“You have no idea what you have unleashed.”
(Erika Kirk after her husband’s murder)
It is a challenge for a weekly column to be contemporaneous with current events. However, it is probably best that my immediate reaction to the monster who murdered Charlie Kirk was not publicly shared. I remain saddened, disgusted and angry, but logic and resolve have replaced emotion and vindictiveness.
I heard Charlie Kirk speak some years ago, but I didn’t follow his radio program, podcasts or his YouTube posts for TPUSA (Turning Point United States America). But my 13- and 21-year-old grandsons were big fans of Charlie, who was described by those who knew him as a devout Christian, a devoted family man with two young children and a genuinely good person.
He was also an important conservative voice who loved our country. Charlie calmly expressed his convictions in debates with progressive Democrats, socialists and radical leftists; and they killed him for having opinions contrary to their leftist vitriol. He was the one person who would listen to their rants and calmly profess his own opinions.
Charlie’s murder was horrific, but utterly appalling were the celebrations of his execution by teachers, ministers, airline pilots, doctors, lawyers, nurses, first responders, college deans, government employees, soldiers, media, Democrat leaders and the garden variety of depraved nut-jobs who cheered after Charlie’s neck exploded from a high-powered hunting rifle bullet ending his life at 31, making his wife a widow and his children fatherless.
It is not a free speech issue when you applaud the murder of a human being because you disagree with their opinions. These dark and twisted souls have failed the basic standards of humanity. I do not want them teaching my grandchildren, piloting an airline or providing medical care. They are being exposed and fired, as Democrats wail about the so-called cancel culture. Actually, the response of the sane represents a “consequences culture.” These miscreants must be identified, shunned and become pariahs in our society.
Our rights are handed down to us from God, not from the government. This is the fundamental principle of American and Western civilization. Atheist Bill Mahr argues that morality stems from the Enlightenment, but Enlightenment thought would not have been possible without two millennia of Judeo-Christian ethos. Therefore, secular humanism’s removal of God invites immorality.
It is my hope and prayer that God can use this tragedy to bring about good because Charlie’s murder has demonstrated that we are in a battle between good and evil.
Martyrs have the effect of galvanizing people to wise up and rise up against tyranny and injustice. Charlie Kirk has become not only a martyr in America but worldwide. His political assassination demonstrated the ideological battle we are fighting and, make no mistake, it is also spiritual warfare.
I didn’t know Charlie Kirk, but I suspect he would be surprised that his martyrdom caused me to think of Christ’s murder and resurrection, which changed the world. Historian Will Durant wrote that “Christ conquered Caesar” when Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity and made it Rome’s state religion in the 4th century AD.
Four hundred years before Christ, Socrates was condemned to death for corrupting Athens’ youth and not honoring the state’s gods. Plato wrote of Socrates’ trial in the “Apology,” where Socrates predicted he would become a martyr. And Bill and Ted, in their “Excellent Adventure,” learned about and lauded Socrates, the ancient Greek philosopher.
And modeled on Socrates’ defense, Obi-Wan Kenobi in “Star Wars” told Darth Vader, “If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.” And Charlie Kirk is becoming so. Some now compare Charlie Kirk to William Wallace of “Braveheart” fame, another martyr.
Wicked is not a word I often use, but it seems appropriate for Charlie’s murder and the vile response of perverse leftists. You can’t reach across the aisle to evil. You can’t rationally discuss issues with a lunatic or a psychopath. These people are in thrall to evil and are lost. If you doubt me, a recent poll revealed that 24% of self-described liberals felt that violence to achieve a political goal is justifiable.
My hope and prayer are that Charlie’s movement, Turning Point, has now been reached in America. Hatred is the modus operandi of Evil, and we’ve been too tolerant of too many warped and loathsome philosophies for too long.
We are battling evil and its minions. I pity the confused minds of the radicalized trans movement, which have been labeled as “transtifa” (trans-antifa). We have been coerced to be tolerant, which has led to acceptance and corruption and will end in collapse if we don’t have the courage of our convictions to say, “NO!” to this scourge.
Charlie’s wife, Erika Kirk, said, “Charlie died wearing the glorious crown of a martyr. The cries of this widow will echo around the world like a battle cry.” Those thunderous echoes are already reverberating across America and the world.
Some years ago, I learned about the dynamics of movements, leadership and the importance of what is called “the first follower.” There is a YouTube TED talk about the phenomenon of the second person who joins a movement and another fascinating three-minute video demonstrating the “First Follower: Leadership lessons from Dancing Guy.”
I am proud to proclaim that I have become one of Charlie’s Angels. Obviously, I’m not early to his movement, but now I’m all in. And it’s up to all of us to stand up bravely and carry Charlie’s banner of God, family, country, free speech and liberty.
Make the death of Charlie Kirk the revelation of the “Enemy Among Us” (last week’s essay) and the last nail in the coffin of what the Democrat Party has become.
