The murder of free speech and civil discourse champion Charlie Kirk — who, above all, identified as a Christian — has generated calls for national unity. Kirk epitomized the American democratic tradition, one based on the premise that the free exchange of ideas is not only the best way to pursue truth and advance the common good. It’s the only way. 

Kirk’s capacity to articulate complex ideas was mesmerizing. He never earned a college degree, but he consistently showed a more capacious and agile mind than the degree seekers — and their professors — posing hostile questions at his popular Turning Point USA events.

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Remarkably, he never sounded the same, even if he were making an old argument, because he was addressing a new person. This is not only a sign of a master teacher. It’s the mark of good character, of someone who refuses to turn interactions with others into abstractions for the sake of appearances. Indeed, he was one of the few public figures who actually listened to his detractors. You don’t really listen to someone unless you fear or respect them. And Kirk showed no fear. 

Now he is dead, struck in the neck by an assassin‘s bullet. The act was monstrous. Many people’s reaction, however, has been almost as evil. 

To be sure, there has been a mass outpouring of grief, from the highest levels of government to Kirk’s millions of grassroots supporters. Some who disagreed with his politics have also stepped up to eulogize Kirk and condemn the violence. 

But many, too many to count, have taken online and to the streets to fete his death. The left-wing social media platform BlueSky, for example, is teeming with giddy posts about the news. Waves of videos displaying nausea-inducing bliss are populating feeds across the world, including one young woman whose lips make a lascivious pout as she oscillates to the song “Celebration.” At our son’s university, he says the campus reaction has been split 50/50. That’s 50% who condemn the killing, and 50% who think it’s acceptable, if not praiseworthy. 

As others have noted, many of these grave dancers staff our country’s care professions — teachers, therapists, social workers, even doctors. They are publicly delighting in the murder of someone who devoted his life to civil debate because they disagree with his ideas. They are not only relieved that he is gone. They are happy he was slaughtered. They find sweetness in his young wife’s widowhood and satisfaction in knowing his kids will grow up fatherless. They have a sadistic hatred for Charlie Kirk. 

Which means they have a sadistic hatred for you and me as well. 

Kirk’s general worldview, grounded in faith, family, and love of country, represents at least half of our nation. The shot that killed Kirk thus also passed across the bow of every person who believes in God and traditional moral values. 

He was the target that day. We remain the potential target today. 

So where do we go from here? 

For Christians, some responses are prohibited. We are not permitted to seek vengeance. We are not permitted to engage in aggression. We are not permitted to stoke or participate in mobs, either online or in person. As hard as it is, we are not permitted to want to hurt those who hurt us. 

In short, we are not permitted to hate our enemies. To the contrary, we are called to love and sincerely desire authentic peace with them. The Bible is clear on this.

At the same time, we have no obligation to treat our enemies as friends. We are called to love them precisely as enemies — as those who wish us ill and are willing to act on it. As such, we have every right to stand up and proactively protect ourselves. 

It is not merely a question of self-defense, which is a moral duty because our own lives, like all other lives, are sacred. It is also a matter of taking action to preserve the innocent, safeguard families and fellow believers, and care for our compatriots of all walks of life by making it as hard as possible for people with wicked intentions to carry them out. 

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This, too, is what it means to love your neighbor: to shield them from the vicious and to justly punish anyone who transgresses their dignity. 

It is good to unite as a nation to honor Charlie Kirk, to pray for him and his family, and to categorically reject political violence. But we should do so with our eyes wide open, vigilant of those among us who have eagerly outed themselves as willing to do us harm under the right circumstances. Let’s deny them the chance. 

Matthew R. Petrusek, PhD, is the Senior Director of the Word on Fire Institute.