Charlie Kirk’s Ironic Martyrdom and Why We Need to Come Together

I see nothing but sad irony in the senseless fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, one of the nation’s most influential young conservative voices:

·       A proud Christian, he was killed at a university in Utah – home to the Mormon Church of Ladder Day Saints where religious freedom is highly valued.

·       As a staunch defender of the Second Amendment, he’s on record as having said that tolerating some gun deaths is worth the right to bear arms.

·       The conservative Republican position he so passionately espoused on that issue has in effect turned him into a martyr – a heavy price that his supporters, not to mention wife and two children, will now have to pay.

·       Sensible gun laws restricting the sale of high-powered rifles like the one suspected in his shooting from a distant rooftop could have spared his life.

·       Albeit a divisive figure in the eyes of liberal Democrats, Kirk’s greatest asset was calmly inviting an open dialogue with those whom he disagreed. He didn’t shout his views. He spoke to and with people who didn’t share his world view, not at them. He was curious, and he listened. In short, he was hardly a threat to the other side – just someone who imparted information to help change hearts and minds.

Political violence is a symptom of a much larger problem, the unfortunate result of a deeply divided country torched by incendiary rhetoric. Liberals and conservatives have been at war with one another from the very beginning.

The most recent high-profile killing over politics involved the stalking and murder of Minnesota House of Representatives Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband, as well as the stalking and shooting of Minnesota State Senator John Hoffman and his wife – all Democrats.

President Donald Trump, who announced Kirk’s death on Truth Social, was himself the target of two assassination attempts on the 2024 presidential campaign trail – defiantly imploring the crowd to fight for their beliefs after being shot in the ear.

The temperature needs to be turned way down when it comes to expressing political differences. Taunting and de-humanizing one another over our beliefs has created the toxic climate we find ourselves in at the moment, and with each day that passes it seems like there’s no turning back to the time of bipartisan mutual respect.

Liberals pride themselves on being tolerant and inclusive of others, as well as empathetic, but they have a long sordid history of shutting down speakers with whom they disagree – the height of hypocrisy.

I can’t help but think about all the times prominent conservatives like Ann Coulter had to cancel speaking engagements at the ultra-liberal University of California Berkeley where my oldest daughter graduated just a few years ago. A liberal friend of mine just today remarked about how he won’t be shedding a tear for Charlie Kirk. Seems like some bleeding-heart progressive liberals would much rather rip the heart out of conservatives than listen to what they say or pursue common-group solutions.

But the far right can be just as culpable – with no shortage of commentators using their bully pulpits to incite division and do their share of demonizing (Tucker Carlson comes to mind). Trump’s MAGA movement has turned George H.W. Bush’s vision of “a kinder and gentler nation” square on its head. The America-first mindset is dripping with anger, resentment and a desire for retribution.

I pride myself on being an objective observer – a registered independent for decades who will cross party lines to vote for someone in the sensible center and journalist who was trained to write balanced stories that tell both sides. I don’t have a dog in this fight and loathed the choice of last year’s presidential election, knowing that existential threats were imminent no matter who would rise to power. I would love to see a third political party challenge Democrats and Republicans, whose parties have become fractured with extreme elements gradually polluting both sides of the political aisle.  

Charlie Kirk, of course, played a major role in getting Trump re-elected. Love him or detest him, his approach was always measured, thoughtful and respectful of those who took issue with his views. He let naysayers get to the front of the line to challenge him. He also displayed incredible courage touring high schools and college campuses where critical thinking sadly is in very short supply to offer strong opinions often before hostile crowds.

I didn’t agree with everything he had to say, but I deeply admired him for being one of the few voices of reason when it came to explaining all the nuances of the Israeli and Palestinian conflict and speaking out against antisemitism.
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Whatever your political beliefs, this is a sad day for all Americans when once again we’re witnessing serious fissures in the republic. Forget Russia, China, North Korea and Iran: the U.S. enemy is deeply embedded within our own borders and bloodlines, and unless we re-learn how to work together to improve our lives, we’re doomed to repeat a vicious cycle of discontent that will continue to strip our collective spirits and souls.