Janet Smith on the Impact of Charlie Kirk and his Assissination

Great article today in Crisis Magazine:

I have spent hours reading tributes to Charlie Kirk and watching his videos. I have avoided as much as possible the unbelievable, hate-filled responses that rejoice in his death.

For some time now I have said I have felt privileged to live in the time of several individuals, Kirk very much among them. The fact that he is no longer with us devastates me.

If you can’t see that Charlie Kirk’s life was animated by love, I pity you. You do not have eyes to see or ears to hear. You are allowing the hate-filled to shape your views.

Charlie did not go out to the wilderness of college campuses, he did not leave his beloved family for days on end, he did not work long hours for love of anything but Truth (and that means Jesus Himself). He did not risk his life for his own pleasure and profit. He loved those who have rejected the truth, who were duped by the lies of our culture and entangled by its moral corruption.

Although he spent only one semester in college, Charlie defeated everyone he debated, even students at Oxford and Cambridge. He defeated them because he was more brilliant, more learned, and more in love with the Truth than they who could only spout politically-correct ideas. If you doubt me, spend an hour watching his videos. I predict you will come to respect him if not love him.

If you are not on 𝕏 or some other useful news source (nothing mainline) you will not know that huge vigils for Kirk are taking place all over the world—in small villages and major cities—and that is no exaggeration. Billions have watched his videos. Billions. Billions love him, even many of those who don’t agree with him on major issues but know that he loved them.

My 𝕏 feed is filled with statements by the old and the young—that they are going back to church this weekend after years away or going for the first time because of Kirk (and that they are leaving the Democratic party and becoming Republicans). His testimonies to his love for Christ and what it demands of us were more moving and persuasive than almost any given by religious leaders—in large part, of course, because he truly believed and tried to live the Gospel. He exhorted young men to save themselves for marriage, to prepare to support a wife and children spiritually and financially, and to live lives rebuilding American culture. He told them there was no other path to happiness. And many came to believe him. That is why they killed him.

Very large numbers of people like myself are surprised to find ourself plunged into mourning. I have been on the verge of tears for days. But perhaps it should not be such a surprise; those who can’t distinguish evil from good have attempted to extinguish one of the most effective Christian evangelists of our time and the most effective advocate of true American values. It hurts deeply.

There has been endless rejoicing by those on the Left that Charlie is dead. They think he deserved to die for his opinions. How is it that newscasters, professors, teachers, health-care professionals, and people from many worthy walks of life feel justified in claiming that it is a good thing that Charlie is dead? Do you know that? If not, you need better news sources.

Charlie never advocated for violence; he believed in the power of discussion and reasoning. He regularly decimated the arguments of his opponents but nonetheless respected their dignity. He believed their intellects were capable of escaping the prison of false ideas and of grasping the truth. He didn’t think they were stupid or evil, they just weren’t thinking clearly.

Let’s face it. Vast numbers in our culture hate truth and hate those who seek truth and cheer on those deranged enough to kill those they want dead. Too many still live in bubbles occupied by those who think just like them and refuse to see the truth about our culture. It is the Charlie Kirks of the world that have been trying to save the culture that our wise ancestors bequeathed to us.

I am with those who think Charlie Kirk was a modern-day Socrates, a modern-day St. Paul. I believe his death will be a major catalyst to advancing the changes our culture needs, beginning with the foundation of the Truth of Christ. I pray his death will inspire legions of young people to speak up, to debate, and to defend the truth. That is our only true hope.