Who is Charles James Kirk?

Where we've gone off the rails as a society is that we've lost the human element. Today, this is about Charles James Kirk, a son, a father, a friend, a husband, a productive member of society.

Most people look at others and define them by their successes and failures in life. So it’s all perspective, and therefore always subjective. Most would define Charlie as the 21-year-old kid who started Turning Point USA and built it into a movement. Whether you stood alongside that movement or you stood against it usually determines if you judge him as a success or a failure, but what’s not subjective is that he built a movement at 21. Regardless of whether you stood with or against that movement, that's an accomplishment most will never pull off. The building of that movement and the creation and unification of the voice of conservative youth is who Charlie Kirk was. Yesterday Charlie Kirk as we know him was killed.

Today we’re going to talk about who Charles James Kirk was. Charles was a human just like the rest of us. That’s what matters. A human was senselessly killed yesterday, and so many others in so many ways. Period. If you’re a good person, that’s a loss because that’s what matters.

A son, a husband, a father, and a friend was lost. Charles Kirk, who was taken from us in a senseless act of violence at Utah Valley University, was first and foremost a human being - a 31-year-old man who kissed his wife goodbye that morning and would never return home to tuck his two young children into bed.

Charles was someone's little boy who grew up with dreams and aspirations. He became a husband who loved his wife Erika deeply, building a life together filled with shared hopes for the future. He was a father who delighted in his young children, who probably had bedtime stories planned and weekends mapped out that will now never happen.

Charles was a man of faith, grounded in his Christian beliefs that shaped how he saw the world and his place in it. He was a youth leader who genuinely cared about inspiring the next generation, regardless of what one might think of his methods or message. Those who knew him personally speak of his energy, his passion, and his genuine belief that he was working to make America better for future generations.

Charles was a son who made his parents proud, a friend who showed loyalty and care, a member of his community who contributed his talents and efforts toward causes he believed in. He was productive, driven, and committed to his family and his work. These are the qualities that define a good man, not perfect, because none of us are, but good in the ways that matter most.

What happened yesterday represents something profoundly broken in our society. We have reached a point where political disagreement has morphed into something darker and more dangerous. We live in a time when people have become so convinced of their own righteousness, so certain that those who disagree with them are not just wrong but evil, that violence begins to seem justified.

Here's what we have to remember as humans, regardless of Charlie Kirk's politics, regardless of whether you agreed or disagreed with his positions, a human life was lost today. A good man who loved his family and served his community was murdered. A wife became a widow. Two children lost their father. Parents lost their son.

There is no political position, no ideological stance, no policy disagreement that justifies taking a human life. None. When we begin to view our political opponents as less than human, when we convince ourselves that some lives matter less than others based on their beliefs, we have lost our way as a society.

The fragility of life should humble us all. Charlie Kirk woke up yesterday morning, probably had breakfast, maybe called his wife, and prepared for what he thought would be just another speaking engagement. He had no idea these would be his final hours. None of us ever do. This uncertainty, this precious fragility of our existence, should remind us that what we share as human beings is far more important than what divides us politically.

Today, too many people are celebrating on social media. Too many are trying to justify this violence or diminish this loss because they disagreed with Charlie's politics. This is where we have failed as a society. When we can no longer see the humanity in those who disagree with us, when we can no longer mourn the loss of a father and husband simply because he held different political views, we have allowed our divisions to poison our souls. We have a heart issue.

We are eating ourselves alive, consuming our own humanity in the service of political tribalism. We have become so focused on being right, on winning, on proving our opponents wrong, that we have forgotten how to value human life itself. This madness must stop.

Charles Kirk should be described as a human American defined by his love for his family, his commitment to his faith, his dedication to causes he believed in, and his ambition. He was a man who got up every day and tried to contribute something meaningful to the world, all things we as humans should strive to do.

Last night, a wife will go to bed alone. Two young children will grow up without their father's guidance, protection, and love. Parents will bury their child. Friends will gather to remember a life cut short. These are the real consequences of a heart problem was are calling political violence, not abstract ideological victories or defeats, but human suffering that ripples through families and communities for generations.

We really need to stop, reflect, and remember that behind every figure is a human being with hopes, dreams, fears, and people who love them. We need to remember that disagreement, even passionate disagreement, does not make someone an enemy deserving of violence. That the measure of our society is not found in our politics but in our compassion, our ability to recognize the humanity in one another, even across our deepest differences.

Charles Kirk was a son, a husband, a father, a friend, and a fellow human being. Today, he was taken from us far too soon at 31. Today, be a civilized fellow human, don’t focus on deepening our divisions, but focus on our shared humanity. Choose love over hate, understanding over anger, and life over the politics of destruction that led to this moment.

The best tribute we can offer Charles Kirk, or any human for that matter, is to be better than the forces that took his life. We can choose to see the humanity in those who disagree with us. We can choose to value life over politics. We can choose to be the Americans our children deserve to inherit, not perfect, but striving always to be worthy of the gift of life that was so tragically stolen from a good man yesterday.