Earlier this week, I looked at a Gallup Poll on Political Violence that was done at the end of 2025 and released in April 2026. Overall, it stated that “While most Americans say it is ‘never OK’ to use violence to achieve a political goal, 16% say it is sometimes OK.” Naturally, the 18 – 29 group surveyed had the highest percentage (30), while the 60 and older group had the lowest percentage (4) approving of political violence.

So, I would like to address the 16 % of Americans who think political violence is okay and share what I believe are practical insights. If you were taught that the end justifies the means, then please, let’s look at the end of political violence and see what really happens.

When someone is physically attacked, perhaps even killed, that person becomes, at a minimum, a hero, to many. Let’s look at Steve Scalise and Gabby Giffords, two politicians who were shot; they became instant heroes. The people who pulled the trigger became villains. One was killed instantly, and the other is serving seven consecutive life sentences in prison. Few people even remember their names.

The men who gave their lives in service for their country, JFK, Martin Luther King Jr, and Bobby Kennedy, became instant heroes, and a few were mythologized to an almost god-like level. Their deaths catapulted them into a place that few have attained. The names of the men who shot them will remain in infamy forever. 

If you want to have your political enemies become heroes or become mythologized, then political violence is certainly the way to go. However, there is a better way. Leave them alone, and let them finish their terms and fade from the limelight. 

The last thing I would say to the 16% is, do you approve of violence being inflicted on those of your political persuasion? If you don’t, then please don’t approve of it being done to those who don’t agree with you politically. Violence begets violence, and hatred begets hatred. This is certainly not the way to improve our society.

Let the real heroes of society emerge. Don’t propel people prematurely into that category, and for heaven’s sake, don’t propel politicians into a mythologized god-like category. You will not do society or yourself any kind of service.