Hate is easy; respect is easier

Dear Editor,

Prior to September 10, 2025, I had, thankfully, never heard of Charlie Kirk. When his name captured the news cycles for the next four days, I finally googled him and was horrified by what I learned. In life, Mr. Kirk was a masterful proponent of sick, hate-filled rhetoric that drew a remarkable following; in death, he suddenly became a larger-than-life national hero. In reality, he is not a martyr, a hero, or a patriot; he is merely another of the 1.5 million victims of America's enduring love affair with guns and violence over the last fifty years that has resulted in more deaths than all of our wars combined.

I can't help wondering (not for the first time) how our world has become so convoluted that ill-mannered bullies, hiding behind their free-speech rights, have not only managed to eradicate any semblance of common decency and respect for personal and political differences, they are honored for doing it. And there don't appear to be any roadblocks on this highway to hell.

Charlie Kirk didn't deserve to die for what he said, or claimed to believe, but he doesn't deserve to be canonized either. I sincerely hope he rests in peaceful silence. Meanwhile, every one of us who has, somehow, managed to survive his loud, despicable rhetoric has inherited the burden of responsibility for picking up the pieces of the shattered world Mr. Kirk, and those like him, continue to create. Stepping up to this challenge requires a commitment to self-examination and exploring the question of what, exactly, is required of each of us to restore basic compassion, good manners, and social and political tolerance.

This effort doesn't force us to agree with, or even like, each other; it simply demands that we respect each other. While hate is easy, respect is easier, and it's not that complicated; four and five-year-olds learn it in kindergarten.

Paula vW. Dáil, PhD

Emerita Research Professor of 

Social Welfare and Public Policy

Spring Green, WI