On Charlie Kirk’s Death
Charlie Kirk was killed while speaking at Utah Valley University on September 10, 2025. However you felt about his ideas, that sentence is heavy. A family lost someone. Students and staff saw a life end at a campus event. That is not how public debate should look in a country that believes in free speech.
In the hours after a tragedy, the internet fills with hot takes. Some people cheer. Others gloat. Some turn the moment into proof that their opponents are monsters. None of that helps. It pushes us farther apart and it forgets the most basic truth. A person is gone. People who loved him are grieving. Bystanders will carry the memory of that day for a long time.
Most Americans want something very simple. They want to argue hard about issues and then go home safe. They want to attend a talk without worry. They want to raise kids who can hear a viewpoint they dislike and still walk out of the room with dignity. That is the standard we should expect from a healthy society.
Polarization makes that standard feel out of reach. It turns people into symbols. Symbols are easy to mock and hate. People are not. You can oppose Charlie Kirk’s politics and still feel grief and anger that he was shot. You can defend open debate without endorsing every speech. This is not a contradiction. It is what respect looks like.
When we forget the person behind the position, it becomes easier to justify cruel words. Cruel words make it easier to justify cruel acts. That is the slope we are on when we treat politics like team sports. If our website is about bridging cultural divides, then our work is to push against that slope in small and steady ways.
Start with your own habits. Slow down before you post. Ask if what you are sharing names the problem or only names an enemy. Listen to someone you usually tune out. You do not need to agree. You do need to understand what they fear and what they hope for. Call out dehumanizing language on your own side. It will be uncomfortable. It is also where trust begins.
There is also room for courage from leaders and institutions. Hosts can set ground rules for events. Speakers can model how to argue without contempt. Media can choose headlines that inform rather than inflame. None of this fixes everything. It does set a tone that tells young people this is a place where words are strong and people are safe.
We can hold firm beliefs and still hold on to each other’s humanity. That is not soft. It is the hard daily work that keeps a pluralistic society alive. Let this be one of those moments when we remember that. Not as a slogan, but as a habit we build into our classrooms, our communities, and our own conversations.
Charlie Kirk’s death should not become just another flash of outrage that fades by the weekend. It can be a lasting reminder to see the person before the politics. It can be the push we need to protect spaces for debate and to reject any story that says our neighbors are our enemies. If we choose that path, we honor both free speech and human dignity. That is a future worth working toward.
