Nobody Reads This Page: “Opinion Overload”

 

c. 2025 Rod Ice

All rights reserved

(9-25)

 

 

Charles James Kirk; October 14, 1993 – September 10, 2025

 

In an effort to offer full disclosure here, I will say this out loud, with no malice intended. Or, any forethought of making a political statement.

 

I never paid much attention to Charlie Kirk.

 

To be completely candid, that surname evokes a wholly different image when tingling my ears. One born of fiction, in the 1960’s. James Tiberius Kirk, Captain of the Starship Enterprise. A traveler throughout the cosmos. Who despite dwelling only in the realm of imagination, was inspirational and important, for those of us who were then coming of age.

 

But like many Americans, I was aware of this other Young Turk of sorts, as a talking head who sometimes appeared in news presentations. I knew that he was an influencer with great appeal for conservative students, having founded Turning Point USA. And that he relished debating intellectual positions in open forums. In personal terms, I reckoned that any free discussion of ideas, pro or con, was a good thing. Part of our tradition as a constitutional republic. Those who can speak to each other in a civilized fashion, I learned from my childhood forward, are less likely to choose violence as an alternative to accomplish their goals. So it was, that upon learning of his assassination at an event in Utah, I recoiled from the explosion of content that appeared on social media in the aftermath of that tragedy.

 

I hoped that cooler heads might prevail. Yet that did not seem likely, with emotions boiling over at every juncture.

 

One friend posted an illustration of a Klan rally, captioned with text that indicated they were mourning the death of their fallen hero. Others revived photos of old Germany and the Third Reich, to poke and jab angrily at the current administration, and their affinity for this deceased fellow. There were quotes of rhetoric skillfully used and twisted, for the purpose of making a partisan score. When Jimmy Kimmel had his late-night television show were pulled by ABC, in a knee-jerk reaction, this caustic level of expression only intensified.

 

Those on the opposite side of our cultural divisions reacted in horror, of course. Lots of chest-beating and fist thumping resounded across the heartland. The Christian cross, along with our national emblems, became even more commonplace than before.

 

What I did not hear or read was gentler in nature. A quiet prayer of sympathy for a husband and father, who would no longer be a direct participant in the life of his family. And a moment to weep for our greater society. One so often affected by the scourge of violence, that familiarity has made us numb to the loss of human life. In a way that transcends any platitudes or talking points parroted by the masses.

 

Indeed, from reports of the commemoration held in Arizona, to honor Kirk’s passing, there was little interest in shunning the hand-to-hand combat of daily social interactions. Instead, the flames were stoked with bold talk, oaths of fealty, promises of conquest, and a general ignorance of what the Holy Scriptures actually offer to those who believe. Only his widow seemed genuinely attuned to the faith. Her heartfelt offer of forgiveness, following the example of Christ on the cross, hit a theological bullseye with this writer.

 

It was the most sane, and authentically spiritual statement I had heard, since that bullet flew across the concourse at Utah Valley University.

 

“Father, forgive them. For they know not what they do...”

 

Seeking some measure of comfort from this dreadful occurrence, and its aftermath, I turned to an old, blue Bible on the bookshelf in my home office. A gift given long ago, rendered in large print, as the sharp focus of my eyesight was beginning to fade. With such prolific prose being written about the legacy of this young man, in a context of moral values and traditions, I thought it would be useful to delve into those pages.

 

The first result was striking, and appropriate.

 

Romans 15:1-7 “We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up. For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: ‘The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.’ For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope. May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.”

 

Those of us who long for kinship and cooperation are used to being tagged as naïve and unprincipled. Yet our founders knew well that the predisposition of human animals to kill each other, through war or singular acts of aggression, is deeply rooted. Thus, their masterful system of checks and balances has given us an uncommon age of relative peace, at least on this continent. Our struggles and conflicts have always been best solved through debate and discourse. The use of force, by a group or a lone assailant, does not offer a lasting premise for discipline. Such woes are fleeting in effect, and generally, powerful only in their ability to stunt the growth of a community or nation.

 

With Charlie Kirk now in his grave, thinkers on both sides of the chasm will witness this conundrum in effect.

 

Left and right, rich and poor, progressive and retrograde, all will eventually come to realize that the cycle of living and dying continues beyond their own, proscribed orbit. The only eternal energy available to mankind is love. That essence alone, when cherished and nurtured, may carry generations forward. It shines outward when embraced, multiplying itself. Offering illumination, guidance, and perhaps, a measure of hope. If there is a fitting legacy for this perished figure, or for any of the others who have met a similar fate through circumstance, or the randomness of daily interactions, this is it in a pure distillation. To soften hard hearts, and erase the artificial chalk-lines of division.

 

Let us reason, one with another, and break bread together. Instead of breaking bones, hearts and promises, in a fool’s race toward the bottom. This should be the yield of our sorrows. To make right what our past has put asunder. To do better, while we still have time to make a change.