An American icon was assassinated.
In a nation whose foundation is free speech and religious liberty, Charlie Kirk was murdered (at least it seems apparent) for exercising those freedoms.
Charlie transformed conservatism in America not only for young people but for all of us. He proved that truth was always worth the hard work and intellectual pursuit. Without a college degree, he exposed the moral rot and academic dishonesty in higher education.
Is there any equivalent to Charlie Kirk in the progressive Left? Is there any leftist who would be willing to appear on college campuses across the country, giving voice to those who disagreed with him or her? Charlie’s “Prove Me Wrong” events were a powerful way to show that our differences of opinion are best served by lots of discussion. As a public speaker myself, I know the intolerant culture that is the defining hallmark of way too many colleges and universities. I’ve been cancelled. I’ve received death threats. I’ve been protested. I’ve had to hire bodyguards. Why? Because ideas are so threatening to those who’d rather cling to lazy lies.
Courage is not in limited supply. It’s just rarely chosen. The path of least resistance is so much more appealing. Who wants to be unfriended (in real life or online)? Who wants to be unliked by friends or family, or coworkers? Who wants to lose half of your congregation because you’ve dared to speak biblical Truth? Who wants to face the mob’s wrath when speaking about abortion, gender radicalism, fatherlessness, (actual) racism, or the war on common sense?
Sometimes, some of us choose the path of most resistance.
As a husband and father, I cannot imagine the devastating turmoil his wife, Erika, is facing. Honestly, I’m wrecked by his slaughter. His two young children will never be able to hug and be held by their daddy ever again on this side of Heaven. Charlie loved the Lord, and it was powerful to see his faith journey unfold. He came to recognize that our fight is first spiritual and moral. The cultural and the political are either shaped or misshaped by our worldview. Only a worldview rooted in the liberating truth of God’s Word sets us free. Not politics. Not wealth. Not social position.
May his family somehow find the peace that only knowing and loving Jesus can bring.
Charlie was an inspiration. He started Turning Point USA at the age of 18. He refused to accept the status quo and showed youth across America that silence should never be an option. I’ve shared the stage at a couple of events with Charlie, but one of the moments I remember best happened outside the event venue.
Years ago, Charlie and Candace Owens were walking to the conference center in Denver, Colorado. I was headed there as well to speak. I introduced myself to both of them and thanked them for their courage, their wit, and their passion for Truth. We walked and talked for a few minutes, only to be met outside of the center by protesters demanding “gun control.” We all stopped and engaged the activists. I started videoing the exchanges. Instead of running away from people who angrily disagreed with us, we talked to them. The result was an eventual calming and civil discourse. Those 30 minutes really impacted me.
This is how Democracy works. We disagree. We talk. We empathize. We learn. And sometimes, we rethink.
There is no America without free speech and religious liberty. This can’t be stated strongly enough. It’s the reason why people like Charlie are so hated by the Left. They detest it when people don’t bow at the fake altar of “unity” (aka forced conformity). We can never be unified with a lie. For a political demographic that constantly rants about “diversity,” they despise diversity of thought. Free speech is the enemy. Somehow, the “land of the free and home of the brave” has been warped by so-called progressivism into the “land of the ideologically enslaved and home of the afraid.”
It makes me think of the powerful words of former slave and champion for human rights, Frederick Douglass, who battled the activism of silencing. The abolitionist movement couldn’t exist without the First Amendment. In his 1860 speech, “A Plea for Free Speech in Boston,” Douglass proclaimed: “To suppress free speech is a double wrong. It violates the rights of the hearer as well as those of the speaker. It is just as criminal to rob a man of his right to speak and hear as it would be to rob him of his money.”
How much are we robbed, on a regular basis, from hearing the truth? In schools? From the government? In (Bible-evading) churches? From Hollywood? On social media? Thankfully, we have organizations like Alliance Defending Freedom that fight for our most fundamental rights. I’ve always loved their response to unconstitutional censorship: “The answer to speech we disagree with is not censorship but more speech.”
Political violence is sheer cowardice. It’s sheer evil.
George Orwell once wrote: “If liberty means anything at all it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.” It’s those words and ideas that may revolutionize people’s lives, free them from their emotional, political, or spiritual shackles and lead them to become someone who spreads more life-changing freedom.
Charlie Kirk did not deserve such a horrifically violent end. My faith affirms the fact that he is with the Savior. But it is way, way too early.
Refuse to live in fear. Refuse to hate truth. Refuse to deny someone else’s God-given worth. It’s on all of us to make America better than this.
Ryan Bomberger is the Chief Creative Officer and co-founder of The Radiance Foundation. He is happily married to his best friend, Bethany, who is the Executive Director of Radiance. They are adoptive parents with four awesome kiddos. Ryan is an Emmy Award-winning creative professional, factivist, international public speaker and author of NOT EQUAL: CIVIL RIGHTS GONE WRONG. He loves illuminating that every human life has purpose.
