The Week: Charlie Kirk and the Assassin’s Veto

• There are “cultural phrases” we could say to CNN, but we will refrain.

• God help us. An assassin shot and killed Charlie Kirk at an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday. Kirk grew to fame by bringing an unapologetically conservative message to college students. On Wednesday, he was doing just that before a massive crowd. There is a lot we don’t know about this depraved crime, including the identity of the shooter, who, as of this writing, is still at large; the FBI has released photos of a person of interest. What is obvious is that the murder of Kirk while he was engaging with young Americans is a tragic loss for his wife and two children and a shocking event that may herald a turn toward greater political violence in America. Kirk’s rise came during an era when younger leftists abandoned the free speech values that their ideological predecessors once espoused. It featured escalating attacks on conservative speakers—efforts to cancel them, to shout them down, to throw objects at them, to make threats. Yet Kirk continued to tour college campuses, to take hostile questions, and to engage with people who passionately disagreed with him. He did his ideological adversaries the favor of taking their questions seriously. This alone was a significant contribution to our civil society. In a free republic, citizens are supposed to resolve their differences by arguing passionately with one another and then voting and legislating. Political violence is a direct threat to the foundations of our free society, and must be condemned by all people of good will, with no throat-clearing or “buts.” America is in danger of moving from the heckler’s veto to the assassin’s veto. At this heartbreaking moment, we pray for Kirk’s family and for the future of the country. May he rest in peace.

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Charlie Kirk

• There are “cultural phrases” we could say to CNN, but we will refrain.

• God help us. An assassin shot and killed Charlie Kirk at an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday. Kirk grew to fame by bringing an unapologetically conservative message to college students. On Wednesday, he was doing just that before a massive crowd. There is a lot we don’t know about this depraved crime, including the identity of the shooter, who, as of this writing, is still at large; the FBI has released photos of a person of interest. What is obvious is that the murder of Kirk while he was engaging with young Americans is a tragic loss for his wife and two children and a shocking event that may herald a turn toward greater political violence in America. Kirk’s rise came during an era when younger leftists abandoned the free speech values that their ideological predecessors once espoused. It featured escalating attacks on conservative speakers—efforts to cancel them, to shout them down, to throw objects at them, to make threats. Yet Kirk continued to tour college campuses, to take hostile questions, and to engage with people who passionately disagreed with him. He did his ideological adversaries the favor of taking their questions seriously. This alone was a significant contribution to our civil society. In a free republic, citizens are supposed to resolve their differences by arguing passionately with one another and then voting and legislating. Political violence is a direct threat to the foundations of our free society, and must be condemned by all people of good will, with no throat-clearing or “buts.” America is in danger of moving from the heckler’s veto to the assassin’s veto. At this heartbreaking moment, we pray for Kirk’s family and for the future of the country. May he rest in peace.