The Anxious America: When Fear Becomes a Component of Political Awareness
In one of the most troubling moments in American history, opinion polls are no longer just situational measurements of public opinion. Rather, they have become windows revealing the profound psychological structure of a nation searching for its equilibrium.
A recent Politico poll, conducted in late October 2025, revealed that 51% of Americans believe the assassination of a political candidate within the next five years is likely. This is not a passing percentage; it is a diagnosis of an era in which faith in the stability of the democratic system is eroding from within.
Despite this profound anxiety, the same figures reveal another, more consistent side: 64% of respondents categorically reject political violence. This contradiction between fearing violence while simultaneously rejecting it defines the current American mood, where moral awareness blends with existential fear.
Meanwhile, data from other centers such as Pew, NPR and PBS confirm that violence is no longer an exception in the public awareness, but a familiar possibility. That nearly a third of Americans say violence may become necessary to get the country back on track means the danger no longer lies in the act itself, but in the idea of justifying it.
These indicators reveal a shift in the nature of American political awareness: from confidence to suspicion, from dialogue to doubt and from competition to entrenchment.
It appears that America has entered a "post-democratic consensus" phase in which there is no longer a shared conception of the state's essence, nor even a unified definition of the enemy.
It is not so much a political crisis as it is a crisis of civic trust, where citizens believe that institutions have lost their ability to represent them, that the political elite has become detached from their daily reality, and that the media has failed to fulfill its role as a bridge between public opinion and decision-makers.
Here, the media plays a dual role. On the one hand, it reflects social anxiety. On the other, it amplifies it to the point where it becomes fuel for further division.
Digital platforms have transformed into echo chambers that amplify fear and legitimize anger, while political discourse itself has become saturated with incitement and irritation, promising salvation but sowing hazard on the path leading to it.
What further complicates the picture is that the economic crisis and income inequality are reproducing a sense of collective injustice, which sometimes translates into a desire for destruction rather than reform, for revenge rather than change.
Yet, this atmosphere is not devoid of a glimmer of hope. Despite their anxiety, the majority of Americans still believe in dialogue and reject violence. This is the seed that can be built upon to restore trust.
Reform begins with civic education, with restoring the values of citizenship and shared responsibility, and with reclaiming the media's role in enlightenment after some platforms have drowned in market and politics.
What America needs today is not just stricter legislation against violence, but a new national project that redefines the meaning of "unity" in the age of skepticism.
As these polls reveal, fear is not the end of the story, but rather a new beginning for it.
When a nation reaches a moment of openly confronting its fears, it faces two choices: either to let those fears transform into hatred, or to harness them to build a more mature awareness.
The true test for America today lies not in the upcoming elections, but in American society's ability to tame its fear before it transforms into a permanent political destiny.
A recent Politico poll, conducted in late October 2025, revealed that 51% of Americans believe the assassination of a political candidate within the next five years is likely. This is not a passing percentage; it is a diagnosis of an era in which faith in the stability of the democratic system is eroding from within.
Despite this profound anxiety, the same figures reveal another, more consistent side: 64% of respondents categorically reject political violence. This contradiction between fearing violence while simultaneously rejecting it defines the current American mood, where moral awareness blends with existential fear.
Meanwhile, data from other centers such as Pew, NPR and PBS confirm that violence is no longer an exception in the public awareness, but a familiar possibility. That nearly a third of Americans say violence may become necessary to get the country back on track means the danger no longer lies in the act itself, but in the idea of justifying it.
These indicators reveal a shift in the nature of American political awareness: from confidence to suspicion, from dialogue to doubt and from competition to entrenchment.
It appears that America has entered a "post-democratic consensus" phase in which there is no longer a shared conception of the state's essence, nor even a unified definition of the enemy.
It is not so much a political crisis as it is a crisis of civic trust, where citizens believe that institutions have lost their ability to represent them, that the political elite has become detached from their daily reality, and that the media has failed to fulfill its role as a bridge between public opinion and decision-makers.
Here, the media plays a dual role. On the one hand, it reflects social anxiety. On the other, it amplifies it to the point where it becomes fuel for further division.
Digital platforms have transformed into echo chambers that amplify fear and legitimize anger, while political discourse itself has become saturated with incitement and irritation, promising salvation but sowing hazard on the path leading to it.
What further complicates the picture is that the economic crisis and income inequality are reproducing a sense of collective injustice, which sometimes translates into a desire for destruction rather than reform, for revenge rather than change.
Yet, this atmosphere is not devoid of a glimmer of hope. Despite their anxiety, the majority of Americans still believe in dialogue and reject violence. This is the seed that can be built upon to restore trust.
Reform begins with civic education, with restoring the values of citizenship and shared responsibility, and with reclaiming the media's role in enlightenment after some platforms have drowned in market and politics.
What America needs today is not just stricter legislation against violence, but a new national project that redefines the meaning of "unity" in the age of skepticism.
As these polls reveal, fear is not the end of the story, but rather a new beginning for it.
When a nation reaches a moment of openly confronting its fears, it faces two choices: either to let those fears transform into hatred, or to harness them to build a more mature awareness.
The true test for America today lies not in the upcoming elections, but in American society's ability to tame its fear before it transforms into a permanent political destiny.
Previous article![]( "Trump’s Double Failures")