Our response to Charlie Kirk’s assassination must be better.
The assassination of Charlie Kirk has cast a dark shadow over the country, not only because the deed itself was abominable, but also because the reaction to it has been so disturbing. Instead of bringing out the best in America, as tragedies once did, it is bringing out the worst — in both parties.
It should go without saying that political violence — and gun violence — is always wrong. Yet on the left, there have been instances of dancing on Kirk’s grave. When human decency and basic civility fall victim to partisanship and ideology, and abhorrence of violence becomes tempered by political aims, monstrosities and tyrannies become possible.
For Democrats, who frequently accuse Republicans of fascism and whataboutism, such conduct is the height of hypocrisy — and they should forcefully denounce it when it appears online or anywhere else.
Celebrating a murder is disgraceful, and reprimands and firings in the workplace can be appropriate consequences for it, but criticism of anyone’s political views should always be fair game. Overzealous policing of speech has already led to punishments for comments critical of Kirk’s positions and supporters. And using law enforcement to crack down on “hate speech,” as the administration has threatened to do, would run afoul of the First Amendment, as Kirk himself said. It’s a sad irony that some of his supporters are using his death to undermine the core constitutional principle that he defended in life.