If words are violence, then it's okay to use violence to stop words.
The shocking revelation in a recent survey by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression that 90 percent of college students in America believe that "words are violence" means America is in very serious trouble. This indicates a fundamentally different worldview that is incompatible with American ideals. Our nation is built on God-given freedom and individual rights, with the right of free speech at the core. Without free speech, there can be no self-government, no pursuit of truth, no protection of conscience, and no meaningful liberty.
When peaceful means fail, it is morally acceptable, and even necessary at times, to stop violence with violence. Therefore, if words are violence, then it's okay to use violence to stop words. And if our nation becomes persuaded that violence is justified to stop words (as Charlie Kirk's assassin must have believed), then freedom of speech will be gone, and our Republic will be lost. This is not hyperbole. It is an historically grounded assessment of where our nation is headed if we do not wake up and restore the education system in this country.
Of course, the notion that "words are violence" is utter nonsense. There is a difference between speech — which is nonphysical — and violence, which is physical. As blogger Greg Lukianoff observed, "Anyone who equates speech and violence has likely never been punched in the face." Yet the absurd notion that words are violence has become dogma on college campuses. How did this happen? The answer is simple: leftist elites in universities, teacher-training programs, and cultural institutions have been promoting the idea for decades.
The lie that words are violence is a convenient idea for the loser of an argument. Leftist ideology cannot withstand open debate. It always collapses under the weight of historical reality, moral truth, and the eternal principles enshrined in America's founding documents. In an open exchange of ideas, free from intimidation, the principles of liberty, limited government, natural law, and individual responsibility win every time. Therefore, those seeking to impose neo-Marxist frameworks must resort to other means. Their arsenal always includes an escalating chain of intimidation tactics: shouting down speakers, profanity and name-calling, organized disruptions, censorship, social ostracism, professional retaliation, and ultimately physical violence.
These tactics have been building for decades. It began in the late 1980s with "political correctness" — the thinly veiled call to ostracize those who did not practice "correct" political speech — and eventually evolved into "cancel culture," where dissent is punished, and careers are destroyed. And now, tragically, the nation is witnessing a rising tide of physical violence deployed not merely against ideas, but against people who express those ideas.
The numbers confirm the trend. In a recent national survey, 39 percent of young adults said political violence can be acceptable in certain circumstances. Another poll found that nearly a quarter of young voters said America was "better off" after Charlie Kirk was assassinated. These are not fringe statistics. They show systemic decay in the moral and civic understanding of the next generation.
The pernicious lie that "words are violence" is, in truth, a democracy killer. Dictators throughout history have invoked some form of this idea to justify the suppression of their political opponents. From Nero to Hitler and Stalin, tyrants universally resort to labelling their opponents' speech as dangerous or harmful to the state. Once that accusation is accepted, oppression always follows.
Freedom of conscience and speech are biblical ideals, rooted in the understanding that God created human beings with the freedom to reason, believe, and choose. God does not coerce belief — He invites persuasion. The prophets proclaimed truth openly and were persecuted for it. Jesus Himself engaged opponents publicly and was ultimately murdered for it.
Jesus called the nation of Israel to moral purity and faith, exposing the hypocrisy and wickedness that flow from a religious system rooted in self-righteousness. Matthew 22 tells how, when His enemies attempted to trap Him with words, His wisdom silenced them every time. Jesus was ultimately executed because His opponents could not defeat His arguments in open debate. When reason failed, they turned to brutality.
The disciples followed the same pattern. They gathered publicly, reasoned in synagogues, proclaimed truth boldly, and suffered imprisonment, beatings, and death — not for harm they caused, but because authoritarian powers feared the strength of their speech. Violence, not truth, was the weapon of their persecutors.
Thus, Scripture affirms what the Founders later enshrined: freedom of conscience, freedom of speech, and freedom of assembly are essential for the life of a moral, self-governing society.
America is increasingly embracing the deceptions that lead to tyranny. If 90 percent of college students believe "words are violence," they will naturally support the use of government power to stop the "violence." In other words, they will gladly support the silencing of dissent "for the public good." If 39 percent believe political violence can be acceptable, they will increasingly tolerate — and even encourage — reprisals, assassinations, or mob attacks against those whose views they disapprove.
We ignore this rising threat to our Republic at our own peril. This cultural shift is not just another fad; it reveals the rise of a completely different worldview that is incompatible with our free nation.
We must reject the failed neo-Marxist ideologies now infecting the Democratic Party, teachers' unions, universities, and media institutions, including the ludicrous "woke" notion that words are violence.
Instead, we must return to the time-tested truths of the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights. We must instill in our children, in every school in the nation, a cherished respect for individual rights as the gift of God, and the importance of limited government, personal responsibility, and the rule of law. We must teach our young people that intimidation tactics designed to suppress speech — whether verbal, professional, digital, or physical — have no place in a free society.
The ageless words of Thomas Jefferson, engraved on his memorial in Washington, D.C., must once again direct us (emphasis added):
Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever.
And as John Adams said, "Children should be educated and instructed in the principles of freedom."
If we neglect this duty to restore the proper education of the youth of the country, our Republic will fracture beyond repair. But if we fulfill this duty and instill in them a love of God-given liberty, then we will give America the chance to once again become a nation where debate triumphs over violence, conscience triumphs over coercion, and truth triumphs over tyranny.
Richard Harris serves as the Executive Director of Truth and Liberty, host of the Truth and Liberty Show, and the founder of Richard Harris Ministries. At Truth and Liberty, he spearheads the work to educate, to unify, and to influence. After graduating from Cornell Law School, Harris practiced law for 29 years and represented clients at all levels of state and federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court. Richard is also the founder of Richard Harris Ministries, where he teaches the Word of God. Harris has a passion to see lives changed, a nation discipled, and the restoration of America's Constitutional Republic under God.
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