Story and Graphic by Molly Holmstead, Story Editor
“Treat people the way you want to be treated.” The Golden Rule. We heard this on the daily as little kids with eager minds and open hearts. Our parents and our communities promoted this idea in our daily lives, but where did this rule fade to? Where is it at a time of need for our country?
On September 10th, Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist and co – founder of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot during a public speaking event at Utah Valley University. The suspect, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, allegedly confessed to the crime, citing Kirk’s promotion of hate as his motive.
This tragedy has sparked many different angry voices and opinions coming to life from all over the country. Unsurprisingly, his death has been politicized, but what about the idea of human decency and human empathy? What about the Golden Rule that was so important to us at one point in our life? Has that been lost in all these voices?
Charlie Kirk was a conservative debater, but he was also a husband and father. At just 31 years old, he was freshly out of his twenties, with his whole life ahead of him. His wife, Erika, and their young children-a one-year-old son and a three-year-old daughter-were present during his murder. They were forced to witness the loss of the person they loved most, simply because his political beliefs clashed with others. A violent hate crime took place that day, and it just added more hate to the world in an attempt to take it away.
Kirk was extremely controversial with his statements, which is the foundational reason so many different opinions have come to life. Many people praised Kirk, while others strongly disagreed with him. The difference between the two sides is that Kirk was a generational, amazing debater, or the celebration of his death. I’m not here to pick a side, I am here to remind the world that in moments like these it is a time to come together to fix the country, and not divide.
The answer to hate is not hate.
Treat people the way you want to be treated, and I am saying this to both sides, empathy is a valued human trait that everyone should have.
We can all learn something from his wife Erika, whose words may have surprised a lot of people.”I forgive him because it was what Christ did and is what Charlie would do,” Erika said at her husband’s memorial at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. “The answer to hate is not hate. The answer we know from the gospel is love and always love. Love for our enemies and love for those who persecute us.”
If the victim’s wife can not only forgive the shooter, but show love for him, why can we not do the same? What makes the society so divided and angry that we cannot show love for our enemies? If we can’t show love, the least we can do is show decency.
