I see so many people today claiming that all of this political hate began with President Trump. But history tells a different story. This anger didn’t start with Trump, and it won’t end with him.
When President Bush was in office, there were people on the left who openly wished him dead, who mocked him relentlessly, who even praised a man for throwing a shoe at him. When President Obama came to power, anyone who dared disagree with his politics or policies was branded a racist. And while many conservatives opposed him respectfully, some on the right crossed the line into vile behavior—mocking, name-calling, and even wishing him dead. Obama himself once stoked division with his words about “bringing a gun to a knife fight,” and his Justice Department turned a blind eye to intimidation at polling places.
Then came President Trump. The media twisted his words, spliced video to tell half-truths, and fanned the flames of division. People who despised him laughed when he was threatened, cheered when he was mocked, and even excused violence against his supporters. And yes, on the other side, some conservatives crossed the same line—hurling insults, mocking tragedy, and returning hatred with hatred.
So let’s be honest: this is not a Left vs. Right problem. This is a problem with the hearts of Americans.
If you have ever taken part in mocking, name-calling, or laughing at someone’s injury or death simply because they stood in a different party, held different beliefs, or voted differently than you—you are part of the problem. And so am I.
I confess I’ve been guilty myself. I’ve called names. I’ve let anger boil over into words I regret. But I refuse to stay there. The only way this cycle breaks is if each of us makes the choice to be the solution.
For me, that means I will love my neighbor—even when he puts a different sign in his yard. I will see the humanity in the person on the other side of the debate. I will fight for truth with integrity, not with malice. I will cling to the hand of Jesus Christ, who taught us that blessing those who curse us is not weakness but strength.
It also means courage. Courage to stand against lies, no matter which side they come from. Courage to refuse the easy applause that comes from cruelty. Courage to believe that America’s future is not secured by hatred, but by honor, sacrifice, forgiveness, and love.
Political violence will not end because we elect the “right” president or silence the “wrong” voices. It will end when Americans—ordinary men and women—decide that hatred no longer rules their hearts.
The question is not whether the left or the right will change. The question is whether you will change. Whether I will change. Whether we will look to God, take hold of His strength, and fight not with fists, but with faith, not with venom, but with vision.
Because at the end of the day, no political victory is worth the loss of our souls.
