Charlie Kirk was adored by many who admired his ability to articulate and defend conservative Christian values. He energized legions of young people to engage in the political process. But he was also a controversial and provocative figure whose rhetoric some found to be incendiary.
Kirk travelled the country, drawing large crowds. Some came to cheer him. Others were there to challenge his views. To his credit (regardless of what you thought of his political positions), Kirk invited those with opposing beliefs to prove him wrong.
The conversations that followed were sometimes strained, even heated. But they were exchanges of words and ideas, not bullets.
Whether you revered or reviled him, we should all be able to agree in this moment that he was a human being (a child of God, if you believe in a higher power) whose life ended tragically and way too soon. We should also be able to come together and express sympathy for the wife and two young children he left behind.
A suspect is now in custody and has been charged with Kirk’s Sep. 10 murder. Since the shooting, we have had some time to reflect. What does this all mean? How do we move forward?
At the memorial service celebrating Kirk’s life, his widow spoke about the man suspected of killing her husband.
“That man, that young man, I forgive him,” Erika Kirk said. “I forgive him because it is what Christ did, and it is what Charlie would do.”
Forgiveness is a powerful act. It is rooted in God’s grace and mercy. The alternative is to hold onto anger and resentment.
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Continuing to attack each other rather than finding a way to heal as a nation seems like a missed opportunity. An assassin’s bullet pierced Kirk’s neck in Utah and ended his life, but it was also a shot at the heart of what makes us all American: freedom of speech.
Kirk’s murder should be a wake-up call.
We must recognize that political violence has no place in our democracy. Leaders of both political parties have been victims of this brutality, and it has been perpetrated by both sides as well. Enough is enough.
We have a choice to make. We can embrace free speech and open dialogue while denouncing all forms of violence. We can seek to engage each other in civil and constructive ways. We can recognize in each other the innate human goodness and treat everyone with dignity and respect.
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And we can stop seeing others as the enemy that must be defeated.
Our political leaders need to help us mourn. They need to bring us together and help restore unity. But we cannot rely solely on our leaders to guide us on this path. We have to do it ourselves.
We need to learn how to talk to each other again. We must have constructive conversations where we listen and try to find some common ground. And if there is no common ground, then we must, at the very least, make the effort to understand why the other person holds those beliefs.
Individually, we have the power to end this era of violence.
We’re at a turning point. Let’s choose civic engagement and civil debate. Let’s begin to set healthy political norms. And let’s end the extreme polarization that threatens our republic.
Scott Carey is a lawyer in Nashville. The views expressed here are his alone.
