Charlie Kirk murder, reaction shows how far we’ve fallen

“The world we knew is gone, but keeping our humanity? That’s a choice.”
The above words were spoken by fictional character Dale Horvath in an early episode of “The Walking Dead.” It seems apropros for this time in our country’s history, however, following a brutal series of events that culiminated with the assassination of Charlie Kirk on the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.
It almost seems that we are living in fictional times during a zombie apocalypse. Kirk, a prominent conservative political activist, was gunned down at the first event on his “The American Comeback Tour.” It’s just the latest in a string of violence that continues to become all too frequent in the name of politics. And it absolutely, postively has to stop.
Is this really the type of society we want to live in? We are going to murder people for their beliefs? This is going to be the way of life in “the greatest country in the world?” Why is violence suddenly so acceptable in this country as a reponse to everything? Love him or hate him, Charlie Kirk never hurt anybody. He would show up and debate people willing to debate him. Killing people for their beliefs is something third-world dictators do. What if someone didn’t like your beliefs? Do they have a green light to off you? Charlie Kirk was a human being. He was a husband, father and son. He had friends. He had many people who loved him. Words. He was murdered over his words. That’s insanity.
Perhaps the saddest part of all of this is the acceptance—and in many cases, the downright glee—people showed upon hearing Kirk was murdered. Social media isn’t the best place to take the temperature of humanity (and if it is we are truly doomed), but the speed with which people sprinted to their keyboards to applaud Kirk’s death was nauseating. It was callous. It showed a complete disregard for said humanity. It could lead one to believe this country is completely lost. Shooting and killing people over their opinions, and celebrating it. There aren’t words strong enough to condemn this.
In the aftermath of this atrocity, social media is a predictable cesspool hellscape, with Democrats and Republicans blaming each other for the escalating violence, and some openly calling for civil war. That’s more people wanting to slaughter other people over their beliefs. The exact same thing we are railing against in this column. Social media combined with politics is an utter scourge. Just like those who would kill someone because they don’t agree with them.
We must do better. Don’t celebrate murder. Don’t call for chaos. Find your humanity. Before it’s too late.
To quote Dale one more time: “If we do this, the people that we were...the world that we knew is dead. And this new world is ugly. It’s...harsh. It’s...it’s survival of the fittest. And that’s a world I don’t wanna live in, and I don’t...and I don’t believe that any of you do. I can’t.”