America in Real Life Must Not Be as Rabid as America Online

If we honor Charlie Kirk’s legacy of good-faith engagement, we will reflexively step back from the precipice.

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People attend a vigil at Orem City Center Park, after Charlie Kirk was fatally shot during an event at Utah Valley University, in Orem, Utah, September 11, 2025.

Jim Urquhart/Reuters

If you spent time this weekend interacting with your physical environment, that experience likely did not leave you dismayed by the rapid deterioration of the American social fabric.

Maybe you saw one of the dozens, if not hundreds, of well-attended vigils for Charlie Kirk. You might have caught at least one of the NASCAR races, football and baseball games, concerts, or UFC fights honoring his legacy. It’s likely that you spoke about last week’s events at church, with friends, neighbors, and family. And if the polling is to be believed, there was consensus around the horror of it and the growing problem of domestic political violence it represents. The unspoken point of that conversation was to steel your mutual resolve to confront it.

Noah Rothman

About the Author

Noah Rothman

Noah Rothman is a senior writer at National Review. His third book, Blood and Progress: A Century of Left-Wing Violence, was published by Hachette in May 2026.

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