It’s not just in your head. There has been a significant upward trend of political violence in the U.S. over the past 10 years. Recent horrific events, such as the lynchings of Trey Reed and Cory Zukatis as well as the shooting deaths of Minnesota state representative Melissa Hortman, her husband, and activist Charlie Kirk, indicate there is much cause for concern and questioning of what can be done and how. But we must resist the temptation to linger in despair. As people of faith championing faithful systems change, there is much we can do in the face of a reinvigorated growth in instances of politically motivated violence. 

We must first seek to understand why the obstacles in our path to a just and harmonious society exist. Then, we ground ourselves in the spirit of hope and determination as we approach the science (data, history, sociology) of the reality we want to change. Many of the obstacles we face are narratives we have taken as absolute facts, but the truth is, we can rewrite them by organizing. Even recognizing the narratives at play gives us power when despair feels too heavy. Examples of the narratives that many of us may be navigating right now: 

Normalization of Violence: The United States is doomed to be a violent place where people feel unsafe. There’s not much a regular person can do about it. 

Erosion of Political Agency: My protesting, voting, and civic engagement doesn’t matter. It’s all pointless.

Moral Injury: I’m exhausted from trying to be peaceful, and nothing ever changes.

Thankfully, changing these narratives is possible, and ultimately, changing the reality is possible, too. The goal of political violence is to instill in a society a sense of fear and isolation that people believe can’t be overcome. As people of faith, we are called to weave into our reality what many deem improbable or even impossible, and to insist on dreaming of better. As historic movements have shown us, things change when we organize ourselves around dreams of just futures. 

Many organizations have tools that empower communities to dialogue around these challenging topics and uphold the ideals of nonviolence, democracy, and civil society. The Democracy Fund’s guide to Building Resilience to Political Violence and HOPE’s Harnessing Our Power to End Political Violence guide are two examples of well-researched, data-backed resources to light paths for communities.

Using proven methods, we can reframe narratives stemming from moral injury to those of integrity and flourishing, where our ethics and values are in alignment with the actions we take together to broker change.

[The Expectations Project sharing tools and resources from other organizations is not an endorsement of every aspect of said tool or the organizations.]