The white rural population feels robbed of their homeland. The cosmopolitan city dwellers feel bullied by the conservative minority. As mutual trust collapses, so do democratic institutions.! Republicans, who feel committed to the truth, are dealing with an ugly situation these days: Adam Kinzinger is basically an American conservative with no discernible flaws. After graduation he served as an Air Force pilot in Iraq and Afghanistan. From 2010, the congressman campaigned in Washington on a platform that espoused lean government, that opposed Barack Obama’s healthcare reform and abortion. Recently however, his wife Sofia received a letter in the post. In it, the senders vowed to execute her husband Adam, herself, and their son Christian.
The authors were obviously Christian extremists. They accused Kinzinger of harming not only his country but also «countless patriotic and God-fearing families.» Addressing his wife, they said: «We consider it blasphemy that you have given the name Christian to the son of the devil.»
Political violence could soon become the norm
The murderous rage directed at Kinzinger has nothing to do with his relationship with God though, but rather with his lack of fear of Donald Trump. The 44-year-old was one of only ten Republican members of Congress to vote to impeach Trump’s following the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021. Against the wishes of his party leadership, he now also sits on the congressional committee inquiring into the events of January 6. By fighting for the truth, he wants to bring his party, driven by fear and conspiracy theories, back to reason: «We fear the Democrats. We fear the future. We fear everything. This works for one to two election cycles. The problem is that it’s really hurting our democracy.»
Politicians in other democracies also receive savage threats from angry citizens. But in the U.S., it doesn’t stop there. Due to his criticism of Trump, Kinzinger is now considered a Rino (Republican in name only) by his party. Trump himself called the Rinos «the lowest form of human life.» Around the time that Kinzinger received the threatening letter, Eric Greitens, the Republican candidate for the Senate in Missouri, also posted a campaign ad on the internet. In the video ad he’s holding a rifle in his hands and saying: «Today we’re going Rino hunting.» Accompanied by a heavily armed task force, the former governor then breaks down a door and challenges his constituents: «Get a license to hunt Rinos. It won’t expire until we save our country.»