Is America on the brink?

Federal agents, including members of the Department of Homeland Security, and the Border Patrol, hold back protesters while deploying a smoke grenade outside an ICE facility on October 4, 2025, in Portland, Oregon. | Spencer Platt/Getty Images Political violence isn’t new in America. But the reaction to it today feels different. After the killing of Charlie Kirk, the country didn’t rally around a message of restraint. Instead, key leaders treated it as ammunition. That shift, combined with a rise in tit-for-tat attacks and a politicized security apparatus, points to a more dangerous p