By Michael Wilson

Let’s agree on something that should be obvious but increasingly feels like a whisper in a hurricane: violence erodes democracy. It doesn’t just break bones or windows; it weakens the invisible bonds of trust and mutual responsibility that keep a diverse society functioning. It doesn’t just threaten lives; it hollows out a nation’s civic soul.

In recent years, we have observed something troubling and personal: the subtle and obvious normalization of political violence in American life. This trend has developed not only in words, gestures, or occasional actions but also in governance—weaponized, politicized, and increasingly disconnected from the quiet virtues that uphold democratic citizenship. At the center of this storm has been Donald Trump.

President Trump’s approach to power has not been one of stewardship but of siege. His actions have not focused on governance through norms and persuasion but through threats, chaos, and spectacle. Essentially, he has turned the machinery of the state against the very idea of community, using fear to divide, threats to manipulate, and force to suppress.

And yet, this isn’t just about Trump. His behavior is extreme, but the environment was already ripe. The broader conservative movement, especially its more radical factions, has long embraced polarization as a political tool. We’ve witnessed election interference, wedge issues, gerrymandering, misinformation, and a deliberate erosion of trust in democratic institutions, particularly the judiciary.

So, where does this leave us? Many thinkers across the ideological spectrum have offered blueprints for repairing the wreckage. They propose restoring voting rights, securing the information system, reforming Congress, and placing limits on executive power. Some suggest that we need to rebuild democratic norms and enhance civic disposition. All are thoughtful proposals. But what is missing is the personal, intrinsically motivating, moral, and emotional dimensions of democracy.

You can’t legislate an essence that inspires a person’s life force, spirit in the power needed to fulfill their lives, or command pride in compromise and collaboration. Yet this is how democracy functions, and what the violence in the streets and our hearts is destroying. It is not a failure of policy, but rather a failure of personal connection to the meaning of democracy that is unraveling. And it is our inability to recognize how violence has brought us here that leaves us helpless to change.

The great paradox of our time is that we desperately seek community and meaning but are increasingly encouraged to see fellow citizens as enemies. We can’t simply fix our democracy from the top down; we must rebuild it from the inside out, starting within our hearts, homes, neighborhoods, classrooms, and community centers where democratic habits are learned or lost.

There are no shortcuts. It cannot start until we can see the violence within and without. Our only recourse is to recognize the whole problem and learn to live and work united in a democracy full of freedom for all Americans. That is the antidote to violence. That is the real beginning of freedom.