A Turning Point Crossed?

Back in April, I went to go report on Charlie Kirk’s “American Comeback Tour” at the UWYO campus. 

The event itself was unremarkable and about what I expected, with several speeches about conservative values in America being followed up by his “questions” section that Kirk became famous for throughout his career. I myself was actually able to ask one, and my question, which was effectively “As a member of the media, what do you think I should be doing to fight media bias?” was a genuine one. I wanted to see what his thoughts were. His response was measured and simple; “When you’re reporting on an event, just report what happened, don’t add your own thoughts to it.”

During the entirety of the event, Kirk repeatedly stressed that he only wanted what was best for America, and I believed him. While we may have had some disagreements on certain policy issues, I think the man was genuine in his belief that he was doing what was right for the country.

And now, he’s been shot for that belief, presumably. While we don’t know who the shooter was yet (as of the time of writing this), or what their motive was, the fact remains clear; if Kirk wasn’t out there advocating for what he believed in, he wouldn’t have been shot.

On the same day as writing this editorial, we went out to ask students what their opinions were on the event. Most were sympathetic, and you can read their quotes in this very paper. But one was particularly baffling to us, a student, who repeatedly refused to identify themself, basically said that this was a good thing. That Charlie Kirk deserved to die for harboring fascist and racist beliefs.

We found that absolutely disgusting. But it’s indicative of what many young people feel about various politicians and political activists. We saw the start of it with multiple attempted assassinations on Trump, and rhetoric like this continues to be pervasive among our students and the younger population. If America continues down this track, those who scream “fascism” at anything even remotely right wing may very rapidly find out what real fascism is as the monkey’s paw curls.

At the Branding Iron, we do not condone any acts of political violence. We pride ourselves on including opinion pieces from writers on every side of the political aisle, should they want to get their voices out there. To think that any one of our writers could be targeted for harboring any political belief, on either side of the aisle, is a sobering and disgusting thought. 

If you do believe in a God, pray for Charlie Kirk, wherever he may be. Ultimately, he died doing what he loved, and died for something he believed in. Few of us will have that privilege.