My immediate reaction to the death of Charlie Kirk should not be unique. Violence is wrong. Violence is never a justifiable means to reach your political ends and almost never excusable. There are certain situations in life, such as self-defense or “just war theory” where violence may be a morally defensible argument, but those cases are limited, and never applicable to cold-blooded murder. However a person or a group may delude themselves, the assassination of political opponents does not make you a martyr, it makes you a villain.
The murder of Charlie Kirk is just the latest in an unfortunate series of tragedies. In the past couple of years, we have seen attacks against prominent politicians across the country. Steve Scalise was shot at a Congressional baseball game, Nancy Pelosi’s husband was attacked in her home, there were two assassination attempts of President Donald Trump, and many more cases that could be listed off ad infinitum. It is disgraceful that this level of violence has become the norm for a civilization that many still consider a shining beacon on a hill.
The political climate in America has been sweltering for the past decade. Tensions between the Left and Right seem at an all-time high, and there is no sign of anyone attempting to turn down the temperature. So many politicians and pundits treat their mouths like flame throws attempting to incinerate the opposition. Their idea of bipartisanism so long forgotten that they only reach across the aisle to slap at their opposition. Demagogues abound and social media seems to only incentivize the worst behavior from those in power to their constituents alike.
The common modern playbook seems to work as follows. Whoever is speaking attempts to narrow the Overton Window until only views that align with their own are considered moral and good. Then the speaker need only cast aspersion on anyone who disagrees with them, which paints their opponents as immoral. At that point, the need for conversation and debate evaporates. After all, why would the speaker wish to engage with someone so obviously evil. This lack of charity towards the opposition is the surest way to wind up in an echo chamber and find yourself a man equipped with a flamethrower in a field of scarecrows.
Words are powerful. They have to be because words are all the only tools we have to avoid violence. Without being able to speak to one another with understanding and compassion, there is no hope of reconciliation. If a person simply labels anyone who opposes their agenda a Nazi or a communist, then the justification for harming them to save society becomes easier. This line of thinking is perverse in the extreme. The idea that one side of the political spectrum is the arbiter of all that is good and true is solipsistic. No person or group holds the monopoly on truth. Whatever your political persuasion there is no arguing with that.
There is no obvious solution to the problem an hand. How does society pull back from the brink? How do we, the American people, bind our fraying ties and stop the violence? One idea is to talk to one another again. Charlie Kirk became famous, in part, by setting up a table to debate on college campuses. These videos were often spirited, if not downright contentious. Arguing is not something that needs to be shied away from. In fact, only by debating our points can we ever discover the gaps in our own thinking. Without pushback we can only rely on our own logic to come to conclusions, and a pencil cannot sharpen itself.
Regardless of where you put your mark on the political compass, the murder of political opposition should disturb you to the core. The normalization of violence ends with a society at war. Violence is not glorious. It eats at the soul until all that is left of the self is a hollow shell. Glorifying those who use violence as a tool is ugly. The star treatment of monsters like Luigi Mangione is shameful, as is praying for or celebrating the death of human beings we disagree with. If not for the victim and their family, for yourself. As John Donne once wrote “Any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind.” For the rest of it, all I can say is Rest in Peace Charlie.
