Charlie Kirk, a conservative speaker of traditional values and founder of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot on September 10 at Utah Valley University. This horrific act of violence has left Erika Kirk a widow and her two young children without a father. Calling into question whether America's Foundation of freedom of speech is truly free.
Charlie Kirk championed the ideal of the Marketplace of Ideas. The belief that testing the truth or the acceptance of ideas depends on their competition with one another through debate and application. This is the heart of freedom of speech, the ability to express opinions, ideas, and information without fear of retaliation or censorship. However, Kirk faced the ultimate form of retaliation, losing his life while engaging in debate with Utah students. However, even individuals who do not share Kirk's conservative values or faith realize the danger of a man being silenced for his opinions. Former Tonight Show host Jay Leno takes a passionate stance despite having disagreed with Kirk on several occasions."I mean, it’s the death of free speech, to think that you are so illiterate and so stupid you can’t answer verbally, and you have to shoot somebody with a gun to win the argument." This has become a blood-chilling reality in society, where instead of having dialogue, people resort to violence instead of communication. With Charlie Kirk advocating against just that in one of his debates:
"When people stop talking, really bad stuff starts...When civilizations stop talking, civil war ensues. When you stop having a human connection with someone you disagree with, it becomes a lot easier to want to commit violence against that group...but what we as a culture have to get back to is being able to have a reasonable disagreement where violence is not an option." Freedom of speech should be free, but often it comes at a cost, and if the pattern of violence doesn't end, the cycle will merely repeat. The call for communication and debate has grown with Charlie Kirk's death, giving us the opportunity to course correct and pursue open dialogue with one another; keeping dignity and respect at the center of our conversation especially when expressing different opinions.
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