Disagreement becomes Hate

At this point most of what’s relevant about the Charlie Kirk assassination and the assassin involved has been said. There’s nothing I can add to the din in this paltry space, so I’ll just say that I’m frustrated and saddened. And that’s enough to set me thinking about deeper elements behind such shocking events. What I’m thinking about now is how we got to a point in daily discourse where violence appears not only acceptable but inevitable.

Take a divisive issue. Something upon which there are at least two opposing viewpoints. Any social issue will do from disagreement over neighborhood trash collection to U.S. support for the war in Ukraine. It’s human nature for people to air their opinions on such things. It can be neighbors arguing over a backyard fence, social media tantrums, or diplomats holding forth in world forums. Size doesn’t matter, and neither does the topic. What’s important is that you’re faced with a disagreement over what’s being done or what should be done in future. What’s needed is an examination of the relevant facts and discussion of options leading to action that’s acceptable to both parties.

We are fortunate enough to live in a country where that kind of discourse is not only expected but also protected and privileged under our Constitution. You know that Free Speech thing that basically says a citizen has the right to share ideas, express opinions, and convey messages, even if they are controversial or offensive? That sharing of ideas and opinions often gets loud and raucous but generally doesn’t result in lethal violence. Until now. What’s changed?

It’s the basic nature of our discourse which has gone from simple rhetoric to virulent disagreement. It’s the conflation of wrong with evil in too many minds. That requires some examination of the way we disagree. There are basically three stages to the way we engage controversial issues.

You think one way and I think another. I don’t agree with your opinions so I don’t want to hear them. I will refuse to argue and simply walk away. I will turn off TV or radio programs that air opinions that don’t agree with mine. It’s your option as a free-thinking citizen, so no argument with that.

There are those who can’t let discourse or disagreement rest at that level. These are folks who think because they disagree with an opinion or position, no one should listen to alternatives. Those people are constantly protesting or petitioning to silence voices that don’t agree with their way of thinking. From this bloc comes heated demands that certain shows or commentators be silenced, purged from public radio and TV airwaves. It’s called cancel culture but there’s nothing much new here. Americans have always expressed this kind of my way or the highway rhetoric. It’s rarely effective but usually cathartic. And social media has made it easy for us to air our disagreements.

If only we could leave it at that. But there is in our society a faction that just can’t accept that any alternative to their opinions should exist. These are folks who believe anyone holding opposing views should never be allowed to speak or write. These are people who believe those who disagree with them are not just wrong, they are evil. From this faction come desperate assassins.

Our American political history is sadly replete with these unbalanced characters from John Wilkes Booth, James Earl Ray, Lee Harvey Oswald and Sirhan Sirhan to Tyler Robinson. Each of them in their own demented way thought of their victims as evil rather than simply human beings with differing opinions. Each of them took lethal action because they believed it was their personal responsibility to eliminate an evil.

If you believe as I do that we should be constantly on the alert for those who hold such volatile personal positions, then we agree. If you believe the study of human behavior patterns gives us enough of a basis to get such people off the streets and into serious therapy, then we agree. If you think as I do that it’s well past time in this country to reestablish some asylums where such people can be isolated and treated, then we agree. If not…well that’s fine. I celebrate the differing opinions and I defend your right to peacefully express them.

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