Charlie Kirk: the murder that exposed the reality of the world we live in

Kirk had managed to bring his message, his arguments, to many, especially young people. His tragic death has led many more, these days, to watch the numerous videos that collect his discussions with people from all walks of life... and what they are seeing is not leaving them indifferent. They are discovering that the man many label as a dangerous fascist, afflicted with I don’t know how many phobias, was in reality an educated guy, always respectful, willing to dialogue with anyone, able to argue without raising his voice, and from whom one could always learn. The videos show us a model person, the embodiment, precisely, of what many progressives present as the democratic ideal... with the problem that Charlie Kirk did not repeat the woke mantras but dared to think and to point out all their aporias. For this, he was murdered.

The enterprise to which Charlie Kirk devoted his life is worthy of admiration. Moved by an intense love of Truth, of God, of his country, and of his countrymen, he undertook the folly of planting himself on toxic American campuses to debate with whoever stood before him. He loved those who rejected the truth, those who had been deceived by the lies of our culture and had been caught in the nets of its moral corruption. Although he was only in college for one semester, Charlie defeated everyone with whom he debated. What was his secret? He was more in love with the Truth than they, who limited themselves to repeating politically correct slogans. And if you think I exaggerate, spend an hour of your life watching his videos and you will see that it is impossible not to admire him or, at the very least, respect him. Moreover, when it seemed that everything had already been invented, Kirk launched a new way to reach out especially to young people, and not only that, he founded Turning Point USA, a new conservative organization that has not stopped growing. As Antonio O’Mullony wrote in La Iberia, Charlie’s was “a story of courage based on telling the truth where almost everyone lies to go with the flow. On something as simple in appearance as arriving at a campus, sitting down, and refuting the ideas repeated by the majority.”

And if anything has become clear with Kirk's murder, it is how dangerous and destructive are the ideologies that in recent decades have been hegemonic and omnipresent in the academic world.

It is very significant to dwell on the reactions to Kirk’s assassination. Those who speak most often in warning of polarization and defending dialogue have, in many cases, expressed relief, if not joy, at the death of someone who never tired of dialogue (among them the president of the Oxford Union, the most important debating club in the world!). Because in reality, when they say “dialogue,” they mean submission to woke ideology, and Kirk was exposing them, day after day.

The hateful reactions of those who rejoice at the death of someone they consider (probably rightly) a dangerous adversary have revealed the moral corruption of a left that no longer conceals its character as a political religion and that dehumanizes anyone unfaithful to it. These are the same people who set the streets on fire for months after the death of George Floyd, in stark contrast to the reaction of those of us who shared Kirk’s worldview: instead of destroying public property, what has been organized are prayer vigils for Kirk and his family throughout the United States. A difference that explains a lot.

And it is that if anything has become clear with Kirk's murder, it is how dangerous and destructive are the ideologies that in recent decades have been hegemonic and omnipresent in the academic world. This is evident not only from the "Antifa" motivations of the killer, but from the lukewarm or approving reactions of a disturbing number of people on the left of the political spectrum.

There are many who, like J.D. Vance, moved by this terrible murder, have expressed their resolve to make an effort to honor Charlie Kirk with their lives, to be a little more like him, better parents, better citizens, more courageous and committed.

It has also been heartening to discover the numerous testimonials from people describing how their lives were impacted by having been able to speak with Charlie Kirk. Some did not change their minds but acknowledged the good Kirk had done them; others, the majority, recognized that he had given them arguments that led them to change their minds. Many have testified that Kirk was key in bringing them closer to God. As Esperanza Ruiz wrote in La Gaceta, "from the vile crime against a religious, courageous, and intelligent man have sprung thousands of simple testimonies of faith in all directions."

Because Charlie Kirk was a man of faith, a Christian for whom God was the center of his life. Something he neither hid nor disguised. Something that had shaped his life, that was also at the center of his family and that in no way limited his capacity for reasoning, quite the contrary. A faith of which Erika, his wife, has given a moving testimony, who after sharing her certainty that Charlie is already face to face with Jesus, his savior, has also declared that what is at stake is not only a political war, but a spiritual war, since it is in that terrain where we stake our future.

There are many who, like J.D. Vance, moved by this terrible murder, have expressed their decision to make an effort to honor Charlie Kirk with their lives, to be a little more like him, better parents, better citizens, more courageous and committed. Enrique García-Máiquez wrote that "his arguments have not been even grazed by the bullet." He is absolutely right and his example urges us all to get out of our comfortable lives and show our faces, to fearlessly proclaim the truth, with respect but without dissimulation. And yet, what a great loss! Yes, we know we are passing through and no one is indispensable, but how much we will miss Charlie Kirk, his arguments, his courage, his calm way of disarming giants... God knows best, but Charlie leaves a void that will not be easy to fill.