Jeff Caplan’s Minute of News: There’s no place for political violence in the U.S. Yet here it is

Editor’s note: This is an editorial piece. An editorial, like a news article, is based on fact but also shares opinions. The opinions expressed here by Jeff Caplan are solely those of the author and are not associated with our newsroom.

In the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s murder, some of us are resigned to the idea that the political system is broken. Others are filled with rage. The keyboard warriors on X run the gamut of emotions from grief, to sadness, to rage and to the demand for revenge.

 

And the cycle continues. From the hammer attack on Nancy Pelosi’s husband, to the President, to the killing of two Israeli Embassy workers in DC. To the murders of two Minnesota Democratic leaders. And now a leading light of Republican politics, gone.

Where does this end?

Where does it end?

I watched yesterday as every politician I ever heard of from Biden to Trump to Newsom to Gov. Cox to local political figures, hundreds of them of from both sides of the aisle rose in unison with the same message.

There’s no place for political violence in this country but how do you stop what’s been uncorked by the raw unfiltered emotions that spew on social media? Even the most rational person reads the fake, the slanted, the clickbait posts meant to stir you toward a click or a like. And for some wayward souls, toward the pull of a trigger.

I don’t blame social media. It’s a contributing factor for sure, but each of us has agency. In the end it’s a decision you make, I make. We each make every single day.

To tone it down or ramp it up. But this culture of finger pointing that’s turned outrage into a marketable product worth billions? We’ve achieved — the predictable result.

Jeff Caplan is the host of Jeff Caplan’s Afternoon News on KSL NewsRadio. Follow him on Facebook and X. 

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