The assassination of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk is a tragic display of violence that shows how divided America has become, Baldwin history teachers said on Thursday.
Kirk was shot in the neck during a question and answer session at Utah Valley University on Wednesday. His appearance was a part of his American Comeback Tour, in which Kirk would visit college campuses and debate students. He was taken to a hospital and later pronounced dead.
This assassination followed many other recent acts of politically motivated violence in America. These include the killings of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and Minnesota State Rep. Melissa Hortman, as well as the attempted murders of President Donald Trump and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.
“I feel like the nation is divided right down the middle,” history teacher Bradley Schulte said. “The polarization aspect is negative because it seems to be inciting people to participate in acts of violence.”
History teacher Natalie Kohnfelder agreed.
“I think in the last five to 10 years, we have seen more party polarization in our country than we have in a very long time, and that it can be very damaging to our democracy in general,” Kohnfelder said.
History teacher Adam Foote attributes a lot of it to people’s inability to civilly disagree in modern America.
“Just because you disagree with someone, we have turned now to where you have to hate them,” Foote said. “That’s become incredibly dangerous.”
For history teacher Kathleen Temme, this outbreak of political violence reminds her of the 1960s.
“I think of Martin Luther King, I think of Malcolm X, I think of Robert Kennedy being assassinated all within a very short time span,” Temme said.
According to the New York Times, the Department of Homeland Security has determined that threats against members of Congress have doubled since 2017.
Adding to the political divisions, some people took to social media Wednesday to celebrate Kirk’s death.
“I think people celebrating it are disgusting. I think that people blaming others are also disgusting. So I think there’s two parts to that. And I think both sides are absolutely disgusting,” Temme said.
The video of Kirk being shot also surfaced online, specifically on X.
“I think that it’s very damaging for people to have actually seen the footage of it happening,” Kohnfelder said.
Foote said he fears that the nation might be nearing a point where it is too late to change direction and reduce the anger.
“I hold out hope that it is still something where we’re not that far apart,” Foote said. “But as events like this continue to happen, I’ve been fearful that it’s going to reach a point where it’s too far to come back from.”
Schulte agreed, referring back to George Washington’s view on political parties
“George Washington was saying that (political parties) would destroy the United States. He may be right,” Schulte said. “But I also understand why they have a purpose.”
Foote added that he thinks that social media is a big cause of polarization.
“I attribute the polarization right now to social media,” Foote said. “Mr. Dolak and I teach a media literacy class, and we look at the impacts of social media feeds. It has such a dramatic impact on individuals.”
As for the future, the teachers agreed that achieving change will be difficult.
Kohnfelder thinks there needs to be a conversation about stricter policies on certain types of guns.
“Owning a handgun is very different from going in and purchasing something that is of a much higher caliber,” she said.
Foote believes that people who are on the independent side, or in the middle of the political spectrum, have to speak out to help prevent future events like this.
“I just think the loudest voices tend to be the ones on the outside,” Foote said. “So I would hope that there becomes a loud voice in the middle.”
