OpEd - PERSPECTIVE: The Real Threat to Democracy Isn't One Act of Violence. It's Our Reaction
www.hstoday.us
... The assassination of Charlie Kirk is a jarring, deeply painful moment for the country"no matter where you fall on the political spectrum. Tragedy invites emotion. That's human.
But history warns us: the greater threat to our democracy often isn't the act of one individual -- it's how the rest of us respond.
"If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher."
-- Abraham Lincoln
Lincoln knew that America's undoing wouldn't come at the hands of a foreign army -- it would come from within. From division. From fury masquerading as justice. From mobs who believe their cause is righteous enough to burn the rules down.
"There is no grievance that is a fit object of redress by mob law."
-- Lincoln again
In the days of Lincoln, a mob meant fire in the streets.
Today, it can mean fire online"viral outrage that moves faster than facts, punishes with no due process, and multiplies the worst instincts of the crowd.
The digital mob doesn't need torches. A trending hashtag can destroy reputations, fuel conspiracy theories, or incite real-world violence in a matter of hours.
In many ways, it's more dangerous than a mob in the square"because it feels bloodless, distant, and justified.
The Founders saw this coming in their own way.
"Liberty is to faction what air is to fire ... "
-- James Madison, Federalist No. 10
They knew that freedom would naturally give rise to conflict"and that's not a flaw, it's the design. But when factionalism is fed by unchecked emotion and echo chambers, it turns combustible. The purpose of our Constitution was to contain those flames"not fan them.
Even George Washington, in his Farewell Address, warned that the endless back-and-forth domination of opposing factions could rot a republic from the inside. He called it what it was: a "frightful despotism."
This is not a moment for escalation, for vengeance, or for gleeful tribal score-settling.
That's not justice. That's collapse. ...
