Violence is never the answer

An Oct. 26 article in The Guardian said that nearly one in four Americans believe violence is justified to achieve their political views.

The Public Religion Research Institute conducted a survey which found that 41% of those who view Trump favorably support the idea of political violence. That number jumps to 46% for those voting Republican who think, baselessly, that the election was “stolen.”

The survey found that almost one in three white evangelical Protestants, a group that forms much of Trump’s core of support, also think violence is a viable means to achieve political goals.

These groups deny that Jan. 6 was violent, vaccines are safe, climate change is real, and are, by a two-to-one margin over liberals, believers in QAnon conspiracies. They continue to consume media such as Fox, which has admitted to lying to their viewers about these topics.

All these beliefs are baseless and, as it has been well established that in general, conservatives are not especially well educated compared to other groups, can it be any wonder that Trump “loves the uneducated?”

Meanwhile, as the justice system slowly makes its way through four indictments including 91 felonies leveled at Trump, his name-calling and vitriol continue unabated as he walks a razor edge between freedom and incarceration. The violent rhetoric from the right along with the continuing incarceration of those involved in Jan. 6 brings to mind the famous quote by Isaak Asimov: “Violence is the last resort of the incompetent.”

DAN STRAYER

Bonners Ferry