Violence is the opposite of freedom. In a nation that declares free speech as a foundational human right, it is intolerable. Its intention is to end speech; to impose might as the deciding factor, not ideas that rise through a marketplace of freely expressed thoughts.
The murder of conservative speaker Charlie Kirk while he answered questions on the Utah Valley University campus Wednesday is an unspeakable tragedy. While the bullet took his life, it was aimed, as well, at all Americans. It cut down a young man, robbing his wife of a husband and his two young children of a father.
That it took place on a campus known in recent years as a host for international events, including a United Nations conference that focused on global sustainability goals and featured numerous refugees now living in Utah, is galling.
The right to express views
Kirk was killed because he dared to express his views. In the United States, and particularly in Utah, that should be a protected act necessary for self-government, no matter how vigorously others may disagree.
It is fitting and important that politicians on both sides of the aisle expressed sorrow and anger over this tragedy. This was an attack on the nation’s system of government, affecting people of all political stripes.
Utah state lawmakers also should reconsider recent laws that keep campuses from banning firearms at events. At press time, little was known about the shooter or the weapon used, how it was brought to the event or how far away the shooter was from his target. Certainly, however, rules against weapons would have made it easier to control conditions in the crowd. This tragedy argues for universities to have the freedom to impose tougher safety regulations at large gatherings.
Violence must end
When then-candidate Donald Trump survived a gunshot more than a year ago, we urged loyal Americans to make sure that was the end of political violence in the United States. We now renew that call. The internet is powerful. Passions are easily stirred. Many Americans are intensely partisan. It’s time to douse those flames.
A Pew Research Center poll from a few years ago found 72% of Republicans believing Democrats were dishonest, while 64% of Democrats felt the same about Republicans. Virtually identical numbers felt members of the opposite party were immoral.
These sentiments must be tempered by a realization that patriots exist in both parties, and that they want the best for the nation, even if they approach governing differently.
Abraham Lincoln’s words
After the first attempt on Trump’s life, we urged people to remember the words of Abraham Lincoln’s first inaugural address. That seems appropriate now, as well.
Lincoln told a nation soon to be engulfed by civil war that he hoped “the mystic chords of memory” would lead to every heart being touched “by the better angels of our nature.”
Again, we urge all to pray for those better angels to emerge. We urge calm as details emerge about the shooter, his motives and his political philosophies.
We urge prayers for Kirk’s widow and fatherless children. We urge prayers for Utah, Orem and UVU, none of which must be defined by this horrific event. And we urge prayers for the United States, whose brand of freedom has served as a beacon of hope for generations.
