“[W]hen people stop talking, really bad stuff starts. When marriages stop talking, divorce happens. When civilizations stop talking, civil war ensues. When you stop having a human connection with someone you disagree with, it becomes a lot easier to want to commit violence against that group… What we as a culture have to get back to is being able to have a reasonable disagreement where violence is not an option.”
That was the late Charlie Kirk in a video I saw posted this morning on X from one of his many visits to our nation’s college campuses (I cannot say which) to meet with students, especially those he disagreed with, embodying the very spirit of the civil society — promoting debate, carrying on a conversation and embracing the freedom of speech that representative government depends on.
He was being asked why he was there on campus. Why bother? Because he thought young Americans needed a voice and that it matters that we can keep speaking up and to one another. Keep talking. That’s what he believed. He’s right.
