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By John F. Di Leo, Opinion Contributor
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On September 10, Arlington Heights, Illinois native Charlie Kirk was assassinated while giving a speech at a university in Utah.
Though he never held political office, he was what our Founding Fathers would have identified as a statesman: a man devoted to philosophy and history, active in politics, but not consumed by acquiring public office for himself. Rather, his calling was to support, and even revive, the American culture championed by the original American vision. Charlie Kirk believed in the Judeo-Christian tradition, in Western Civilization, in the philosophy of limited government that made the United States the City on the Hill, the role model republic for the modern world.
And he became a star in our culture, by carrying that message to millions – by writing four books by the age of 30, by starting several organizations, the most important being Turning Point USA. How? By thoughtfully engaging with his audiences, one at a time, cordially, seriously, respectfully.
And for that – yes, for exactly that – he was gunned down, in public, right in front of an audience that included his own young daughter.
We don’t cry for him, personally, because we know that if anyone would be welcomed at the Pearly Gates without needing to stand in line, it’s Charlie Kirk.
But we mourn for his wife and children, for his friends and colleagues, and for a nation whose current second chance for revival is owed in large part to this very special young man’s dedication and talent, these last dozen years.
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