By Colleen Conklin
Charlie Kirk’s assassination feels like more than another entry in America’s long and tragic list of political violence. It feels like a hinge point — a moment when the air itself changes. Years from now, historians may mark this event not only for who it took, but for what it revealed about who we are — and who we might still become.
To see this clearly, we must be honest about the soil we’ve been cultivating as a nation. We live in an era where dialogue is driven less by real conversation than by algorithms — algorithms that thrive on outrage, reward division, and flatten people into caricatures of their politics. For some, Charlie Kirk was a voice of unapologetic conservatism, a defender of values they felt were slipping away. For others, he was a megaphone of racism, misogyny, and fear. Neighbors weren’t hearing the same man at all. They were hearing only the talking points filtered through their chosen feeds, their chosen networks, their chosen tribe.
This is not new. America has always wrestled with generational divides over values. Archie Bunker, the television character who became an unlikely symbol of the 1970s, embodied those tensions. His views were often offensive, narrow, and deeply out of step even then. Yet audiences could also see the contradictions — his fierce loyalty to family, his patriotism, his rough willingness to help a neighbor in need regardless of the color of their skin. Viewers could reject his prejudices without rejecting him entirely. They could still see the flawed humanity underneath.
That’s what feels different today. Too often, we are not seeing the person at all — only the ideology. Humanity is stripped away, leaving only categories of “ally” or “enemy.” It’s in that soil, hardened by fear and poisoned by division, that our children are growing up.
A Generation Raised in Fear
For today’s young people, fear is not abstract. It is daily life. They are the first generation to practice lockdown drills as routinely as fire drills, to carry the knowledge of school shootings like an invisible backpack heavier than any textbooks. They came of age in a pandemic that robbed them of friendships and normal milestones. They’ve seen politics divide neighbors, churches, and even families around the dinner table.
All of this has been amplified by the megaphone of social media, which doesn’t merely share information but distorts it, weaponizes it, and recycles outrage until even borrowed anger feels like one’s own. For many young people, their inheritance is not wisdom but exhaustion — not perspective but polarization.
Of course, every generation resists parts of what it inherits. Many of us remember rejecting Archie Bunker’s prejudices, even as we recognized his rough humanity. We could see the flawed ideology and the decency that lived side by side.
The danger now is that humanity itself is being stripped away, leaving only ideology. Too many young people are growing up in a culture that teaches them to categorize people by their beliefs first and their humanity second — if at all. And when the soil is poisoned with fear and violence, the roots that grow are often stunted.
The Fourth Turning
Historians William Strauss and Neil Howe in The Fourth Turning describe history as a cycle, revolving like seasons every 80 to 100 years. Their theory suggests that periods of stability give way to disruption. Institutions crack and trust collapses. In these “Fourth Turnings,” young people come of age in the crucible of chaos. It’s an excellent read, I’d highly recommend it.
The last such cycle gave us the Greatest Generation. Forged in the deprivation of the Great Depression and tested on the battlefields of World War II, its children were shaped by hardship but also defined by resilience. From the rubble, they built. From their wounds, they cauterized a vision of America that endured for decades.
Today’s youth are entering their own Fourth Turning. Their crucible is not Pearl Harbor or Normandy but lockdown drills, pandemics, fractured economies, and relentless polarization. They are scarred — but history suggests scars can be the beginning of strength. If the pattern holds, they may yet rise to become the next Greatest Generation. We could be wringing our hands, worried about a dystopian future. Or we could have faith that the next generation will be the one to redeem us. But whether they do depends in part on what we hand them.
Our Responsibility
Generations don’t emerge in isolation. They are cultivated, for better or worse, by the soil we tend. If all we offer them is fear and cynicism, then we cannot be surprised when violence is the only crop. But if we choose to plant something different–compassion stronger than ideology, courage rooted in empathy, the ability to separate people from their ideas–what then grows could astonish us.
This doesn’t mean softening our convictions or pretending differences don’t matter. It means rediscovering what earlier generations, for all their flaws, sometimes modeled more clearly than we have. Think again of Archie Bunker. Viewers could reject what was harmful in his words while still recognizing his loyalty, his love for his family, and his capacity for kindness.
That kind of balance is almost unthinkable in our current climate, where disagreement often means total rejection. But if we are serious about preparing the next generation to rise above fear, we must recover that discipline: to separate a person’s dignity from their ideology, to stand against destructive ideas without discarding the human being who holds them.
The responsibility is sobering. It is also hopeful. Because what we model today may be what saves us tomorrow.
The Hinge Point
Charlie Kirk’s death will be remembered as a turning point for many. But what follows is not only about him — it is about us, and about the generation that is watching us far more closely than we realize. The children of this generation are asking, even if silently: What does it mean to be an adult in times like these? What does courage look like? What does love look like? Why must I choose sides?
The answers will shape them more than any textbook, newsfeed, or viral video. Soil matters.
The last Fourth Turning gave us the Greatest Generation. This one could, too. But only if we are willing to tend the ground beneath our feet — to plant seeds of courage, compassion, and humanity that will outlive us.
The soil is ours to till.
Dr. Colleen Conklin, a Flagler Beach resident, was a Flagler County School Board member from 2000 to 2024.
Thomas Hutson says
Dr. Conklin I read your op-ed and found it to be interesting! Up to the idea of your “HINGE TURNING POINT” For one to buy into this you would have to believe Kirk is a “MARTYR” which he is not!
The only problem with this current generation comes from all the POLITICAL garbage being thrown at them! Politicians attempting to create a Martyr for their benefit when their idea of a MARTYR is nothing more than a private citizen influencer with a social media podcast. Most of the young people in this generation that I know are not interested in what is being peddled to them today! They realize their current future is bleak, cheap wages, few good jobs, cost of living is high, way , way too much violence with no let up in sight. Most just want to be left alone “leave me alone” their current status is full of “LIES”
They just want the same chances as MOM and DAD, they don’t want to live at home! I personally feel this generation will find its own way , they don’t need a manufactured MARTYR leading them! This generation is the most educated generation and are more knowledgeable than “politicians “ give them credit for. If “POLITICIANS “ want to influence today’s generation then LISTEN to Them they are the leaders of tomorrow!
The dude says
MAGA isn’t “tilling the soil” it’s salting the earth.
JimboXYZ says
The Charlie Kirk assassin was 22 years old. We aren’t sewing anything for the next generation that they haven’t sewn for themselves. How old was the the dude that attempted the assassination of Trump in PA ? Crooks was 20 yo from the wikipedia. The old guy in WPB was 59. Differing ages, suggests the range isn’t a generational thing. It’s almost absurdly comical that the 77 year old man was brought in for interrogation for the Kirk assassination. I don’t know of any 77 year olds accessing rooftops with rifles. The WPB 59 year old was ground level & wooded area for cover at a golf course. that has no higher roof tops than a stage or even a green would be for elevation.
As for gun threats, bomb threats & violence at Flagler schools, that generation is the next generation K-12ers. Maybe it’s the hopelessness of an inflationary economy and the issues that might be associated or causing that ? Maybe it’s because the human race is a disappointing lot of liars top to bottom ? Deep down the demographic of age is just an age, each assassin had a relatively unique lifestyle. There just isn’t enough information to really make accurate inferences that “we” are sewing any seeds for any generation,our own, past or the next generations.
Pogo says
@Dr. Conklin
Thank you for this artfully stated commentary. I’m strongly persuaded to agreement.
Your words recalled night classes, with my fellow adult classmates (most of us were there after a full day’s work, or there before starting a full night’s work, often, in a patrol car) — well over 40 years ago; I proffer this for consideration:
As stated
https://www.google.com/search?q=social+anomie+theory+intersection+with+social+media
NJ says
So now we know why Flagler County Schools needs so much improvements to return it to teaching about America’s True Traditional Common Sense Conservative Values which will keep America Strong and FREE of Stupid Wasteful Wars!
Joyful Warrior says
Colleen Conklin’s piece strikes an introspective tone, and I appreciate that. It’s rare to see commentary that attempts to wrestle with the complexity of generational inheritance and the weight of our cultural moment. But even thoughtful writing can carry blind spots — especially when it comes to how people like Charlie Kirk are portrayed.
The article implies that Kirk was simply a “megaphone for racism, misogyny, and fear.” That’s an easy label — and frankly, it’s one that reveals more about media filters and ideological echo chambers than about the man himself. Yes, Kirk was provocative. Yes, he challenged many progressive assumptions head-on. But to reduce him to a caricature, while calling for more compassion and nuance in the same breath, is a contradiction.
If the point of the article is to help us raise a generation capable of seeing humanity beyond ideology, then we should apply that lens fairly. Kirk spoke to millions of young people who felt ignored, mislabeled, or outright mocked by the cultural elite. His passion for faith, free speech, meritocracy, and constitutional values resonated not because he pushed hate — but because he gave a voice to those who felt left behind in the rush toward ideological conformity.
The generation growing up now doesn’t need sanitized heroes or filtered narratives. They need the discipline Conklin herself mentions: to engage uncomfortable views without instinctively canceling the person behind them.
If Charlie Kirk was part of the “soil” shaping this generation, then let’s be honest about what that means. It means challenging ideas — not dehumanizing the people who hold them. It means disagreement without distortion.
We don’t have to agree on everything, but let’s not pretend civility requires erasing half the country’s values — or the voices who dare to defend them.
Andrew says
Well said Dr. Conklin.
Greg says
AWSOME writing and very worth the read. Thank you!
Paul Larkin says
Beautifully written Dr Conklin and very insightful…also pointing to the scary divides in this era in which we are living.
Laurel says
We watched “All in the Family” without missing an episode. My best friend, at the time, had a stepfather who was a very good man. He was caring, responsible and was raised in a small, Indiana town. Real small. So his view of the world was very different than our perspective, we, who were in our early 20’s, growing up in a progressive city. He laughed with Archie; we laughed at Archie! Yet, life went on without argument.
As a kid, my neighbors next door were Catholic. No one was allowed to say the name “Nixon” in their house as Kennedy was the opposing candidate. As kids, we didn’t analyze it; we just went out and played.
I feel the real difference between those times and this time is the constant threat of violence within our disagreeing population. We have never, ever had a President who spewed such hatred, and resorted to the name calling, of half of the U.S. public! The hatred of the past was reserved to a much smaller segment of the population, such as the Klu Klux Klan. The rest of the population got along with their differences. However, African Americans, and women, had to prove themselves beyond white males on a daily basis, just to keep their heads barely above water.
The suppression of “others” is not new. The legislation of “morality” is not new. What is new, is the depth of fear mongering in this country. It seems to be boundless today. The “We have nothing to fear, but fear itself” adage seems so far from us now. A once binding speech has been replaced with “…they’re eating the dogs…” division.
But…though I can be cynical, I do have faith in younger generations. Some may be “disenfranchised,” while others are educating themselves and moving forward. I am a fan of Adam Mockler. His knowledge of history, and current events is beyond most 22 year olds, and actually, beyond many much older than himself, and he has a following.
Time will tell, and I hope we don’t take it backwards.
Charlie who? says
Charlie Kirk… hinge point? … “Fourth turning?”
Not surprised if (in a few years) to even hear…
Trump: “Charlie Kirk?… Who’s Charlie Kirk?”
… if not perhaps, only for the Charlie Kirk meme coin as a reminder of his “martyrdom.”
Colleen Colleen says
I appreciate the comments, even the cheeky ones but thanks for reading — and for being willing to push back. I want to clarify something, because I sense we might be talking past each other on this.
I used “martyr” not to canonize Charlie Kirk, nor to erase his flaws. I used it as a symbol — a hinge, a sign that an event has become more than itself in people’s minds. Whether he is one is up for debate, and that’s okay. What I care about is what we do after the symbol emerges.
You say younger people don’t need a manufactured martyr, and I agree — they don’t. What worries me is how ideas get sanctified or demonized before being truly debated, and how that becomes part of the soil they grow in.
Let me ask you: If we refuse to let ideas be tested — if we only affirm the heroes we like and cancel the rest — what kind of future are we cultivating?
My hope is that the next generation inherits soil where disagreement isn’t a death sentence and where humanity is never stripped from the person. Because if we lose that, we risk handing them nothing but hardened ground.
Thanks again for pushing me to sharpen the point. I appreciate all the views. I have faith in this generation. If history repeats itself, I do believe they will become the next “greatest generation “.
I am Charlie Kirk! says
@ Charlie who? I think you will find in years to come that even millions more people will know of Charlie Kirk. Erika will make sure of that.
Politics and Religion don't mix well says
Florida has become an “open carry” state, BUT with exceptions.
One of which is city halls.
Why?
Perhaps it’s “obvious.”
That is, it’s perhaps obvious to some (or perhaps just prudent), to limit the “right to bare arms” in a situation in which one has another right, “the right to free speech,” where circumstances might certainly lead to a heated debate that devolves into violence.
Was it prudent of Charlie Kirk to progressively put himself into greater and greater harms way, as he seems to have done (in my opinion), with the resulting horrible outcome… a perhaps obvious one?
Does this truly fully constituent the reason for his “martyrdom?” Was his a political martyrdom in the pursuit of freedom of speech? Or another?
Skibum says
To “Joyful Warrior”,
Maybe you missed seeing the photos that have been posted recently showing Charlie Kirk’s over the top, mega mansion that he owned in Arizona. Maybe you know nothing at all about him being a multi-millionaire, deriving his luxury style of living much like those other TV televangelists who prey on others, spew hate an division while raising their bibles high in the air. All to rake in more and more money and air time for themselves.
Kirk is one of the ilk that should be pitied for his revulsion of everything Jesus stood for and taught. Just like Reagan would be thrown out of today’a maga GOP cult and laughed at by drumph’s mob of sheeple, so too would Jesus be denounced by today’s white nationalist, pseudo-Christian extremists who spew so much vile misinformation that distorts and misrepresents true Christianity
I, for one, am revolted and disgusted by all that Kirk stood for and promoted. He certainly is NOT my example of what someone who proclaims to be a Christian behaves like. Should he have been targeted and shot? No. But he was not one to be adored, or called a “saint” by people who choose his obnoxious and in-your-face public arguing in lieu of the example of Jesus, which was in direct opposition to Kirk’s style or performative religiosity in order to make mega bucks for himself.
Sherry says
Thank you Colleen and thank you Laurel!
As a very spiritual person, who for years studied Buddhist teachings, I am reminded that our Buddhist teachers often said that “all negative emotions are based in FEAR”. Actually, very similar to the words of my psychological counselors who discussed the need for each of us to face and process our own inner insecurities while recognizing the “all too human” insecurities in others.
While I personally am still a “work in progress”, which will never end, it is clear to me that possibly the majority of people in the US feel powerful negativity ranging from “general uneasiness” to outright “rage”. There seems to be little understanding that such feelings come from within. That such negative inner feelings drive the automatic reactions to everyday life. . . often creating a vicious cycle of fear, hate, and anger. that is projected outwards. So many do not even have one foot on the path to better mental and emotional health. Allowing such people to legally purchase guns should be anathema to any civilized society.
Another very important Buddhist teaching for me is that of “Detachment”. This one took me a while. Essentially, for me, it means to stand back from that automatic defensive response to certain situations, and to others who are trying to manipulate/confuse you. Learn about your personal emotional triggers and do not allow others to constantly “push your buttons”. Recognize those who are so emotionally crippled that they have become “toxic” to themselves and to those that interact with them. “Detach” from those “toxic” people and try to have compassion for them. . . but, not in a way that allows them to drag you into their “toxic interaction.
Adding those Buddhist and psychological teachings to my technical background, with a general understanding of the dangers of algorithms and AI, are the foundations for several of my decisions in recent years. Certainly rereading Orwell’s 1984 has brought clarity to that personal process:
1. Do Not Subject Yourself to the Manipulations of the Algorithms in Technology
A. Maintain Your Critical Thinking Ability/ Always Seek Credentialled Facts
B. No Social Media
C. Use a Powerful AD Blocker
2. Protect Your Privacy
A. Do Not Install “Listening/Watching Devices” in Your Home or on Your Phone
B. Do Not Give Away Your Personal Information by Accessing It from Your Phone
C. Say NO to Most “Cookies”
3. Recognize and Protect Yourself From “Toxic People”. DETACH
Thanks so much for allowing me to “share”. . .
Skibum says
Thank you for sharing, Sherry. Humans can learn so much from other cultures, other religions, other people, IF we ignore the inherent biases and prejudices that we find all around us in society and especially practiced online by strangers. To be able to admit to ourselves that we are still a work in progress is to acknowledge how much there is yet to learn from each other.
As for myself, I was introduced to the ancient Chinese teachings by a friend who was taking various martial arts classes in St. Augustine several years ago. She suggested that I go to Tai Chi class with her one day, and I ended up beginning my journey through a variety of Chinese disciplines, eventually becoming a 1st degree black belt in Tai Chi last year. Some of the most important lessons I have taken away from participating are strategies and techniques to better handle stress and to maintain a balance between high intensity activities and relaxation in my daily life. I never realized how involved some of the ancient Chinese arts could be, or how helpful and important they can be to my own life.
I think if people opened their eyes, and especially their minds and took the opportunity to enrich themselves with other ideas and cultures, maybe they would be able to eliminate and dispute some of the misinformation they have been brainwashed into believing about people who are different than them. Closed minds can be dangerous, not only to society in general, but also to each of us. Many things are out of our control, but personal biases and condemning other cultures because of a desire to maintain a closed mind is a CHOICE.
Politics and Religion don't mix well says
That should be… “right to bear arms.”
But then again, this IS Florida so perhaps it’s still appropriate… note that “bear arms” might still cause confusion for some. 🧸💪
In Florida, there’s no such thing as something being obvious.
Steve Playe says
Colleen, what you wrote resonated deeply with me. As a boomer who raised millennials and now cherishes GenZ grandchildren, I worry daily about the predicted Fourth Turning, which indeed seems to be coming to pass. I also find solice in hoping that my grandkids will be part of a society-saving next Greatest Generation, like that of my parents.
Thank you for taking us beyond an insightful description of where we are. You suggest a plan of action that we will all need to define, and refine for ourselves, “to plant seeds of courage, compassion, and humanity that will outlive us.”
Amen to that.
Politics and Religion don't mix well says
My reading list …
https://www.amazon.com/Nicomachean-Ethics-Aristotle/dp/1624668151
https://www.amazon.com/Meditations-Penguin-Classics-Marcus-Aurelius/dp/0140449337
https://www.amazon.com/Discourses-Selected-Writings-Penguin-Classics/dp/0140449469
https://www.amazon.com/Law-Morality-Politics-Hackett-Classics/dp/0872206637
https://www.amazon.com/Discourse-Metaphysics-Essays-Hackett-Classics/dp/0872201325
https://www.amazon.com/Leviathan-Wordsworth-Classics-World-Literature/dp/1840227338
https://www.amazon.com/Ethics-Penguin-Classics-Benedict-Spinoza/dp/0140435719
https://www.amazon.com/Grounding-Metaphysics-Morals-Supposed-Philanthropic/dp/087220166X
https://www.amazon.com/Utilitarianism-John-Stuart-Mill/dp/087220605X
https://www.amazon.com/Pragmatism-Other-Writings-Penguin-Classics/dp/0140437355
https://www.amazon.com/Applied-Ethics-Introduction-Elizabeth-Jackson/dp/1647920116
https://www.amazon.com/Anthropology-What-Does-Mean-Human/dp/0197534430
… just a few, for a start.
Many I hadn’t gotten around to reading, I’m sure others might have theirs. “Fourth Turning” not one of them… but I’ll give it serious consideration.
Sherry says
Thank you so much, Skibum, for sharing a bit of your own walk on your evolutionary path. I agree that spending time studying other cultures, as we both have done, certainly helps in the critical thinking required to resist the “fear” mongers and open one’s mind to the fact that each of us shares this planet with a wonderfully diverse, generally peaceful, non-threatening humanity that deserves compassion and respect.
I am actually an active participant in a major national “POLL” that collects opinion data on political questions as well as lifestyle choices. You know, those polls that Maga members say are meaningless unless the data supports their lord trump. This particular poll is quite educational for me in that literally thousand of people respond to questions on-line and the results are calculated and reported back in real time.
It’s disheartening to me that of those responding, the majority say they do not read books. The majority also say they eat at fast food restaurants at least once a week, but do not exercise. Shocking to me were very recent polls where over 30% consistently say they are injecting themselves with one of the new weight loss drugs.
On the political side, while I am pleasantly surprised to report that generally 55-65% of those responding said things like Kennedy should be impeached, and our country is generally headed in the wrong direction. . . when the question of whether they would vote for trump for a 3rd term, 22% said they would. What doe it say that 22% would vote for something that is completely unconstitutional?
Sherry says
OOPS! Please excuse the “typo”. . . What “does” it say that 22% of those polled would vote for something that is completely unconstitutional? Hummmm. . . maybe that question “should” have been repeated. In any case, that error at least shows I’m not a “Bot”. LOL!
BIG Neighbor says
Cold Fish or cold fishermen?
Thank you Dr. Conklin, good to know someone is talking essentials for our next generational needs, a deep seeded appreciation of humanity against these influences of cultural automation that allow the few to divide and concur. It’s not just the personalization in media and marketing through cell phones and targeting algorithms that has combed individual behaviors and appetites into commodities, but the fragility of our own means to govern proactively and programmatically. What does that look like? Archie Bunker is a great example.
Although Archie was endeared in our household, I had a teacher that was insulted by that program. Why? Because that particular show came off as indignant, personifying conservatives as Archie-types, not the sharpest tool in the shed. Point being, if you’re looking for way to quickly dismiss a vantage point, you’ll find one. It takes time and investment to come to know Archie’s true character as someone larger than a quick reduction to gage humanity. Do we understand what that means anymore? If we don’t and continue our rapid race, status quo of digital conflict, we forfeit souls.
Another staple in our house of programmatic learning as conditioning through entertainment was Jacques Cousteau. With the adulteration of these kind of wholesome feeds that used to dominate the airways, life and the human condition are programmatically up for grabs by the very few instead of WE, the People. I sense what some profiteers harvest are the vulnerable and isolated, being cold fish when taking about the premise of the Gospel and how that message gets spit out in automation, right in your eye to blur your own vision.
A fellow Protestant once asked me if I recognized the authority of the Pope as he felt no affiliation to his role on Earth. I replied, his authority has meaning to the countless, and that has meaning that affects all of us.
Topic: Taking sides; what does ultimatum can lead to? Lessons learned or learning lessons?
Laurel says
Sherry: Questions to ask are:
1) Did you vote in the last election?
2) What would it take to get you to vote in the next? (Multiple choice or rephrase? Prefer rephrase).
We eat at fast food restaurants maybe two times a year. The last two times were disappointing.
Laurel says
BIG Neighbor: Nice! Thank you.
What I loved about Edith Bunker, was, she didn’t have an evil bone in her body. Somehow, when push came to shove, she managed to dominate common sense! Archie knew it, too ! 😍
Ray W. says
Alternet just published an article titled “‘I want blood in the streets’: Editor of conservative site ‘explicitly’ demands ‘violence'”
The reporter comments on The Daily Caller’s editor-at-large, Geoffrey Ingersoll, who published on op-ed titled “Enough is Enough … I Choose VIOLENCE!”
Ingersoll starts:
“Today, I choose violence. Literally.
“I know calls for violence are generally frowned upon. The issue is … I simply don’t care.”
In that op-ed, according to the reporter, Mr. Ingersoll argued that there existed a need for a way to repay “a public debt for anti-social and subversive behavior” and that “some of this cost needs to be summary and ultra-violent.”
In his opinion, law enforcement is “too slow to act.” Therefore, it has become necessary to “move past ‘legal violence'” and that conservatives have “no choice but to ‘choose violence’ and to ‘be wildly disproportionate.'” He argued to “[f]orce corrupt police to intervene. I want blood in the streets.”
Interestingly, The Daily Caller inserted an editor’s note at the top of the op-ed:
The Daily Caller “does not condone violence in any form, especially political violence”, adding that “the examples outlined in the piece refer to hypothetical instances of self-defense, not political violence or extrajudicial mob action.”
Make of this what you will.
Me?
Once again, I started commenting on the FlaglerLive site after I read of a local Republican politician’s phrasing on a local radio station; he asked just when would it become time to start beheading Democrats.
Ever since, I have read the occasional comment holding that the call for violence comes only from Democrats who wish to foster violence in our society.
My position ever since my initial comments has been that we as a society are in the early stages of an age of political violence that knows no boundaries and no foreseeable end. The violence comes from extremists who populate both ends of the political spectrum.
Since that expression of murderous thought by the Flagler County elected Republican official, I have opposed our governor when he promised that, if elected president, he would start on Day 1 to slit throats, yet another expression of murderous thought.
And I opposed our president when he promised to crush vermin and to be our retribution, even more expressions of murderous thought.
I opposed the Republican gubernatorial candidate for his statement during a rally that “some people need killing”, yet another expression of murderous thought.
Let’s face it, the disaffected among us are giving themselves permission to murder. The disaffected know no one political party. They have no one target for their disaffection.
Not a single FlaglerLive commenter will ever win the argument that the “other” needs or even deserves to be murdered or that only one of our two political parties is at fault. One cannot win an argument when the argument is intended to portray someone else as worthy of death. There is no form of conservative thought that supports murder in the name of politics. There is no form of progressive thought that supports murder in the name of politics.