What strength.
As Erika Kirk prepared to lay her slain husband to rest, she stood before millions and God Almighty and did what Jesus would do. She forgave the 22-year-old Utah man accused of assassinating the love of her life.
“My husband, Charlie, he wanted to save young men, just like the one who took his life,” she said through tears at Sunday’s memorial service for Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk at a packed State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
“On the cross, our Savior said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they not know what they do.’ That man. That young man. I forgive him. I forgive him because it was what Christ did. And is what Charlie would do.”
“The answer to hate is not hate. The answer we know from the Gospel is love and always love,” the mother of two young, now-fatherless children bravely testified to Christ’s eternal commandment.
Rejoicing in Hatred
In a world drenched in hate, Erika Kirk’s very public act of forbearance was incredibly courageous. And it stood as an antidote to the left’s poisonous rhetoric in the days following the cold-blooded murder of the conservative civil rights leader.
“Breaking: Charlie Kirk loses gun debate,” Brandy Bryant, a man pretending to be a woman — also pretending to be a comedian — reportedly wrote on X following Kirk’s Sept. 10 assassination while speaking to Utah Valley University students.
Sadder and more sickening, the post racked up 45,000 reposts, 424,000 likes, and 12 million views in just a day, Newsweek reported. Kirk’s alleged killer, according to investigators, is steeped in far-left ideology and is romantically involved with a man identifying as a woman.
A Clemson University staff member allegedly posted on his Facebook page, “In a world full of Charlie Kirks and Brian Thompsons, be a Tyler Robinson or a Luigi Mangione,” according to screenshots posted by the Clemson College Republicans. The post refers to Kirk’s alleged assassin and the accused killer of health insurance executive Brian Thompson, Mangione, who is charged with fatally shooting the CEO in the back. The Clemson employee was fired last week, as were two faculty members who shared despicably callous comments on social media, The Federalist reported.
These are just a few of the myriad examples of liberals rejoicing in the murder of a political opponent, meeting hatred with hatred.
The Left’s Gospel of Division
Through all of the hatred, a widow now picking up the pieces of a shattered life urged the world to turn to love, particularly “Love for our enemies and love for those who persecute us.”
What we have unfortunately learned over the better part of the past two weeks is that the radical left in this deeply divided land of liberty is absolutely shackled to political hatred. Their leaders couldn’t even wait until after Kirk’s funeral before revictimizing his family with wretched political rhetoric.
“His rhetoric and beliefs were ignorant, uneducated, and sought to disenfranchise millions of Americans — far from the ‘working tirelessly to promote unity’ asserted by the majority in this resolution,” the profoundly ignorant Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez spewed last week on the House floor. The New York Marxist joined 57 other Democrats who voted against a House resolution condemning Kirk’s murder and political violence.
The resolution praised the life and work of a God-fearing man, offered condolences to his family, and urged all Americans to “reject political violence, recommit to respectful debate, uphold American values, and respect one another as fellow Americans.”
AOC, her fellow “Squad” members Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, and dozens of other Democrats rejected the rejection of political violence. They clearly despise traditional American values and hold a seething hatred for anyone who does.
They are the followers of the cult of “antiracism” and “critical race theory,” a secular religion that deifies identity politics. Such ideologies value “equity” over equality, diversity over unity, inclusion by means of discrimination, and the gospel of grievance, which demands its believers and nonbelievers preach the lie that the United States of America is an oppressor land of white supremacy and systemic racism.
Compare two iconic images in recent American history: Erika Kirk delivering the Good News of salvation to a sinful world of violence and hatred, and then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democrats in Covid masks, genuflecting at the altar of George Floyd and cursing cops in the Capitol’s Emancipation Hall.
Note two major differences in the wake of the two incidents. George Floyd’s death was followed by a flood of violence and destruction, riots and chaos in cities across the country. Charlie Kirk’s death has been followed by reflection and reawakening — nothing short of an American faith and values revival. No burning buildings, no assaults on upholders of the law, no tit-for-tat political violence. A turning to the Lord, not a turning away.
John 3:16 — For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Two Roads Ahead
Yes, there are two Americas. Two distinctly different visions for the nearly 250-year-old republic that God has shed his grace upon. There are two roads: redemption or perdition.
Erika Kirk made it clear where she stands.
“The answer to hate is not hate. The answer we know from the Gospel is love and always love,” Charlie Kirk’s widow said.
What strength.
Matt Kittle is a senior elections correspondent for The Federalist. An award-winning investigative reporter and 30-year veteran of print, broadcast, and online journalism, Kittle previously served as the executive director of Empower Wisconsin.
