BLUF // Bottom Line up Front
Political violence is becoming normalized – Americans are numb to threats and treat real violence like entertainment. Both sides have blood on their hands. Americans are killing Americans. Outrage algorithms weaponize us – social media feeds you extremes to keep you angry, making violence feel justified. Fear is profitable – influencers and politicians get rich selling "civil war" while you buy tactical gear. We can turn this around – stop treating morality like team sports. The mission is America, not your party.
We are walking down a dangerous road in this country. You can feel it in the air. Things that used to shock us do not shock us anymore. We see threats on the news and we just scroll past. We see people cheering for injury or death and we just shrug.
As a veteran, I know what violence actually looks like. It is not a game. It is not a movie. But right now, American culture is treating political violence like it is just another TV show. We are getting numb to it. We already know what happens when people get numb to violence.
We need to wake up before it is too late.
The Addiction to Rage: Why We Can't Look Away
We live in a world where being angry is a hobby. It used to be that you watched the news to find out what was happening. Now, people watch the news or look at their phones to get a rush of adrenaline. They want to be mad.
Social Media Algorithms Are Feeding Us Poison
Social media companies do not care about unity. They care about keeping your eyes on the screen. And they know a secret: You are more likely to stare at your phone if you are angry or scared.
So the computer programs, the algorithms, feed you the worst stuff imaginable. They show you the craziest person on the "other side" and tell you that every single person over there is just like that. They push extreme videos because extreme videos get clicks. Moderate voices get ignored. The result is that we are constantly being told that our neighbors are monsters.
Turning Political Violence Into Viral Content
It has gone beyond just arguing. Actual violence is becoming "content." When a fight breaks out at a protest, thousands of phones go up to record it. People upload it hoping to go viral.
We are turning real pain into social media clips. We watch people get hurt and we hit the "like" button if they are on the team we hate. We strip the humanity out of it. It becomes just another video to watch while we sit on the couch.
Treating Politics Like Pro Wrestling Instead of Real Life
We have stopped caring about solving problems. We only care about the show. Politics is treated like pro wrestling. We want to see our guy hit the other guy with a chair.
The boring work of governing does not get ratings. Compromise is seen as weakness. The crowd wants a spectacle. They want drama. The problem is that in pro wrestling, the blood is usually fake. In the path we are on, the blood is going to be real.
Trapped in the Echo Chamber: A Veteran's View
I gotta be real with you though, I too am a human being and I also have my own biases. When I scroll through the social media apps the algorithm takes control of what I get to see.
How the Algorithm Distorts Reality
If I was to look at my feed and judge the entire Left from it I would lose my mind. My timeline is full of all the stuff that pisses me off the most like college students screaming, protestors blocking working people from getting to work, cute puppies, and people that say they hate America.
It is easy to look at that and think, "Wow, the Left is the only problem here." It feels overwhelming. It feels like a constant attack on the values I fought for with the occasional cute puppy to fix the emotional rollercoaster. It makes my blood pressure go up. But I have to take a step back and remember, this (twitter, facebook, etc) is a business and the business model is to keep me on their app.
Rage Bait Is a Sales Trick, Not the Truth
Here is the cold, hard truth. The algorithm knows I am a veteran. It knows I engage with content about patriotism or the military. So, it knows exactly what to show me to make me angry.
It shows me the most extreme, ridiculous examples of the "other side." It does not show me the reasonable people on the Left who just want affordable healthcare. It shows me the person burning a flag.
That is not moral truth. That is a sales trick. The app is feeding me rage bait because it knows I will bite. If you are on the other side, the algorithm is doing the exact same thing to you. It is showing you the worst, angriest voices on the Right to keep you scared.
Living in a Bubble Makes Violence Feel Justified
This creates a bubble. We get trapped in a bunker where we only see the enemy's worst behavior. We start to think that everyone on the other side is crazy or dangerous.
When you live in that bubble, violence starts to feel justified. You think you are fighting against monsters, not fellow citizens – so you dehumanize them. But the reality is that most Americans are not represented by those viral videos. We are letting computer code decide who we hate.
The Growing Body Count of Political Violence
We can't talk about violence without looking at the scoreboard. And lately, the scoreboard is ugly on both sides.
Real Examples of Violence
We have to be honest about what's happening. Political figures are being targeted. Americans are being killed for their beliefs. And what do we see online? We see people celebrating. We see jokes. When you have Americans laughing about a political murder, your culture is broken.
We also cannot forget the attempts on political leaders' lives. These were inches away from plunging this country into total chaos. Instead of moments of unity, we got conspiracy theories. We got people wishing shooters hadn't missed. That isn't politics; that is a sickness.
We cannot hide from the truth on either side. There is a body count growing that we ignore at our own peril.
The Industry Selling You Civil War
The scariest part isn't even the violence itself; it's the industry that has built up around it.
Profiting From Fear and Selling Tactical Gear
Turn on certain podcasts or scroll through "patriot" Twitter, and you will hear a constant drumbeat: "Civil War is coming," "Buy ammo," "Get ready to fight your neighbors."
They talk about killing fellow Americans like it's a fantasy football draft. They sell survival buckets and tactical gear in the commercial breaks. They are getting rich by convincing you that your neighbor is your enemy.
War Is Not a Costume Party
We have a generation of men who have never served a day in uniform dressing up in body armor to intimidate people at school board meetings. They treat war like a costume party.
As a veteran, I can tell you: war smells like burning trash and rotting meat. It isn't cool. It isn't glorious. But these influencers sell a clean, Hollywood version of violence where "our side" wins easily and nobody you love gets hurt. They are selling a lie that is going to get people killed.
Hypocrisy: Treating Morality Like a Team Sport
This is the part that boils my blood. It isn't just the violence. It is the fake shock people show when it happens.
We have turned morality into a team sport. We don't judge the action anymore. We judge the person doing it. If they wear our jersey, we find a way to let it slide. If they wear the other jersey, we want them locked up forever.
If It Is Wrong for Them, It Is Wrong for Us
You see this every single day.
When a conservative figure gets attacked, the Right screams "Terrorism!" and the Left goes silent or makes jokes. When a progressive leader gets threatened, the Left screams "Fascism!" and the Right says it is a hoax or a "false flag."
You cannot have it both ways. You cannot cheer for riots when your team does it and then cry about "law and order" when the other team does it. Wrong is wrong. If you only care about violence when it hits your friends, you don't actually care about violence. You just want revenge.
Stop Making Excuses for Extremists
We have become experts at making excuses.
When someone on "our side" does something terrible, we rush to defend them. We say, "Well, look at what the other side did last year!" We say, "He was just frustrated." We say, "He is a patriot who went too far."
Stop it.
There is no excuse for political violence in America. None. It doesn't matter how mad you are about taxes, or abortion, or guns, or the border. The moment you pick up a weapon to hurt an American citizen, you are wrong. We need to stop coddling the extremists in our own camps.
Anger Makes Money for Politicians
Here is the ugly truth. Anger makes money.
Every time there is a shooting or a riot, the donation emails go out. Politicians on both sides use the fear to fill their campaign bank accounts. They say, "Send me $20 or the other side will kill you."
Violence has become a form of currency. It buys attention. It buys clicks. It buys votes. As long as our leaders profit from the division, they have no reason to stop it. They are trading our safety for their power.
Real Violence Is Not Like the Movies
Most people talking tough on social media have never been in a fight, let alone a war. They think violence is clean. They think it solves things.
What Actual Combat Looks and Smells Like
Ask any combat vet. Violence is messy. It is loud. It smells like brass and ass. It doesn't look like a movie where the hero walks away in slow motion. It looks like screaming and confusion.
When you have actually seen what a bullet does to a human body, you don't fantasize about using one on your neighbor. You do everything you can to avoid it.
Restraint Is Harder Than Pulling a Trigger
Any fool can pull a trigger or throw a punch. That takes zero skill. It takes zero character.
The hard thing to do is to stay calm when you are angry. The hard thing is to use your words when you want to use your fists. That is what real strength looks like. We are teaching people that losing control is "brave." It is not. It is weak.
You Cannot Delete a Bullet Like a Tweet
In video games, you respawn. In the comments section, you can delete your post. In real life, once violence happens, you cannot take it back.
You can't apologize a bullet back into the gun. You can't un-burn a house. The damage we are doing to our country right now is leaving scars that will take a generation to heal.
Nobody Wins a Civil War: Reality Check
These folks cheering for conflict have no idea what they are asking for. They think a civil conflict means they get to shoot the bad guys and be heroes.
Reality check: If this country actually tears itself apart, there will be no internet. There will be no grocery stores. There will be no hospitals. Your kids won't be safe. Nobody wins a civil war. Everyone loses.
How a Culture Slides Into Chaos
We are on a slippery slope, and we are picking up speed.
Dehumanizing the Opposition
It starts with words. Before you hurt someone, you have to convince yourself they aren't human. You call them "vermin" or "fascists" or "libtards" or "groomers."
Once you strip away their humanity, anything becomes allowed. We are training our brains to see 50% of the country as targets instead of citizens.
Justifying Force for the Wrong Reasons
Every villain in history thought they were the hero. They all had "good reasons" for doing bad things.
We tell ourselves, "I have to be violent because they are going to destroy the country." The other side is saying the exact same thing about you. When everyone thinks they are saving the world, everyone justifies pulling the trigger.
Democracy Cannot Survive Intimidation
If we accept violence as normal, democracy is dead. You cannot have a free election if people are afraid to go to the polls. You cannot have free speech if speaking your mind puts a target on your back. We are replacing debate with intimidation.
A Warning Worth Hearing: Turn the Truck Around
We can still turn this truck around. But we have to hit the brakes now.
Normalize Discipline Over Fury
We need to stop rewarding people for losing their minds. We need to respect the people who stay calm. We need to praise the leaders who de-escalate, not the ones who throw gas on the fire.
Cool Heads Save Countries
History is full of countries that burned down because people got too angry to think. America is supposed to be different. We are supposed to be the adults in the room.
The Mission Is America, Not Your Political Party
At the end of the day, the mission is the United States of America. Not the Republican Party. Not the Democratic Party.
The mission is to keep this experiment going. The mission is to leave a safe, free country for our kids. If you care about that mission, put down the rhetoric. Lower the temperature. And treat your neighbor like an American, not an enemy.
