In Memory of Charlie Kirk

Guest post by Carrie Zeidman

Charlie, his widow, and his two young children.

Charlie had his beliefs, some I agreed with and some I didn’t, but he never hated anyone. He was always willing to discuss any topic with anyone, and he always fostered communication with respect. He never disparaged anyone. This is something that is sorely lacking in today’s world.

I knew Charlie. He was a good person. Yet those who disagreed with him, rather than talk to him, chose to call him vile names, labeling him a “fascist” or a “Nazi” for his beliefs. When someone is dehumanized the way Charlie was, it emboldens those who choose to kill rather than talk.

Charlie gave millions of Conservative high school and college students a voice. Our side of the political aisle has been shut down and silenced by the Left for a long time. Our speakers shouted down, our events interrupted, and our students cowed by progressive professors that played politics with grades. Ironically, their reasoning was because, they claimed, we were “fascists.” But whether you agree with Charlie’s beliefs or not, he was always respectful of those he disagreed with. He was a good man, a good husband, a good father, a good son, a good friend, and an intelligent, loving man who tried to live his faith and build bridges. He didn’t deserve to die at the hands of someone that couldn’t stand the fact that someone that may believe differently than he did lived in this world.

The crazies of the world feed on this hyperbolic vitriol, this dehumanizing of everyone they disagree with, calling them “fascist” or “Hitler” or any of the other vile labels that are used to disparage others. It needs to stop if we have any chance of surviving as a country.

About the author

Carrie Zeidman is a digital artist and photographer whose passions are photography, art, travel, and history, all of which are found in her artwork. Carrie has won numerous awards for her artwork and was named Cupertino Distinguished Artist of the Year in 2012. In November of 2009 Carrie’s painting depicting the fall of the Berlin Wall was put on permanent exhibit at the Checkpoint Charlie Museum (Mauermuseum) in Berlin, Germany. Carrie is also a genealogist with a love of history. In 2023 she proved that Elvis was not Jewish, despite rumors, and published the definitive research in an article in Who Do You Think You Are? magazine.