The Heroic Life of Charlie Kirk: ‘An American Martyr for Truth, Faith and Freedom’

When a tyrant dies, his reign ends; When a martyr dies, his reign begins. (Soren Kierkegaard, Danish philosopher and theologian).

I was stunned to learn of the murder of Charlie Kirk, a 31-year-old husband and father of 2.  He was the founder of Turning Point USA and a funny, witty, highly intelligent, self-taught individual.  His organization sponsored him traveling to college campuses across the country to engage with often confused and misguided college students in respectful, civil debate.  

He addressed many topics in these rallies, including that socialism may not be the best form of government, in light of the extraordinary success of free market capitalism; why transgenderism is so fundamentally unfair, and dangerous, allowing mediocre male athletes to compete in women’s sports and encouraging the butchery and mutilation of young children who are “confused” about their gender; or, how an innocent unborn child, while a creation of her mother and her father, is a genetically distinct and independently sacred life, worthy of protection, with a heartbeat at 18 days, and brain waves measurable at 45 days, after conception. 

He also spoke regularly of the great importance to his life of his Christian faith and strong belief in Almighty God.

And why was he murdered? Well, no one was trying to steal his car, home or money. He was not even an elected official. He was shot and killed for his ideas even though they were stated in a charitable and constructive way. He never advocated for violence; in fact, he warned against it. 

And that is the cruelest irony of all. 

He died because he dared engage in freedom of speech and freedom of conscience on a college campus which, at least traditionally, was a bastion of vigorous intellectual debate and inquiry.  No more, unfortunately. The fascist Thought Police of the violent Lunatic Left were Charlie’s self-appointed judge, jury and executioner.

As recently as the 1960’s, students on college campuses opposed to the Vietnam War demanded to be heard, including engaging in sit-ins in college administrative offices and other forms of civil resistance. Today, the opposite is true.  Today, a conservative speaker on a college campus, if he or she is allowed at all, is often harassed, threatened and shouted down for expressing a dissenting viewpoint.

This is the dark coven of Political Correctness coming home to roost; The ultimate form of Cancel Culture:  Charlie Kirk’s life has literally been cancelled.  Snuffed out.  On live television. Within the eyesight and earshot of 3 thousand students. With millions watching on TV and on-line.  A Public Execution.

And yes, while there is political violence on both sides, I believe in the last decade the vast majority of it has targeted conservatives. That is what caused the death of Charlie Kirk.  The Left, including the national media, have for years relentlessly attacked conservatives deeming them “white supremacists, “Nazis” and “destroyers of democracy.” 

The Left has also deemed speech with which it disagrees to be “violence” to the listener.  It is, then, not difficult to imagine an unstable individual reacting to that “violence” with murder because it’s been justified by powerful Leftist elites who don’t really have a problem with violence being done to conservatives (polling indicates 50% of the Left are not strongly opposed to the killing of Elon Musk or Pres. Trump).  Speech is not violence.  Violence is violence.  In short, while calls to violence arise from the distant fringes of conservatism, calls to violence come from the heart of the Democrat Party.

I will always remember him as the warm, funny and gracious person he was.  I will never forget watching him face a throng of college students, many of whom insulted him, prompting him to chuckle and then share the truth.  

When I think of a life lost in this fashion, I remember something I read many years ago by an author I cannot recall who said on the passing of a loved one that, “sadly, a light has gone out.  There is now an empty place against the sky.”  That is how I will remember him.

However, rather than having silenced a clarion voice for truth, I think his death will ignite a legion of like-minded patriots. I hope his death will serve as a transformative turning point in our nation and culture.  Millions of flames of light have been lit across a broad and peaceful sky. That this continues should be our prayer.