An Enemy of All Mankind

Make no mistake, among the difficult parts of coming to grips with the death of Charlie Kirk is that the violence was aimed squarely on faith, on freedom, and especially on America First values.

Adding to the tragedy of his murder is that Charlie Kirk was surrounded by thousands of idealistic teenagers. Also, sickening and difficult to comprehend is how Charlie Kirk epitomized the “very thing that motivated his many debates and catapulted him to fame. “He talked to end political violence,” notes the WSJ’s Kimberley Strassel.

In the September issue of Spectator US, author Mac Horder reveals that the Spectator’s research showed that the rise in left-wing violence was both unmistakable and unprecedented. In polling, Spectator discovered a sea change in American life, partly reflected in surveys and partly reflected on meme cultures on social media

Ironically, Kirk built his platform by touring the country, in particular universities, to engage in debate with critics. Asked by a scornful college student, surrounded by his posse, why Kirk was there, Charlie Kirk responded:

Why are you here? OK, I’ve been asked that question a lot. First of all, the question should not even have to be asked. 

But when people stop talking, really bad stuff starts. When marriages stop talking, divorce happens. When civilizations stop talking, civil war ensues. When you stop having a human connection with someone you disagree with, it becomes a lot easier to want to commit violence against that group. . . . What we as a culture have to get back to is being able to have a reasonable disagreement, where violence is not an option. 

Debating Issues, Not Integrity

Kirk, always forthright, never minced words or softened his views to mollify an audience. He confronted touchy subjects, assures Ms. Strassel, with statements that sent the PC police around the bend.

But he didn’t duck questions and didn’t respond in anger, no matter how furious or provocative the questioner. He debated people’s positions—not their integrity. He talked to ensure we keep talking. 

Psychological Distortion 

Tragically for America, within a few hours of Kirk’s shooting, posts generating hundreds of thousands and even millions of views expressed delight, amusement, and pleasure in this unprecedented act of political violence against a cultural commentator, reports Horder. For example, the murder last year of Brian Thompson resulted in the murderer (Luigi Mangioni) sparking a firestorm of public debate on drastic polarization in the US.

This murder ricocheted through social-media ecosystems and video-game forums, generating a panoply of bizarre memes that celebrated (Luigi) as noble and just response to the evils of corporate America.

Many of the X handles carried the red triangle of Hamas affiliation with pride. Others accused him of being hateful, demagogic, Zionist fascist.

A panelist on MSNBC, meanwhile, suggested that it might merely be the result of an accidental shooting of a gun in celebration.

Is Kirk’s death by left-wing violence a harbinger a society tearing apart at the seams?

Normalizing Let Wing Violence

Totally ignoring that Kirk’s death was not due to a horrific car crash or a terminal illness, the NYT’s headline read,

“Charlie Kirk, Right-Wing Force and a Close Trump Ally, Dies at 31.” 

Not to be outdone, the Hill reported on Wednesday evening that when GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert requested that someone lead the House in public prayer for Kirk and his family, groans and a shout of no erupted, provoking a shouting match between Republicans and Democrats.

As we await the apprehension of Kirk’s murderer, soon enough, we likely will hear who the shooter was and why he committed this shocking act of extreme political violence.

Inevitably, we will learn where his or her political commitments lay. Undoubtedly, too, we will learn that he believed himself to be fighting for a good cause.

Tragically, he is unlikely to be the last one to do so.

Who Is Next

America’s politicians have already created a raging nation, writes Ms. Strassel.

The only hope is that at some point those politicians begin to realize that unshackled political violence has them as its primary target. Soon, none will be safe.

Lower the Temp

If for no other reason than self-preservation, perhaps then they will remember the example that was struck down in Utah on Wednesday. And turn today’s empty words into meaningful ones.

Don’t Lose Hope

William F. Buckley once said, “Despair is a mortal sin.”

You wouldn’t feel it if you had faith that God is living through history with you. Hold your hope and faith high and intact, recommends Peggy Noonan in the WSJ.

Keep your perspective in the long term.

An assassination is the intentional and deliberate killing of a person for political reasons. It has a purpose: to alter events, to remove a leader, to intimidate and punish enemies.

Ms. Noonan asked Father Gerald Murray what advice might be hopeful to readers of the WSJ:

Charlie Kirk, he said, wanted to share “the eternal truths that make life meaningful and joyous. He did so by reasoned argument and dialogue. His example should inspire us to pick up the baton that fell from his hand.”