I am horrified and saddened by the assassination of Charlie Kirk. To kill a man for their opinions is evil and stands in opposition to every liberal value to which this nation aspires.
One does not need to defend Kirk. Those that believe his speech caused this are both mistaken and corrupted by their own ideological certainty. It is never necessary to defend free and open political speech. It simply is a fact of life in an open society. You have the right to say things that are controversial, and you have the right to make a living debating people who come by the thousands to hear you talk and to defeat you in the realm of ideas and words.
That is what Kirk did. He engaged people in open and free discussions. He gave as he got and enjoyed the back and forth as much as his audience did. They lined up to refute his positions and many of them walked away proud of their stances and arguments. Sometimes he was right and other times he was wrong. Again, this is what we do in a free and pluralistic society
This work is an essential part of our civic education. Being challenged is not an offense against civility, it is a requirement of intellectual and moral growth. The process of debating ideas is embodied in the instructions we give to children who are violently throwing a fit. We say, “use your words.”
Kirk used his words. That is what is best about freedom. The ability to disagree and use our words to articulate what we believe and why.
The gunman’s path is the ancient road of violent will to power. It is as old as Cain. It is corrosive and it is the path of evil and destruction.
Today I am in mourning, not only because a man was shot in cold blood, but because to me it is a sign that we are approaching the death of a sacred pillar of freedom. The right to say unpopular things in the public square.
Pastor Dan
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