Four concurrent trends suggest America's volatile politics, culture and security could worsen in the months ahead:
- With Charlie Kirk's slaying, we've witnessed more high-profile assassinations or assassination attempts in the past 14 months — including two assassination attempts on President Trump, the killing of a Democratic Minnesota lawmaker and an arson attack on the residence of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) — than at any point since 1968, when the nation lost the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., then Robert F. Kennedy just two months later.
- School shootings — including one near Denver about the same time that Kirk was shot — continue to surge, from fewer than a dozen annually 20 years ago to 80+ annually for the past three years.
- Calls for violence and civil war are spreading across social media, amplifying the worst of humanity as Americans demonize each other for their political beliefs.
- An unprecedented online hunt is underway on conservative social media to name, shame and contact the employers of people who mocked or celebrated Kirk's slaying.
