It’s hard to come up with the words to describe what happened to our country yesterday. Uncertain and scary times lie ahead for our politics, our government, and the soul of our nation.
But it’s easy to come up with words about Charlie Kirk. Charlie was first and foremost a husband and a father, and leaves behind a devastated family. He was a Christian, and at a time when others cynically wield faith as a political cudgel, Charlie centered Jesus in his message in a real and genuine way that serves as a model for other believers.
Charlie was also a builder. He was still a teenager when he ran into Foster Friess at the RNC and convinced him on the spot to give him the resources to launch TPUSA. He turned that organization from just another college campus student group to maybe the most powerful infrastructure in conservative politics, influencing millions of young people and activating untold numbers of grassroots activists who swing elections.
Charlie also conducted politics the right way. At a time when others try to divide with extremism and violent rhetoric, Charlie did the opposite. Just weeks ago, in an interview with Tucker Carlson, he said this: “The political project in front of us as conservatives should be, how do we actually de-radicalize the country in the next couple of years. That’s my obsession.”
He didn’t just talk about it, he lived it. He showed up on campuses to debate with people. He tried to win hearts and minds with words, not violence. “When people stop talking, that’s when you get violence. That’s when civil war happens,” he said.
Our politics are broken, and it increasingly seems like our country may be too. People like Charlie are who we need to fix it — a believer, not a nihilist, a builder, not a bloviator, a talker, not a killer.
May his legacy be an inspiration for those who followed him. Please join us at the Daily Caller in praying for his wife, his children, and everyone else who loved him. And pray for the country he loved, because we need it.
Dylan Housman
Editor-in-Chief, Daily Caller