A poll released by the University of Chicago via the Chicago Project on Security and Threats offers a chilling account of the growing radicalism in America, particularly after the second foiled assassination attempt of former president Donald Trump, the poll found that 26 million Americans believe “the use of force” is justified to keep Trump from regaining the presidency.
As discussed in my book, “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage,” we have seen an increasing level of rage rhetoric in our political system. For some, violent language can become violent action. There is a normalization that can occur as extreme actions become more acceptable to more and more citizens:
“We are living in an age of rage. It permeates every aspect of our society and politics. Rage is liberating, even addictive. It allows us to say and do things that we would ordinarily avoid, even denounce in others. Rage is often found at the farthest extreme of reason. For those who agree with the underlying message, it is righteous and passionate. For those who disagree, it is dangerous and destabilizing.”
With the unrelenting claims of President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and others that democracy is about to die in America, some now feel a license to commit criminal acts in the name of “saving democracy.”
It is the ultimate form of self-delusion that one saves democracy by committing political violence against those with whom you disagree.
We have seen this radicalism spread in past years from higher education into society at large.
Keep your powder dry boys
The whites of their eyes are easy to see
She said She intends to reinstate a 1994 assault weapons ban that made it unlawful for a person to manufacture, transfer or possess a semiautomatic assault weapon. The 10-year ban lapsed in 2004. Out of my cold dead hands!