The United States has seen an uptick in violence, most recently demonstrated by the murder of Charlie Kirk. Kevin Sauter, University of St. Thomas professor emeritus, spoke to KARE 11 on the development.
From the story:
The murder of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk during an appearance in Utah on Wednesday marked another dark chapter for the United States, as the country struggles to break free from a vicious and ongoing cycle of political violence.
There are still a number of unanswered questions about Kirk’s killing, which occurred at an event for his organization, Turning Point USA. Yet, the incident comes just three months after the assassination of a top Minnesota state lawmaker, House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman, and in the backdrop of other recent incidents such as the arson at Gov. Josh Shapiro’s residence in Pennsylvania and the multiple assassination attempts on President Donald Trump.
“It’s depressing what we’ve gotten to, in this culture,” said Dr. Kevin Sauter, a professor emeritus at the University of St. Thomas who has spent decades studying political communication and rhetoric. “The thing about political rhetoric today is we are no longer engaged in a dialectic. We’re engaged in a fight to the finish, to win. Before, we used to have conversations around trying to find appropriate solutions.” ...
“How can we pull ourselves out?” Sauter said. “We did pull ourselves out in the ’70s, when Ford pardoned Nixon and we kind of continued on our way, but I don’t see an endpoint right now and in my lifetime. I can hope that some figure comes along, a highly charismatic figure, can come along who can find a way to bridge the divide. I don’t know.”
