Let’s have the courage to fight for ideas, not the cowardice to silence them

Dear Editor,

Fair-minded Americans were stunned and shocked on September 10th when an assassin’s bullet devastatingly ended the life of Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point. The act was violent. It was evil. It was demonic. And it changed a family forever, ripping a father and a husband from his wife and very young children. Any American with a beating heart and a conscience still intact must acknowledge the fact that the act itself was evil.

Charlie Kirk was shot because he was a threat, because his ideas conflicted with Leftist ideology, the radical, Marxist ideology which has encrusted itself into our schools, our homes, and the fabric of our quickly-decaying society.  The “Threat” had to be eliminated, shot through the neck with a bullet. And many on the Left sickeningly celebrated it. 

Whether or not a person agreed with Charlie Kirk, in this country, at least for now, Kirk had the right to express his political opinions, to debate and discuss them, without fearing for his life. 

And yet, many still believe that he deserved to die. 

Charlie Kirk was murdered for having the open dialogue that we keep saying we want to have in the political arena—the open dialogue that has been cherished and valued in this nation for years. 

His gracious, kind, listening heart and spirit were snuffed out because of a difference of opinion. 

Enough is enough. 

As a Christian and a Conservative, I push back against that way of thinking. I want to welcome debate and discussion. A society thrives under both. I want to listen to what “the other side” has to say, hash it out, vehemently disagree, and come away from the conversation as fellow Americans— not clashing swords of violence, but with the understanding that we have the right to believe differently about the way that things should be done without literally killing one another over those beliefs. 

It saddens me that those conversations are becoming fewer and more rare, replaced by rage and hatred.  When people are silenced, it is only a matter of time before a society ultimately crumbles. What is this country coming to when someone is shot through the neck for expressing his opinion? We need to push back. We need to speak, even if it costs us dearly. For the sake of this country—if we care even the littlest bit about saving it.  We would do well to remember the words of Charlie Kirk: “If you believe in something, you need to have the courage to fight for those ideas – not run away from them or try and silence them.” 

Rebekah Neal, Dodgeville, WI