In Loving Memory
Charlie Kirk
10/14/93 - 9/10/25
This afternoon, I while working from home on a very slow day, I came across a post from a news outlet that said Charlie Kirk was shot. I felt my world shake. I shared it with my brother and my aunt. A few minutes later, my aunt sent me a text that said he had died. I was on a call with a customer and completely lost my concentration as I felt myself starting to cry. I never knew the man. But I really wanted to meet him someday and thank him for his trademark brutal honesty.
I first heard Charlie speak at a Turning Point USA event on YouTube. I don't have cable, because it's a ripoff, so I watch a lot of YouTube. I remember seeing a few videos of debates and speeches. The first thing I noticed was his brutal honesty, as I mentioned before. The second thing I noticed were the facts. Undisputable facts on every topic, delivered with love, not hate. And the third thing I noticed was that he made absolutely no apology for the truth nor his views, and he was a dealer of truth.
Charlie's M/O was debate. He wanted to debate the facts, not argue over someone's feelings. He would talk to anyone who would have a conversation with him. Even in the face of expletive screaming blue-haired leftists, with metal in their face, who wanted to insult, censor, cancel or even kill him for his beliefs, he kept his cool. And he always smiled. He had a great smile. And he welcomed everyone's opinion, even those filled with spite, hatred, and dishonesty.
I found Charlie in 2015 when I started to wake up and notice the insanity that was going on in our country. I was extremely impressed with him. I watched his videos from time to time. In 2020 I started to really notice something wrong with our country, with the world even. Common sense was dying, and what was taking over was an outrage. It was like our society was running backwards. Identity politics was the rule of the land. Hate was brewing Brewing in those who claim to stand against it the most. Charlie taught me that it's OK to disagree with someone; that truth IS objective, that morality is objective, and that God is loving and forgiving, but there are still rules you have to follow.
I was raised in a conservative Christian home. When I was 18, I registered Republican, but immediately threw my vote in the trash for Bill Clinton because MTV told me to. I was young, naive, impressionable. Later I voted Republican. In school and College I was very liberal - an uninformed voter, Charlie would say. My feelings changed on topics often, knowing very little about them. Charlie taught me that it's OK to think critically, that it is not a form of racism, nor bigotry: truth is one thing, feelings are another. He taught me never to rely on a feeling, always search for the facts. Charlie helped me sort out the details on so many topics: LGBTQ, BLM, feminism, economics, communism/socialism, and many more. I truly believe he was helping our county, our world, become a better place; to remove the wedge the politicians had worked so hard to drive between us.
Charlie was a husband to Erika and a father to two small children who will now grow up without him. He was a devout Christian and often talked about the merits of faith. I was hoping we'd have him around for years to come, but it seems Jesus needed him more than we did.
