Readers Poll: Political Violence Up, Freedom of Speech Down

Charlie Kirk’s assassination marked a literal turning point in American politics, according to nearly 88 percent of the participants in The Epoch Times’ latest reader poll.

Respondent consensus also showed the majority believes that his death will energize conservative activists across the country, and should be remembered as an attack on freedom of speech.

However, the majority also raised concern over an increase in political violence, and accused the media and the U.S. education system of sabotaging political tolerance, voicing agreement that young people face a harsher civic climate than their parents did.

They also argued there is an ongoing battle of good vs. evil, calling for both sides to condemn Kirk’s murder.

Here is a closer look at the results from that poll.

Increased Political Violence, Decreased Political Tolerance

Ninety-six percent of respondents to The Epoch Times poll agreed that there is an increased frequency of political violence against public figures in the United States. More than 67 percent said they strongly agreed.

At the same time, 64 percent of respondents either disagreed or strongly disagreed that “America remains a country where both sides can freely express their opinions.” In fact, only seven percent of respondents said they strongly agreed with that statement, 13 percent said they agreed, and 16 percent said they were unsure.

The Epoch Times then asked its readers to name what they saw as the source of the greatest undermining of political tolerance. Many respondents called out multiple sources, but out of the 19,431 who called out only one source, 47 percent (9,064) blamed partisan media, 25 percent (4,920) blamed social media, 16 percent (3,134) blamed political rhetoric, and 12 percent (2,313) blamed the culture of college campuses.

An additional 2,361 respondents said “all of the above,” and another 870 blamed the Left (385), Communists or Socialists (289), and Democrats (223), in one form or another.

Hundreds more wrote in blaming the country’s “departure” from God, Christianity, and Christian morals and spirituality in one way or another, including the persistence of moral relativism.

One participant wrote, “A loss of Christian culture and values has made it increasingly impossible to have civil discourse and respect.”

Issues with Media, Education

A significant majority of poll participants placed blame on the state of both mainstream and social media, and the state of the nation’s education system.

More than 64 percent either disagreed or strongly disagreed with the notion that Charlie Kirk’s assassination was covered fairly by the media.

Roughly 96 percent either agreed or strongly agreed that progressive and communist ideology has a strong influence on American colleges.

Hundreds of participants wrote in blaming all levels of the public education system for the breakdown in political tolerance, accusing it of pushing activist indoctrination over critical thinking, hosting biased teachers, failing to teach civics, and failing to instill a love of country in their students at all levels.

These results follow the release of a Walton Family Foundation-Gallup poll on Sept. 16, which indicated only 35 percent of Americans are satisfied with the quality of today’s K–12 education, the lowest satisfaction rate since Gallup began the poll in 1999.

With this view of American education also comes concern for freedom of speech.

When asked if college administrators protected free speech for all viewpoints, a 90 percent majority either disagreed or strongly disagreed.  97 percent either agreed or strongly agreed that Charlie Kirk’s assassination should be remembered as an attack on free speech.

However, 88 percent either agreed or strongly agreed that celebrating the death of public figures on social media should be grounds for employer action, and nearly 68 percent either agreed or strongly agreed that those responsible for politically-motivated violence should face harsher penalties.

Time for a Bipartisan ‘Turning Point’

Of the nearly 89 percent of participants who agreed that Kirk’s assassination would be a turning point in American politics, more than 62 percent strongly agreed.

A 90-percent majority also agreed or strongly agreed that his death would energize conservative activism in the United States.

However, a majority of participants also called for a bipartisan response, with nearly 79 percent either agreeing or strongly agreeing that a bipartisan condemnation of Kirk’s murder helps to bring the country together, and 85 percent agreeing or strongly agreeing that the worldwide tributes to Kirk show that “this is good vs. evil, not left vs. right.”

“99 percent of Americans are good, honest, hard-working people,” one participant wrote. “We will not allow the one percent of Evil people to control our destiny.”