The early months of President Trump’s second term, the United States is confronting a paradox: a rhetoric of “law and order” coexists with a surge of isolated violent episodes that shatter the illusion of institutional invulnerability. The recent shooting at Virginia State University, where five people were wounded by multiple shooters just days before the new academic year, is not an isolated crime but a symptom of a deeper structural fracture that threatens the very notion of a secure, educated citizenry. The Frame In the early months of President Trump’s second term, the United States is confronting a paradox: a rhetoric of “law and order” coexists with a surge of isolated violent episodes that shatter the illusion of institutional invulnerability. The recent shooting at Virginia State University, where five people were wounded by multiple shooters just days before the new academic year, is not an isolated crime but a symptom of a...