America is standing on the edge of a moral cliff. What once was spirited debate has hardened into something darker—a culture where words have become weapons and where violence against political opponents is not only tolerated but, in some cases, rewarded.
We saw this most tragically when Charlie Kirk, a young conservative leader who inspired millions to love their country and defend freedom, was gunned down while speaking on a college campus. For years, conservatives have warned that growing hostility toward our beliefs was becoming dangerous. Charlie’s death proves those warnings were not exaggerations. The climate of hate toward conservatives is no longer confined to social media. It has spilled into real life, and it is claiming lives.
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Scripture teaches, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matt.12:34). When hatred fills the heart, it flows through the tongue, and eventually those words take flesh in violent action. What begins as mockery, name-calling, and censorship can end with blood on the ground.
I know this truth personally. I was a young woman when my uncle, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was assassinated for preaching righteousness, justice and nonviolence. I was married the next year, a week before my father was killed for preaching the message his brother died for. I can still remember the sound of grief that filled our home in Atlanta during those days. My uncle and my father didn’t carry weapons or call for war. Their tools were faith, courage, repentance, forgiveness, love and truth. Yet they were murdered by those too blinded by hate to hear his message. That tragedy taught me that political violence can touch even the most peaceful leader, and that we must never, ever accept it as normal.
And yet, here we are again.
In Virginia, voters recently elected Jay Jones as Attorney General—a man who once texted fantasies about shooting his political opponent and even wishing death upon that opponent’s children. “Two bullets to the head,” he wrote. Those are not words of passion or policy; they are words of death. Yet instead of condemnation, the political class yawned. The same media that would have crucified a conservative for such language looked away. The same voices who preach “tolerance” and “inclusion” shrugged and moved on.
Imagine if a Republican candidate had said such things. The outrage would be immediate and unrelenting—and rightly so. But when the hatred comes from the Left, the moral outrage disappears. That is the danger of America’s double standard: we only condemn hate when it is politically convenient.
After my uncle’s death, I saw cities burn. I saw neighbors turn on one another. But I also saw something beautiful: men and women of faith—black and white, rich and poor—kneel together in prayer, determined not to let hate win. My uncle often said, “Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars.” He was right. America cannot heal through vengeance. We can only heal through truth, forgiveness, and courage.
The Bible reminds us, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Rom. 12:21). That is not weakness—it is moral strength. It is the only way out of this spiral of anger and division that is consuming our nation. We must remember that we are one blood, one human race—children of the same Creator—called not to destroy one another but to love one another.
No person who has ever wished violence upon another should hold public office. No citizen should fear for their safety because of their beliefs. No family should lose a loved one for daring to speak the truth. If we are serious about peace, we must hold everyone—Republican and Democrat alike—to the same moral standard.
The murder of Charlie Kirk should grieve every American heart, not just conservative ones. It should remind us that words matter, and that unchecked hate can lead to tragedy. The election of Jay Jones should trouble every conscience, because when we reward those who call for violence, we invite more of it.
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The America I believe in—the one my uncle dreamed of and my family fought for—is better than this. But we will only keep that dream alive if we have the courage to say enough. Enough moral decay. Enough double standards. Enough hate disguised as righteousness.
As members of the one blood human race, let us be peacemakers again. Let us love our neighbors again. Let us speak truth in love, even when it costs us something. For as Jesus warned, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation” (Matt. 12:25). America does not have to be next.
Dr. Alveda King is a Senior Advisor for America First Works.
