Day after day, I continue to find myself wondering why people turn to political violence. 

After thinking about it, I’ve realized that many of those who resort to political violence do this out of a lack of confidence in their beliefs. They fear that their ideas aren’t strong enough to stand on their own. 

When someone isn’t secure in their beliefs, they try to silence others instead of sharing their ideas through real discussion and debate. Choosing to act out of anger instead of participating in conversation only weakens the ideas you claim to defend. 

An argument built on insecurity will always be weak.

It shouldn’t matter who you support or what party you belong to. Violence, of any kind, for any reason, should never be justified. 

This issue feels more relevant than ever in the U.S., with a major rise in political violence over the past decade. 

According to a 2025 survey by Pew Research, 85% of Americans agree that politically motivated violence is increasing across the U.S.

The crisis goes against the core values that make this country truly free and turns freedom of speech into a weapon rather than a right.

Political violence not only harms individuals, but it also threatens democracy, which is what holds our nation together. It divides communities and turns us against each other during a time that we desperately need to be united. 

“We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools,” Martin Luther King Jr. once said. This message speaks directly to the challenges we still face today.

A nation where the majority sees its neighbors as enemies simply cannot move in the right direction.

As hate takes over, the land of the free loses its meaning, and there is nothing brave about watching it happen in silence.

True strength does not come from silencing others. It comes from standing for what you believe while respecting ideas different from your own. We need to keep a sense of what’s wrong amidst fighting for what is right. 

A path through violence will never lead to justice. Even in a world overcome by brutality, I believe that through compassion and understanding, our country’s long awaited justice is still within reach.