Thought for Today

The politics of Charlie Kirk’s murder. If there is any topic that I would prefer not to write about it is politics in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s murder. While I find much, though not all, of the political Left’s response absolutely disgusting, the political Right is not blameless either (though they try to present themselves as such).

Although the issue won’t be dealt with in detail until later in the series, it is important to say up front that what often passes for Christianity, what one might call “Christian Americana” is not biblical Christianity. One could even argue that the conservative political cultural version of Christianity does more harm than good, as it often misrepresents what God said and what Scripture states.

Yes, sin is sin, but forgiveness through faith in Christ is available to all. In their vitriol against the favored sins of the Left, that is something some of those on the Right often leave out. Also left out is the biblical reality that all have sinned, and that includes those on the political Right as well as those on the political Left. One of the main reasons Charlie Kirk was viewed as such a threat by the political Left, was that he made the offer of forgiveness through Christ very clear, was not vitriolic, and while firm in what he said, sought to portray the love of Christ.

What have we seen? Lies abound. Do any sort of search for quotes by Charlie Kirk and what one typically finds are deliberately fabricated quotes, falsified misrepresentations, and all sorts of disinformation. The supposed quotes are made out to be as ugly and hateful as possible. If lying furthers the cause, all the more reason to lie. After all, a lie repeated often enough eventually becomes the truth.

Then there’s the media. Lies abound here as well. How many have either directly said, or at least implied, that Charlie Kirk was assassinated by a hyper right wing Trump supporter? For example, Jimmy Kimmel, after being briefly suspended for his outright incendiary lies, is already back on air. He has issued an apology of sorts, saying he never intended to cause the harm that he did, but it is difficult to believe that he is in any way sincere. Time will tell if he immediately goes back to his divisive speech. In the end, lies are condoned, even celebrated. Are there any serious consequences for lying? Not really.

As for the politicians, many memes have been posted about various votes that while all Democrats and Republicans decried the murder of liberal lawmakers in Minnesota, only some Democrats decried the murder of Charlie Kirk. We certainly saw that on the House floor. There is, in some quarters, a genuine hatred for Charlie and what he stood for. There are many who truly are glad he was killed. One of the disallowed topics of discussion is the existence of a subculture of assassination, murder, and violence within some members of the Trans community, as well as internet-based subcultures. The assassin’s bullet inscriptions directly point in that direction.

But that is not all Democrats or Leftists. In the deliberate fomenting of the divisive feeding frenzy that has followed, has anyone acknowledged what Democrat senator John Fetterman has said?

Yes, many on the political Left spew forth vitriolic hatred. Their sponsoring of certain violent groups has also been well documented. But in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, at least some on the political Right have been responding in kind. They have painted the political Left with the same broad brush the political Left uses to paint the political Right. We will examine that response and make some comments in the next post.