Charlie Kirk was 31.
He was a husband. He was a father of two. He was an influencer.
And most of all, he was a human being.
This morning his wife and children woke up without him, knowing they will never see him alive again.
It’s a sad state of affairs and such an illustration — an eye-opening one at that — of where we are as a country in 2025.
As one of my buddies said in our group text yesterday, the heat in our country’s proverbial kitchen has to be turned down.
Although we don’t know all the details yet about the person who decided to take Charlie Kirk’s life Wednesday while he was on stage at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, it’s probably somewhat safe to say it was driven by hate.
Obvious statement of the day.
I highly doubt it was random. I am quite certain it was cowardly.
Charlie was known nationally for debating college students — and others — on college campuses. He was a strong conservative. He was a very intelligent man. He was a religious man.
It was hard to scroll through IG without coming across clips from some of these debates. I always thought Charlie was firm in his beliefs, but was respectful of others opinions and beliefs. He allowed his “opposition at the mic” a chance to talk. He asked questions. He answered questions. He gave credit where credit was due.
He advocated for free speech and respectful debate.
And yet, his words and beliefs are ultimately what made him so polarizing … and I would bet what led to his death.
Charlie’s murder is a microcosm of what is wrong with our nation in 2025. We can’t have different opinions and beliefs without someone taking it too far. In this case, too far was murder.
It’s a glaring sign that America is broken. The greatest country in the world and we can’t debate without violence?
The national media isn’t helping.
Long gone are the days of Walter Cronkite providing the nightly news to our nation, without a political tilt to it. I wasn’t old enough to appreciate it at the time, but good ole Walter told the facts. He was a trusted journalist.
These days most media outlets — especially national ones — report their political sides spin on the news. They are either way too far right or way too far left. There is no down the middle.
Fox News. MSNBC. CNN.
I could go on and on. And none of them are truly doing a journalistic job of painting a true, factual picture. Instead, they are turning up the heat in the kitchen.
And social media. Oh, where to even start.
It’s like Bobby Boucher’s mother said in The Water Boy, “It’s the devil.”
Facebook. X. IG. Tik tok. And whatever the heck else is out there these days.
They are platforms that have allowed all of us to voice our opinion on matters. On the surface, that’s great.
But in reality, it’s not going so great. I believe social media platforms have led to us losing the ability to have a filter on what we say or how we react. I read things on social media that I know an individual wouldn’t say to another person face to face.
Do we have the right? Yes. Does it make it right. Nope.
I will never be in favor of censorship. But, I am in favor of people learning to take a deep breath and rationalize things before posting. If we all had respect for the other side, so much of this hate would soften.
Social media is another big reason that our country is so divided, although its just the platform. As users we have to take accountability.
All of this hate and division leads to unfortunate events like Wednesday at Utah Valley University. It leads to a pair of toddlers and a young mother grieving, their lives forever changed.
I’m tired of reading about a young Ukrainian girl being stabbed on the subway. I’m tired of reading about school shootings. I’m tired of reading about meaningless violence and loss of life.
And I’m tired of reading social media posts blaming Charlie Kirk for his own demise. Really? He woke up and went to a college to debate, and now he is dead. That’s not something to be celebrated.
It’s scary.
I read plenty of political views that don’t coincide with mine. And never once have I thought that committing an act of violence against the individual. I read it. I try to understand it. And then I move on.
It’s sad to think about the fact that it took a tragedy like 911 to bring this country together 24 years ago TODAY. Republican. Democrat. Christian. Atheist. Male. Female. We were united because of the anger we all felt towards the cowardly acts that killed so many Americans.
It shouldn’t take that type of tragedy to unite this country, but make no mistake about it. We are at a political precipice in our country.
And we have to find a way to turn down the heat before it’s too late.
