If I lose some subscribers because of this blog, so be it.
It has been 11 days since a young man was assassinated in front of the whole world. It has been 21 days since a young lady was stabbed to death on a public transit train in Charlotte North Carolina.
The events are not related however, in both cases, the internet and the “real time” posting gave us an up close, gruesome and the very unforgettable details of both acts of pure evil.
I am not naïve, I am fully aware that there is unspeakable violence that happens every day all around the world, but in these two cases, for some reason, I felt like I was there, in person, helpless, as I watched two innocent people die, right before my eyes. The feeling is indescribable and it lingers with me today.
Having those images etched in my brain forever has impacted me in ways that I can’t fully come to grips with. At my current age, I have now been alive for the assassinations of; President John F. Kennedy, his brother Robert Kennedy, Dr. Martin Luther King, Malcom X, John Lennon and now, Charlie Kirk.
I have also been alive for the attempted assassination of President Gerald Ford (twice, bullet), President Ronald Reagan (bullet), President Donald Trump (twice, bullet), President Bill Clinton (Bomb plot uncovered), President George W. Bush (twice, bullets shot at the White House, and grenade thrown within 100 feet of him), President George H.W Bush, (foreign country assassination plot) President Barack Obama (bullets shot at the White House) and Pope John Paul II (bullet). I have seen a group of congressmen ambushed while practicing for a charity baseball game. Congressman Steve Scalise (bullet), still carries the scars and the noticeable limp from the assassins’ bullet.
From experience, it is safe to say that in either the attempted assassination or the assassination, none of them accomplished what the assassin hoped to accomplish. Society was not altered to their point of view, life did not change in the way that they hoped and most assuredly, their legacy was left as one of Evil, not heroism.
Because of the recent Charlie Kirk assassination, I cannot say that evil acts are on the rise, in fact they have always been with us. What is different now, as opposed to the evil acts I previously illustrated just in my life time, is that those acts of pure evil are being celebrated. It is disgusting, appalling and we must set our human compasses towards a more decent society. A compass that directs us towards respectful and civil debate focused on hearing an opposing point of view, not silencing it.
A man lost his life for debating issues with anyone that wanted to debate him. He professed his faith openly and while doing so, he made no apologies for what he felt was the most important things in life; his God, his Family and his country. There was never anything written on any document that said we had to agree with him or for that matter, even listen to him. What has been written in our founding documents was that we can’t silence him.
As I watch this professional football stadium in Glendale Arizona fill to capacity, while thousands of mourners gather outside and all around the stadium or like me, mourn him in the privacy of my living room, I realize, the bullet that was intended to silence him, did no such thing. Quite the contrary, it amplified him and the light he carried with his message. I realize now that Charlie Kirk is and forever will be, an incredible light of humanity that was chasing the darkness of the evil in this world away.
RIP Charlie Kirk, well done.