We All Killed Him

On September 10, 2025, a right-wing social media influencer named Charlie Kirk was murdered at an event he was supposed to speak at in Utah. He was 31 years old. Left behind a wife and children. The 22 year-old man who is accused of his murder is in custody. No official release on his motive as of yet. Of course, that has not stopped countless people from throwing their own theories out there. This killing has caused a lot of anger and outrage, shock and surprise, disbelief and horror. People are reeling from this. I, however, am not shocked by this. 

Let me clarify. I am saddened by his death. I honestly knew little other than he was a Trump supporter and liked to go to universities and debate people. As I have read up on what he stood for, I do not think I missed anything by not being influenced by him. While I respect his desire for free speech and debate, his personal viewpoints do not align with my own in a particularly meaningful way. I don't think I would have wanted to hang out with him. I am suspicious of his involvement in the January 6 insurrection attempt of 2021. He has called people who have violently attacked Democrats and their families as "patriots". These disagreements with him have no cause for me to want or celebrate his disgusting murder. When I say that political violence is vile, I mean it across the political spectrum. He did not deserve this in any way, shape, or form. 

But am I shocked or surprised by this? No. Not at all. I may be surprised by who exactly was murdered, but in the current US political landscape, I am not surprised that people are being killed for political reasons. Since the 2020 election there have been at least 15 major events of political violence in America (and I suspect that . Six of them have happened this year alone. In June, State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband were killed in their own home in Minnesota. She was a Democrat. A fellow Democrat lawmaker and his wife were also shot in that state on the day by the same man. There have been so many comments and posts that I have read that express a desire for violence against political opponents that I am not one bit surprised by this. 

What am I feeling about all of this? Disappointment. Resigned disappointment. My disappointment stems from the increasing number of people who are advocating for more violence. It stems from those who have made claims on the motive for Kirk's killing without any evidence. I have read theories from the Democrats organizing the assassination to Trump's team choosing to kill him to make him into a martyr. Some have said that the guy was even farther to the right than Kirk, and that is why he killed him. I have read comments from opponents of Kirk that claimed he just got what he deserved, that he intentionally stoked the fires and because of this he simply received that which he had advocated against others. I have read comments from the right that all Democrats are guilty and need to be arrested and/or shot on sight. People are claiming that there is no olive branch to extend, no mercy to be shown the other side, and no way that they are going to stand with their political opponents in this. 

This is what truly sickens me. Forget coming together during a crisis. It's time for payback. It's time for more blood to be spilt until ones enemies have been wiped from the face of the Earth.

It's sentiments like this that have caused me to feel that yes, it is more than just the one gunman that is responsible for the death of Charlie Kirk. 

The truth, as I see it, is this: we all killed him.

We killed him when we throw out phrases about executing political opponents. We killed him when we casually call the guy we didn't vote for a traitor. We killed him when we fly flags or carry posters that read "F*** (insert person you won't vote for here)". We killed him when we say that all citizens who do not vote the way we do are communists, fascists, losers, idiots, racists, bigots, terrorists, etc. We killed him when we refuse to speak to people who disagree with us. We killed him when we cut off family members from our lives because they supported the "other party". We killed him when we hold our political opponents to one standard yet look the other way when our guy does the same thing or worse. We killed him when we decided that sensible gun laws were an attack on liberty. We killed him when we spread lies about others. We killed him when we demonize people who are different from us. We killed him when arguing and insults was mistaken for acceptable public discourse. We killed him when we yell out "But what about the other guy?" when someone points out the bad things your candidate did. We killed him when we turned "debates" from an exchange of ideas to a "win at all costs" moment. We killed him when cry out for vengeance when someone on our political side is hurt but shrug our shoulders and show little sympathy when it's someone from the other team. We killed him when we preach that we should love one another, but conveniently forget that truth when it comes to the political arena. We killed him when we send death threats to politicians and volunteers. We killed him when we see a post on social media that a friend makes supporting someone you do not and then comment derogatory statements in an attempt to show "the other side". We killed him when we loudly talk smack about a certain political party or person in a public setting, thinking that everyone around you is in agreement, but unbeknownst to you there are those who silently suffer the insults because they no longer feel welcome. We killed him when we allowed hatred for our political opponents to take root in our souls and allowed it to grow. We killed him when we set aside doing the right thing for a false sense that we are in the right. We are all guilty. 

For a long time I have felt that there is nothing that I can do about the violent turmoil that has gripped the world in which I find myself in. As I type this I wonder if my voice has any impact. I feel like I am standing on the shore, yelling into the wind of an oncoming storm of hatred. I do not fear that as things continue to deteriorate I will get knocked down when I stand for what I sincerely believe is truth, but I do fear that a day may come when I decide to not get back up again.

So since I cannot change the world, I will do what I can to change myself. I will forgive myself for the mistakes I have made in this matter. I will strive harder to stay optimistic and to be a peacemaker. I will choose to love those around me. I will still stand against things in government that I believe are wrong. I will still speak out against the wicked in defense of truth and virtue. I will do better and be better. And if the battle rages about me becomes so intense that I can no longer see if anyone stands with me, I will stand for as long as I am able. I will do my best to be perfect in this, but I suspect there is high likelihood that I will stumble and fail from time to time. When I do, I will learn, repent, and resolve to do better. I will allow God to prevail in my life. I will forgive as quickly as I can. 

But if you ask me if I think Charlie Kirk will be the last to die at the hands of hatred, my answer is simple. No. He will not be the last. The momentum seems to be too strong, so unless many, many more join me in this, there will be more. Maybe tomorrow, maybe in a week or a month or even a year, but there will be more. I have faith in God that His will be done. I have faith in Christ that His sacrifice will help me heal. I have faith that the Sun will rise tomorrow and that the platypus will always be the coolest critter there is for me. I no longer have faith that things will get much better in the direction we are headed. I do not have faith in people much anymore. I would love to be proven wrong.

Please, prove me wrong.

 

A Sign of Life

So it has been almost five years since I last posted. A lot has happened, of course, but just in case the two people who followed this blog were wondering, no, I am not dead. To be honest, in order to look after my mental health, I allowed myself to drop several balls that I had been juggling. One of them was blogging. Not that the blogs were being bad for me, I just found other things were a higher priority, so the blogging stopped and I did not feel too bad about it. At the end of the day, I am OK with that. 

I think it is important that we look after ourselves overall; physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. They are all connected, so I do my best to balance them all. It is challenging at times, but I have improved a lot in my efforts (and I have the brain scans to prove it!). 

Today is just a quick update as to how things are right now and what I have been up to. 

School/Work - July of 2020 saw a part of the school building be condemned. This necessitated a split of the high school into a north and south campus. I stayed north while many cherished colleagues and students went south. I was able to witness the construction of the new building, which we were allowed to move into Spring 2024. The building is great! I am grateful to finally be in a proper, state of the art building. Sadly, the split between campuses became permanent, and it happened out of the blue. Still a bit upset about that, but I choose to move forward and make the best of it. Our student population is growing, and with that comes new staff. In almost every case they are proving to be great additions. 

Church - Shortly after my last entry I was called to be a counsellor in the bishopric. I stayed in that calling for a little over a year. I was then called as Elders Quorum instructor and Assistant Ward Clerk. A few weeks ago I was extended a new calling, but I have not yet been able to announce it. My favorite church-related thing was an assignment for Heather and I to be "parents" to a group of stake youth on a camp last summer called "My Quest". We had 14 youth, a few of whom we already knew, but all of them became dear to us quickly.

Family - Heather and I are quickly approaching our 15th Anniversary. The last few years have been tough, but we remain strong together. The girls are growing up. Barbara is in Grade 7 and Hope is in Grade 5. Dustin married his boyfriend of several years, Andrew, and they live in Devon. Dayton and his girlfriend, Kallie, bought a house and are doing well. Dayton is a nurse now, and Dustin continues to design beautiful homes. We sadly lost Grandma Violet a couple years ago. She and Dad were visiting in Australia. Her passing was very unexpected, but the family have tried to rally around each other. Dad had a couple of minor strokes last spring, but he has bounced back nicely.

World - Sad to say that global conditions seem to be at a tipping point these days. Russia invaded Ukraine 3 years ago and they have been at war ever since. October 7 2023 saw the Palestinian organization Hamas attack Israel, and there has been a brutal war in the Gaza ever since. Hundreds of thousands of civilian lives have been lost in these wars. Donald Trump lost the election in 2020. He proceeded to tell lies that caused thousands of his supporters attack the capital January 6, 2021. The US has been divided ever since. It is like there is a second civil war being fought with words. Each side refuses to see the other side as human beings. Trump was convicted of several felony charges, but somehow America elected him last November. I don't understand it. The man is a liar, a felon, and spit on the Constitution of the United States of America with his deceitfulness, and yet Americans still elected him. 

The hardest part in all of this is seeing how good people are justifying their support, but he is quickly eroding decency in society. He has allowed an unelected billionaire to gut the government programs, firing thousands of people, mainly because they do not support him. He is threatening unfair tariffs on us and other close allies. He has repeatedly suggested that the US annex Canada. He is blaming Ukraine for their war with Russia and having peace talks with Russia only. Suffice it to say, he is the greatest threat to all that is good and free in the world right now. 

Thankfully, there is hope. I am trying to find it, but I know it is there. I know that horrible things are coming in what we sometimes call "the last days", but I know that there will be peace, and all that was wrong will be set right. I just hope that the people I love and care about will be spared much of the pain. For me, I will just stay close to the Lord, listen to his servants the prophets, and trust in Him.