans and Democrats in Connecticut, calling for an end to violence.

“Is this what 250 years has wrought on us?” Cox lamented, aspiring for a forthcoming unity rather than division in a nation in crisis.