Je Suis Charlie: A Political Adversary In Memoriam
Today is September 13th, 2025. Two days ago was the 24th anniversary of 9/11. A day before that, on September 10th, 2025, Charlie Kirk was politically assassinated at a speaking event on a college campus in Utah. Charlie was a conservative political organizer instrumental in the Trump presidential campaigns and a co-founder of Turning Point USA; and he did it all despite being only a couple years older than myself. At the time of his death, there is little doubt he was one of the most influential voices in modern America. He leaves behind a wife, Erika, and two young children. Tragedy does not begin to describe it.
If you saw my note from a couple days ago, you may remember my mentioning having seen the video, and that I wish I hadn’t. I wasn’t even searching for it; it just appeared. A few seconds in and it’s already over. Really, really awful.
The violent monster who committed the act has apparently been apprehended after a relatively short manhunt. Kudos to law enforcement for the swift work. I will not name said monster; their ilk deserve no fame. He took a life unjustly, and that’s all anyone need know.
I was not a supporter of Charlie in his lifetime. I am a futurist, which naturally puts me at odds with conservatives on political issues; but it puts me at odds with everyone. Concerning contemporary issues, however, I think it’s fair to say Charlie and I were about as far apart as two humans could possibly be. I support transgender rights unequivocally; Charlie did not. I support abortion rights unequivocally; Charlie did not. I could go on for several hundred more lines at least, but the point has been made.
I believe it to be an important point to make. Because now more than ever, bipartisanship—or whatever you wish to call it—is absolutely vital to the future of America, and also in its variations to the future of the world. I know I have a large international audience, and maybe this news hasn’t reached you. I suspect it has, however; and I suspect this due to the one singular issue Charlie and I agreed on without exception. Charlie and I shared unequivocal support for Israel and a love for her people. He may have gotten ninety-nine percent of things wrong (at least according to me); but as for the great moral litmus test of our era, he passed with colors of blue and white.
Thus, I am really addressing three distinct audiences with this writing. I am approaching conservatives with a spirit of unity and understanding in the hopes that we can overcome this together; and, I am addressing my fellow Zionists and Israel supporters with urgency and deep sadness. The third group of course comprises my fellow liberals and progressives, who I must speak to. I hope they listen.
To my fellow Zionists: we lost one of our own. It may sound utterly insane to outsiders that politically opposite individuals could consider one another so close, but people don’t understand how singularly lonely it can be speaking out for the Jewish nation. There are far too few of us to begin with, and our number has decreased by one monumentally influential voice. We are in danger of losing ground to the likes of 2024 Antisemite of the Year Candace Owens and her growing movement of Israel and Jew hatred in conservative circles. This absolutely cannot happen. I do not have the Biblical acumen to spar in conservative debates on the subject; nor am I likely to even get in the door. You all on the other side must fight this battle. I know you can.
Addressing specifically my conservative audience: I know your hearts. I know you are good people. I beg of you, do not let this murder turn you towards hatred for your fellow humanity. That’s what the murderer wanted: to spread hate and contempt for life. We who believe in different things are all still human. You may feel angry, or scared. These are completely natural emotions to have in a situation like this. I’m scared too; I’m scared that this will divide us to the point we can never again be whole. But we don’t have to let it. Please don’t let it.
Finally, I address my fellow liberals. Friends, comrades, et cetera. I have never toed the party line and I never will. I follow my own compass, always. I do not count myself among you based on membership in some club, but because I am a believer in human progress; and as far as I can tell, a tolerant future most closely aligns with the liberal vision. But we have lost the way.
Since October 7th, 2023, I have witnessed the most unbelievable, abhorrent rhetoric coming from people who supposedly share my vision. That day brought out the worst biases among us and gave them permission to fester and grow. It has blackened many a heart to the suffering of Jewish humanity; our fellow humanity. Following the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust and the world’s equivocal reaction to it, we have proceeded to lose almost every vestige of political power once known to us. Why do you think that is? Could it be because there is a problem with ourselves? Could it be because even the moderates are afraid of us and what we represent?
There is no justification for political violence. Zero. None. Ever. Not against Israelis, not against conservatives. Even those who justify violence do not deserve to have violence done to them. This is an important point, so let me repeat in bold: Even those who justify violence do not deserve to have violence done to them. Karl Popper’s ‘Paradox of Tolerance’ adds this: “I do not imply, for instance, that we should always suppress the utterance of intolerant philosophies; as long as we can counter them by rational argument and keep them in check by public opinion, suppression would certainly be most unwise.” (The Open Society and Its Enemies p. 226). It is only when the intolerant incite harm unto others that society must intervene; and it must do so within the bounds of law and Justice. Extrajudicial murder for simply speaking one’s mind is the very essence of intolerance.
I have known a good number of conservative-leaning people through my years. I still do know many. I can tell you this with absolute certainty: our friends on the other side will never, ever, ever forget this, nor should they. This is the kind of wound that takes generations to heal; something so beyond the bounds of human decency that no rational, compassionate human being could possibly justify it. And yet…
This is the state of things. Almost every conservative in existence is outraged, and justifiably so. Many are sad. Some are scared; scared of us. How tragic is that? But we have given them no reason not to be. They don’t necessarily think we’re all homicidal maniacs; but I bet they are now having serious doubts about whether we would mourn their loss if the same fate as Charlie befell them. This breach of trust must be repaired, and it must be us that repairs it.
It is entirely possible that Trump will announce September 10th as Charlie Kirk Memorial Day; and you know what? It would be appropriate. Not for his political beliefs, but because he was murdered for them. We must be better than this. We must learn to tolerate each other again. If it takes a yearly reminder of this event to prevent another, it will be worth it.
Humanity has a very short memory. We forget that it was the interplay of violence between the fascists and communists of the Weimar Republic that created the conditions for extremism and radicalism to turbocharge the NSDAP and eliminate the moderates altogether. Hate begets hate. Violence begets violence. How have we learned nothing in eighty years, or one hundred and five since the founding of the NSDAP?
Alas, but history is not taught anymore. Maybe it never was. Or tell me, all you wannabe “revolutionaries”, what was the fate of Robespierre? The quintessential ‘off with their heads’ violent revolutionary…also lost his own. If the French Revolution taught us anything, it is that today’s revolutionaries are tomorrow’s reactionaries. The violence is very unlikely to stop where you want it to. And when the bloodshed does finally pause, you may just find yourself in an actual fascist dictatorship like Khamenei’s Islamic Republic of Iran. I cannot overstate this: you DO NOT want to live in the Islamic Republic.
Historically speaking, America is no stranger to political assassinations. The 60s witnessed John F. Kennedy, his brother Robert, and the good Reverend Dr. King all murdered for political reasons; for the fact that they stood for their beliefs. But I think we can agree that to witness political assassination in our era is extremely shocking. This is not an America I recognize.
Perhaps it is due to a certain unity of conscious 9/11 brought to America for a time. This is just speculation on my part, but the fact that so many of us were unjustly slaughtered in the attacks on the World Trade Center may have given ourselves something akin to the unity Israelis experienced post-October 7th. Maybe my memory is as short as with the people I criticize, but before Charlie, who else has suffered such a fate in our post-9/11 world? Certainly there have been attempts: the ones on Donald Trump and PA Governor Josh Shapiro immediately come to mind. But as for successful high-profile political assassinations, I’ve got nothing besides Shinzo Abe; and he was obviously not American.
If this is America returning to “normal”, I refuse the refund. We don’t have to walk down this road of needless, endless violence again. We must remember our shared humanity in everything we do and everyone we meet. Each of us has this obligation: to be kind to one another. It doesn’t matter. Whatever it is, it doesn’t. ‘Be excellent to each other’ is the only rule.
Je suis Charlie.