Dear Editor,
Sept. 9th, 10th, and 11th — three days, till my time comes, that will forever be in my heart. On the 9th, my wife and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary, during which I woke up to find my wife handing me a card. I knew instantly what it represented. I, with a bottomless pit in my stomach, asked. “Is this the 9th?”.
My wife, being the loving person she is, just said “Yes.” Whatever compensatory acts may have zoomed through my mind at that moment, were made to seem absolutely unnecessary by her. Our life was good.
The 10th had been an excellent day for me. A friend invited me out to see his collection of cars and auto memorabilia. We were not concerned with any form of media, just “stuff.” Got late and decided to take up where we left off at a later date. Got in my car, had a CD playing a good ‘ol Blake Shelton album. Got home, hit the reject button, radio came on. Heard the last few words that didn’t make sense as I turned the radio off, then back on.
I sat there listening, not believing, and a numbness came over me. One feels it when you experience the sudden, unexpected, horrific loss of a family member or that of your best friend.
Now, Charlie Kirk was not a member of my immediate family, but was a member of the Body of Christ, sometimes referred to as ‘The Church of Christ’, the ultimate family. I had never met him, never been to an event in which he was speaking. I, like most, just knew Charlie through years of following him on the Internet. He always spoke first of his faith. Second to that, of his family, and thirdly, love of country.
After these, he would plead for open dialogue of debate. He consistently spoke of the inability to have open dialogue as the demise of our nation. It became evident to the world that not everyone believed I had gotten out of my car and gone upstairs to watch the media coverage. Fox was as expected. One of their own was assassinated. CNN and MSNBC were very careful as to how they put forth this narrative. They had been very critical of Charlie Kirk over the years, but as time wore on, the shackles were removed, and we listened to “how because of the hatred and violence of his words, this is what happens.” Or, “This was a direct result of December 6th.”
The inference that Charlie Kirk was somehow “Responsible for his own death”, or “Maybe a supporter just firing off a gun”. This should be reprehensible in all corners. Charlie Kirk brought home constantly that we are in a “spiritual battle.” He spoke from his heart based on Biblical Truth. We can all find areas of the Bible that we have a hard time with or lack the understanding of what is said. Still, if we believe in a Creator and that through the hand of man and by guidance of the Holy Spirit, He has given us the only actual owner's manual that has ever been written, then we have to “Not Lean On Our Own Understanding”.
I have tried to “Hate the message and not the messenger” as I watched the most insensitive aspects of our nation celebrate this assassination. This coming from our members of Congress, teachers of our children and postings on TikTok and other social media. Joyful tidings of Charlie’s death, like it were the end of a cause.
If you watched his beautiful wife, two days after her husband’s death, vowing to pick up the mantle and carry it forth, then you know what was meant when she said, “This movement will not die.”
As of this writing, tens of thousands of youth have reached out to Turning Point USA, Charlie’s organization, to join, to see how they can help.
To those who find satisfaction in what has happened, I say to you. You have no heart, you have no compassion or understanding of the gravity of this heinous act.
Thirdly is 9/11.
Almost 3,000 lost their lives that day, and the number of those lost in the aftermath may never be known. The difference was, we, as a nation, were attacked, and we came together as one. Not since Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941, with 2,400 plus lives lost, had this country been so unified. We will continue to celebrate 9/11 as we do Dec. 7 for as long as we survive as a nation, but I ask you.
Where do we go from here?
Al Hawkins, Greensboro