When Violence Replaces Dialogue: What This Moment Demands of Us
I have wrestled with how to put this into words. No statement feels adequate when life is taken and a nation is shaken. Still, I believe silence would miss the moment.
On September 10, 2025, the country watched in grief as Charlie Kirk was assassinated during a Turning Point event at Utah Valley University. I chose to wait a week before writing, letting the noise settle so I could reflect on what this moment says about us, and where we go from here.
This was not only a tragedy for one family. It was a warning for us all.
Political assassination is one of the darkest acts a society can witness. It is more than a crime against a single man. It is an attack on the very idea that we can resolve our differences through words rather than weapons. When a leader is gunned down for what he believes, it sends a message of fear to every voice that dares to speak in public.
We have seen this before in our own history. Presidents have been struck down. Civil rights leaders have been silenced. Voices for change have been taken by violence. Each time, the nation was left grieving and uncertain of its future.
We like to think those days are behind us, that America has moved past the era when political arguments were solved with political bullets. But September 10 reminded us that democracy is always fragile, and that outrage left unchecked can once again turn deadly.
The assassination of Charlie Kirk leaves a family grieving, and a nation staring into the abyss of what happens when bitterness is allowed to fester. History shows us that when violence replaces dialogue, societies unravel. We dare not shrug this off as just another news cycle.
The symptom of a deeper sickness
Acts of political violence do not appear out of thin air. They grow in the soil of contempt. For years, the extremes on both left and right have trained us to see one another as enemies. Instead of resisting, our two-party system has learned to thrive on that outrage. Anger keeps voters loyal. Fear keeps people from asking harder questions. When contempt feels normal, violence is never far behind.
History has seen this pattern. When factions harden and language dehumanizes, democratic cultures fracture. Words become weapons, then real weapons follow.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll released September 16, 2025 found that 63% of Americans believe political discourse does “a lot” to encourage violence, with another 31% saying it does “a little.” Nearly eight in ten say Americans have grown less tolerant of differing viewpoints. The numbers confirm what many of us already sense. The danger is rising, and the fatigue is real.
Why the extremes and the system both fail us
In moments like this, each side points the finger. Progressives cite conservative rhetoric. Conservatives cite progressive hostility. The truth is, the loudest voices at the edges are setting the tone, they ignite the fire.
Instead of quenching it, our two-party system allows the flames to keep burning. Outrage guarantees attention and donations. Neither party seems willing to break the cycle, because the cycle benefits them. Ordinary people are left breathing the smoke, weary and worried.
Have we grown so used to hostility that we no longer notice it? Have we accepted outrage as normal, forgetting that free societies depend on honest debate, not intimidation?
If this continues, we will see more violence, not less.
There is a better way
The extremes are not our only option. The system does not have to define our future. There is a better way.
This way values truth without malice. It holds conviction without cruelty. It practices courage without violence. It listens before reacting. It answers firmly, with grace. It remembers that political opponents are still neighbors.
Kirk’s format pointed toward that better way. He believed debate mattered. He believed persuasion was possible. We honor that, not by shouting louder, but by refusing to let hatred have the last word. Authorities have arrested a suspect, and prosecutors say they will seek the most serious penalties allowed by law. Justice must proceed, and so must our commitment to civil life.
In recent days, several people have asked me what I think about all this. Other pastors have admitted they are unsure how to respond. And members of my own church have spoken of the fear they carry, the heaviness of watching our nation come apart.
That is why I believe this moment demands more than partisan talking points. It demands a different way of living together.
For Christians, this is not only a political crisis. It is a spiritual one. Scripture calls us to be peacemakers and truth-tellers, to speak with both courage and grace.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” (Matthew 5:9, NKJV)
“Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt.” (Colossians 4:6, NKJV)
“Put away lying, let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor.” (Ephesians 4:25, NKJV)
This is not weakness. It is strength. It takes courage to confront evil without becoming consumed by it. It takes faith to love a neighbor who disagrees without dismissing them as an enemy.
How we can live differently
We cannot control the rhetoric of the extremes, but we can decide how we will live.
Choose not to amplify outrage.
Refuse to spread stories before verifying them.
Speak with conviction, and with humility.
Be a peacemaker in your home, your church, your workplace, your community.
These are not small steps. In a culture addicted to outrage, they are acts of courage.
If conversation becomes dangerous, democracy is in peril. If disdain becomes normal, violence will become common.
There is a better way. We can walk in truth. We can choose humility. We can live with courage. And we can show our nation that violence and contempt are not the only paths forward.