On Sept. 10, 2025, Charlie Kirk, a political commentator and head of Turning Point USA (TPUSA), was shot in a grotesque act of political violence and died tragically two hours later. Further information, such as the identity of the suspect, has not been confirmed.
Who is Charlie Kirk?
Kirk was born in Arlington Heights and grew up in Prospect Heights, Illinois. He was a political junky early on, supporting Republican Senator Mark Kirk’s (no relation) campaign and actively engaging in high school politics, campaigning for things like cheaper school lunches. Afterwards, he attended community college, then dropped out to pursue right-wing political activism full-time, founding TPUSA in 2012.
With donor support, Kirk built TPUSA into a political machine, expressing his views on economics and culture through debate with college students. For example, Kirk often spoke in support of tariffs, opposed cutting the corporate tax rate, and opposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as well as women’s right to no-fault divorce. He was also “skeptical” about the COVID-19 vaccine, and about the 2020 election, so much so that he bused about 350 people to participate in Jan. 6. His debates went viral. Although I often disagreed with his arguments and actions, I came to respect what made him effective.
He wasn’t a polished political commentator engaging in “lawyer talk;” he was a charismatic individual passionate about politics, speaking plainly in ways people could easily understand, and was willing to engage in dialogue with anyone, putting himself in almost any situation. That is what made him so effective.
So effective, in fact, that many credit his grassroots campaign on college campuses and social media with helping Trump make gains amongst young adults aged 18-34 by 21 percent in the 2024 election.
Kirk was reaching the peak of his life in 2025: he was a father with a successful career, and had a good reputation among both his political allies, who admired him as a conservative icon, and his political foes, who respected him for his effectiveness while vehemently disagreeing with his views. Then, his life was abruptly taken, cut short at the age of thirty-one in front of his wife and children.
What does this mean for us as a nation?
Unfortunately, events like Kirk’s death aren’t that uncommon anymore; it is part of a broader pattern in our increasingly violent political culture. This is a national tragedy. Anyone who says otherwise is acting out in a morally reprehensible way, both in a civic sense and in terms of the absence of their own human empathy. Kirk was a husband, a father, but most importantly, he was an American, an American whose liberties shouldn’t have been taken away violently while speaking his mind in our democratic republic.
From the Jan. 6 attack, when police officers lost their lives defending the peaceful transfer of power due to a violent mob of insurrectionists and the trauma that came after it, to the recent killing of Minnesota lawmakers Melissa Hortman and John Hoffman, to the arson attack targeting Pennsylvania governor, Josh Shapiro, and now Kirk’s death, each act of political violence tears at the fabric of our nation and its founding ideals. The Declaration of Independence, ratified on the date of our nation’s founding on July 4, 1776, states:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”
When political violence occurs, taking away life over political disputes, it is a betrayal of this sacred compact that holds our country together. It is an attack on every single one of us.
And, anyone okay with or in denial about Kirk’s death, Jan. 6, or the death of the Minnesota lawmaker based on partisan allegiance, is not only engaging in morally contemptible behavior, but is acting at odds with the very founding ideals of our beloved nation.
As free-spirited people’s within a democratic government, we consent to a government that relies on constructive compromise for the common good because discussing our views like Kirk did, holding elections, and resolving our disagreements peacefully as one people, not enemies, committed to bettering our shared destiny together is far better than the alternative; killing each other in an authoritarian system where might makes right. Political violence (authoritarian political engagement) is the ultimate betrayal of that and everything our country is supposed to stand for. It has no place in democracy, and certainly has no place in our beloved America.
