No one party is immune from political violence. My family and I can attest to that.
Using the rhetoric of rage and calling some of our fellow Americans “scum” — no matter how profound our differences — only creates more division and makes it harder to heal.
We are at an inflection point in America. Violence transcends party lines — and the way to address it and have true peaceful debate is for leaders to speak and act with moral clarity. That needs to start with the President.
"If we’re convinced that political violence comes from only one side of the divide, then the temptation toward punitive authoritarianism is overwhelming. “They” are evil and violent, and “they” must be crushed.
If, however, we accurately understand that America has an immense problem with violent extremism on both sides of the ideological aisle — even if, at any given moment, one side is worse than the other — then the answer lies in reconciliation, not domination. In fact, it’s the will to dominate that magnifies the crisis and radicalizes our opponents." https://t.co/W5osnjz6g0
Hate is a choice. Negativity is a choice. Judgement is a choice. Social media has become a place where those choices are made behind a keyboard. Comments are made that wouldn’t be said directly to people in person. We have options. Moral clarity is also a choice. Positivity is a choice. Understanding is a choice. I hope this moment in time will be a turning point in those choices.
Being angry and staying angry is a choice. Giving grace is a choice. Choose wisely. Don’t let the algorithms fool you, in the real world, folks choose grace.
Social media destroyed civility and high journalistic standards, while stacking our feeds with whatever “confirms” our biases. And political leaders have been happy to leverage it.
The most important, significant, and corrosive project undergirding American politics today isn’t ideological or philosophical. It’s telling people who they need to hate. Both sides do it. The media foments it. The whole political system incentivizes you to hate the other side. Let’s examine why that makes people giddy and gleeful. Psychologists weigh in.
A person can’t just be a violent nut job with radicalizing tendencies. They have to represent the typical mindset of an entire major party. On this, both parties agree.
In the last few years we've seen:
- The plot to kidnap Gretchen Whitmer
- The Storming of the Capitol and pipe bombs left at the RNC and DNC
- The break-in to kidnap Nancy Pelosi and the brutal on Paul Pelosi
- Multiple assassination attempts against Trump
- The assassination of Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband and the shooting of on State Senator John Hoffman and his wife
- Luigi Mangione's assassination of Brian Thompson
- The assassination of Charlie Kirk
Political violence is contagious. It is spreading. It is not confined to one side or belief system. It should terrify us all.
The foundation of a free society is the ability to participate in it without fear of violence. Political violence is always an attack against us all. You have to be so blind not to see that.
@ericmetaxas Well, right now both parties. But AOC is a twenty something rank and file, and you’re defending the leader of the party preemptively declaring that he won and any other result is fraud.
I made a record. Low Tide comes out October 29. Hear the single “Reaction” on Spotify, Apple, etc. look up Post Ephemera (follow Instagram: post.ephemera)
@its_xristina important addition to your story: Grosskreutz approached with a pistol, clearly seen in videos. Not just “arms up,” which paints Rittenhouse as a cold-blooded killer.
My latest on the company blog: "If you want your message to be sticky, don’t try to sell a product, sell a story." Here's how iconic brands have mastered the art (and science) of attracting and connecting with audiences. #brandin…https://t.co/ZYYD1yB3Mc https://t.co/vlg4Ae2Ia7
We've all seen “death by a thousand opinions” destroy rebrand projects...
Here's how you can use objective data to make those subjective #branding decisions. A smart read by my @Polymathio colleague @WesGant: https://t.co/MjiQscCY9P