Gen Z is watching political violence escalate in America. I'm worried for us.
I was driving to a friend's house on Saturday when I learned that Donald Trump appeared to have been struck in the ear by a bullet, narrowly avoiding death by the turn of his head.
I arrived to see the news was already on, and over the next few hours we learned that while the former president was all right, one crowd member was tragically killed in the attack and two more were left in critical condition.
I wish I could have said I were surprised when I heard the news, but I hardly was.
Saturday was the darkest day in my memory of American politics. But, at the age of 22, I have seen far too much rage and violence as a result of political tensions. So has my entire generation.
Generation Z, spanning from 1997 to 2012, is entering politics at a tumultuous time – and no other single event highlights that more than the assassination attempt on Trump.
Trump assassination attempt is the latest act of violence in US politics
Watching America's political leaders, the supposed "adults in the room," rapidly escalate tensions in our country is maddening to us young voters, who generally are disillusioned from what is actually happening in the first place. Rather than quell tensions in order to appeal to the vast majority from my age group, those in power are only escalating the climate, leaving us to deal with the mess in the coming years.
Rhetoric has escalated on both sides of the aisle to the point where the assassination attempts of the 1960s are once again becoming a not-far-off reality. While we don’t yet know the motive of the shooter, this instance is just one in a rising trend of targeted violence against public officials.
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From the 2022 assassination attempt against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the 2022 attack against Paul Pelosi stemming from a failed kidnapping plot on his wife, then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and now the shooting at the Trump rally, attacks against public officials are becoming commonplace in this country. A civilized nation should do better.
Democrats have contributed to the rise through claims of Trump becoming a dictator if awarded a second term in office, and Republicans have done the same through their claims of a stolen election since 2020. Saturday's events should be a warning sign for both parties to cool tensions.
Beyond assassination attempts, the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, and the Black Lives Matter riots of 2020 are other examples of political violence that have taken place in the same chain of escalation.
All of this isn't some warning for the future to come. Actions have already contributed to the deaths of innocent people. A former president has been shot while campaigning for reelection. I truly hope that this tragedy is a wake-up call to political voices that your words matter.
I also hope my generation of voters can help lead the change we need.
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Gen Z needs to be part of the solution
My generation, lacking lived experience, is especially vulnerable to escalating tensions between our respective political parties.
Estimates indicate that, alongside millennials, we will be a majority of the voting population by 2028. The extreme nature of the political climate we are entering will have a heavy influence on our voting patterns going into the future.
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Americans have recognized that the country is getting too divided, agreeing that politicians should avoid “heated or aggressive” language.
In attempts to secure our votes, politicians that Gen Z is disillusioned with have stoked political fires to our own dismay. We have entered the voting world as political tensions have reached their peak, and violence is becoming a tragic but common aspect of our political calculus.
Young voters must be a part of this solution. We are inheriting a political climate of ridiculous polarization, and we would be wise not to contribute further. Instead, we must relax the stakes of our political debates and stop catastrophizing every political event.
My heart hurts for the state of our nation, and I am fearful of any further escalations to come. I can only hope that Saturday’s tragedy lets politicians see that their words have an impact on action, and it's also just another moment of reflection for Gen Z to understand the mess we're walking into.
Dace Potas is an opinion columnist for USA TODAY and a graduate of DePaul University with a degree in political science.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump shooting is latest act of political violence. Can Gen Z fix it?
