Charlie Kirk on why people believe the "other side is so evil that they lose their humanity"

Blazing Reader,

In mid-sentence, talking to a crowd of students about gang violence, Charlie Kirk was shot in the throat.

His assassination shocks and saddens me.

While I didn't agree with everything Charlie Kirk espoused, I loved the way he shared his ideas. His open-mic "prove me wrong" discussions and debates on college campuses were always respectful, no matter how rude or insulting his hecklers could be. In a time when "tolerance" and "fairness" are words much-abused, he was an example of their true meaning.

His book, College Is a Scam, should be essential reading for every high school student.

He'd never attended college himself, yet he was more well-read than most graduates and more articulate than many professors.

Charlie Kirk famously said (on multiple occasions), “When people stop talking, that’s when you get violence; that’s when civil war happens, because you start to think the other side is so evil that they lose their humanity.”

I pray people keep talking and trying to understand each other, even if Charlie Kirk's voice will no longer be a part of the discussion.

John C.A. Manley

P.S. For a snapshot of Charlie Kirk's love of respectful dialogue, open debate and free speech, check out this three-minute clip from a discussion he had with a college freshman in 2024.

John C. A. Manley is the author of Much Ado About Corona, All The Humans Are Sleeping and other works of philosophical fiction that are "so completely engaging that you find yourself alternately laughing, gasping, hanging on for dear life." Get free samples of his stories by becoming a Blazing Pine Cone email subscriber.