America no longer feels safe. The Trump administration has fostered a nationwide atmosphere of fear. It doesn’t matter if you’re going to school, heading to work, attending a concert, or riding the train. America’s violence has spiraled out of control. The President of the United States claims he is sending troops to make the city safe. The president also deploys troops to deport migrants, regardless of whether they have papers or not. It remains an environment filled with violence and fear.
Our nation is built on ideals of freedom, democracy, and the rule of law. However, alongside these noble principles lies a darker history—a legacy of violence and political assassinations that have shaped the country’s past and continue to cast a shadow over it today. The assassination of Charlie Kirk is appalling. A young man with a voice and a young family has lost its father and husband. Freedom of speech is vital in America, but it doesn’t mean you can say anything. Words are powerful; they can influence the environment and attract followers.
America’s Violence Has Deep Roots..
From the beginning, the United States has been rooted in violence. Cowboys and Indians, the Revolutionary War, the dispossession of Indigenous People, the Civil War, and the institution of slavery all shape the country’s true history. This violence comes from land grabs and a belief that equates power with dominance. Violence was often seen not just as unavoidable but as a valid way to make political and social changes. This foundation later helped create a culture where conflicts—whether political, racial, or ideological—often resulted in bloodshed.
Political Assassinations as Turning Points…
Assassinations have marked pivotal moments in America’s history, significantly shaping its course. The killing of President Abraham Lincoln in 1865, just days after the Civil War ended, and the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation deprived the nation of a leader who might have steered a more healing Reconstruction. His death changed America—wh at if he had survived? He was slain because he freed the slaves. Nearly a century later, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963 shocked the world, and his 1,000 days in office became known as the Age of Camelot. What if he had lived to complete his term? Then there are the deaths of civil rights leaders, who voiced hope of freedom and equality, challenging Americans to live up to their ideals. The 1960s became a dark decade of assassinations: Medgar Evers in 1963, Malcolm X in 1965, Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968, and Senator Robert F. Kennedy just months later. Each killing silenced a voice for change—racial justice, economic equality, and peace— and left the nation more divided, fearful, and distrustful.
Additionally, the lynchings in the South, where at least 6,500 Black Americans were killed as acts of racial terror, remain a dark chapter. Many died simply for trying to organize or exercise their basic right to vote. These lynchings occurred widely between 1865 and 1950.
America Continues to Struggle…
Today, America still struggles with political polarization, racial division, new generations’ unease, and easy access to firearms. The most tragic of all is the recent killing of children in a church while praying. Political threats and violence remain alarmingly common, and the specter of assassination still hangs over public life. Breaking this cycle requires policy reform on guns but also a cultural reckoning, recognizing that violence cannot be the default solution to political or social conflict.
The story of America is one of hope and tragedy. Its ideals inspire, but its history of violence and assassination reveals the fragility of democracy when hatred, fear, and weapons converge. We must confront this ugly violence to determine the sanity of our country, and it doesn’t matter whether you are in a red or blue state, black or white, or whether you are Republican or Democrat.
Save America for All of Us.
