The full impact of Charlie Kirk's murder is only just beginning to be felt

 

My wife and I made a shopping excursion to Wichita Falls, our nearest "big city", yesterday evening.  We reached a local branch of Braums, a Southern fast-food and grocery chain, at about 8 p.m., and were astonished to find cars backed up in the parking lot and all around the building.  The place was busier than we'd ever seen it, at any time of the day, week or month.

On going inside, it became clear that all these people were there precisely and only because of the funeral service for Charlie Kirk, held in Arizona a short while before and broadcast all over the nation.  Many local churches and house groups had arranged to watch the service together, and now they were getting together over a burger and/or milkshake to discuss what they'd seen and heard.  Everyone we heard talk about it was shaken, emotional, energized - emphasis on the latter.  I've literally never seen anything like this response to a tragedy like Mr. Kirk's murder.  (There was much - and very favorable - comment about his wife's public proclamation that she forgave his murderer.  Talk about a living witness to her faith, and his!)

At a rough estimate, I'd say there were at least a hundred people at that Braums outlet last night - and that's just one such place in a city with dozens of similar establishments.  I wonder how many more gathered at those places?  Furthermore, if the small city of Wichita Falls had so many people affected by the service, how many more - thousands?  Tens of thousands? - did other, larger Texas cities have?  If this was an example of the effect on American life and voting habits of Charlie Kirk's life and death, we're seeing the beginning of a groundswell that might dramatically alter the results of next year's mid-term elections, and perhaps well beyond that.  Nor will such a groundswell be limited to the USA.  Yesterday thousands of Europeans also celebrated Mr. Kirk's life and mourned his death, and echoed his political sentiments.

I don't suppose Mr. Kirk's murderer - let his name be forgotten! - thought at all about the consequences of his actions, but it's not impossible that his assassin has doomed his own faction, his own fellow travelers, to suffer at least short-term negative consequences through what he's done.  That may go on, and strengthen, as the conservative movement takes off in new directions as a result of this boost.  Mr. Kirk's assassination may be the death of the enemies of freedom, politically speaking, as well as the literal, physical death of one of its greatest defenders.

May Mr. Kirk rest in God's peace;  may his family receive comfort and strength;  and may those who shared his beliefs raise his memory as a standard under which to move forward.  As for those who hated and opposed him and all he stood for . . . I don't have to wish anything negative upon or for them, because they've effectively done it to themselves already.  I suspect they're just beginning to realize that, and already they're very afraid of the consequences.  So they should be.

Peter