Political rhetoric contributes to political violence. Here’s how to stop it.

“Violence is never the answer.” It sounds cliche and generally applicable, but growing numbers of college students don’t seem to agree. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression’s College Free Speech Rankings survey found that one in three students now think violence could ever be an acceptable way to stop a speaker — an increase from one in five in 2020. The rising acceptance of violence is a bipartisan issue, one that marks a troubling turn for the country as political violence continues to rise .

If we want to reduce political violence, we first need to understand, and then limit, the rhetorical permission structures that have made this violence increasingly palatable. This sort of rhetoric contributed to Charlie Kirk’s murder at Utah Valley University, as well as other