There is growing unease in our nation. In recent memory, we have seen high-profile assassination plots or attempts against politicians, mass shootings in public schools and spaces, and violent attacks against governmental institutions. These are not aberrations resulting from sudden or unseen threats. They are the sure signs and symptoms of an angry and divided society. 

It’s becoming clear our society is slowly accepting violence as a normalized – and among extremists, a justified – means of action over discourse, debate, and the democratic process. When distrust, fear, and anger become the primary motivator for social change, hate and violence evolve as an accepted or necessary means of action. These are dangerous times.

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks once wrote, “When words fail, violence begins.”[1] This is no hyperbole. We’ve been slowly descending into a cyclical pattern that fuels the justification for violence – even when it claims to act in the name of self-defense or the protection of freedom. In a more rational and responsible society, constructive dialogue and debate are conducted with curiosity, openness, and winsome persuasion. But today’s social dialogue is increasingly ineffective and fueled by anger, bitterness, falsehoods, and cheap name-calling. 

When our communication – online or in person – is consistently expressed as emotionally charged, bombastic, and unproductive, our words have failed. Under these conditions, there is no ability to find an equitable and common-ground solution to real issues that face our communities. Instead, there is only manipulation and the dehumanization of others in the quest for righteousness and power. It is – as history has demonstrated time and again – the origins of radicalization that incite violence, fear, and the corruption of power for the benefit of the few.

We cannot expect to maintain a healthy, safe, and free society when violence is accepted as a way of life. We lose our moral consciousness as a nation when we are no longer horrified by the images of violent acts against each other, regardless of who they are or what they believe. We lose our moral character when we stop holding institutions and social systems accountable for failing to protect and promote the welfare of every American. We lose our moral ground for the promise of democratic values when we move further from a peaceable, equitable, and compassionate society for all. 

The responsibility for creating a better tomorrow does not exclusively belong to the individuals we elect in political office, the business executives who help put them there, or the judicial system that upholds the laws of our land. The responsibility, instead, belongs to every engaged citizen in society. 

If the rise in political and non-political violence reveals anything about the human condition, it’s this: people will always find a way to reclaim self-empowerment to pursue meaningful change in their lives. Therefore, rather than creating the conditions that continue to enable violence as a viable option for social change, we must reimagine our social narratives where violence is universally abhorred. We must cultivate communities where everyone is seen, treated with dignity, and heard as equals. We must teach, embrace, and reinforce compassion toward each other and ourselves in every sphere and institution of society. We must elevate the creative prophets and dreamers of our day who paint pictures of a hopeful future that sees the world through the lenses of sustainability, inclusivity, and justice. We must hold our elected public servants accountable to make due on the promise of America and our democratic values that have inspired generations and movements across the world.

The esteem of our nation in the 21st century and hope for tomorrow will be determined by our ability to achieve equality, opportunity, and flourishing for all. That task is each of ours to bear. 

[1] Jonathan Sacks, Morality: Restoring the Common Good in Divided Times (New York: Hachette Book Group, 2020), 224.