I am sick to death of hearing about how another young American has been cut down in the prime of his life, all because my countrymen cannot get along, politically.
And I am also sick to death of seeing these senseless deaths politicized in order to further a political agenda.
Young Charles James Kirk was just 31 years old when he was murdered yesterday, and his only crime was trying to speak his mind about the issues that his country was facing.
During his all-too-brief life he was scorned, vilified, demeaned and finally killed for his beliefs and for attempting to explain them to a young generation of Americans who were desperately searching for answers to the country's problems.
Charles Kirk had a wife. He had two children. He was a believer in all things great and good. He was a member of a community and had great friends. He was a patriot when he lived … and one when he died.
I never had the privilege of meeting him, but I listened to him when he spoke because he respected his audience and treated them as equals, mindful that many had another point of view. He was a catalyst for change and for conservatism, not the kind of conservatism that ignored the human condition, but one that existed because of it.
He had millions of followers on social media, many of whom were in their twenties essentially because he spoke their language of hope and promise and of possibilities that could be turned into opportunities.
He helped them see the connection between values and a purpose-driven life and what that life could mean to a country in turmoil. Though we never met, Charlie and I had one thing in common. He loved writing about the things that he loved and about those that confused him.
In all, he wrote or co-wrote fourteen books, two of which were coloring books for small children.
Much will be said in the coming days and weeks about his Turning Point movement and what it meant to the re-election of Donald Trump and of how great his contribution to America's brand of conservatism was in the 21st century.
The history books and public opinion will now create a new life for Charlie Kirk and add him to the pantheon of America's political martyrs who were killed for their causes.
In the 20th century alone they included President John F. Kennedy, his brother Robert F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., Medgar Evers, Malcom X and Harvey Milk. I suspect that Charlie would have wanted me to include those last two because of his need to be fair in mentioning those whose political ideologies differed from his own.
At this point, it's all speculation because we will not have Charlie around to remind us to be fair and balanced and respectful whenever we engage our friends or opponents in political debate. America has lost another son and so have the Kirk families. We are diminished by the loss of such a remarkable young man, and our struggle for decency and fairness will be harder because Charlie is no longer here cheering us on. He would not want us to give up, however, so we won't. Rest in peace Charles James Kirk.
Stephen Helgesen is a retired American diplomat specializing in international trade. He has lived and worked in 30 countries over the course of 25 years under the Reagan, G.H.W. Bush, Clinton, and G.W. Bush administrations. He is the author of fourteen books, seven of them on American politics, and has written more than 1,500 articles on politics, economics, and social trends. He now lives in Denmark and is a frequent political commentator in Danish media. He can be reached at: stephenhelgesen@gmail.com
Image: Gage Skidmore, via Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 2.0 Deed
