My phone rang today, almost at the exact moment I was reading on Twitter about Charlie Kirk being shot. It was one of my best friends—someone I talk to often, especially when events like this happen—so before he said a single word, I already knew it wasn’t fake news.
I hate to admit it, but this doesn’t even surprise me anymore. It feels like we’re barreling toward self-destruction as a country, and most of the people in charge seem either asleep at the wheel or comfortably living in a world of alternative facts.
Today feels historically terrifying to me—almost like the assassination of Charlie Kirk is the last trumpet of Jericho, the sound announcing a downfall. I wish I could be positive, but I can’t. And to be clear, I’m not saying this because I agreed with Kirk; the opposite is true. I’m saying it because Pandora’s box has been opened.
I told my friend it might be best for us—sincerely—to stop discussing political things online. “Don’t engage,” I said with real concern. “Someone could twist our words to suggest we condone what just happened, and that could make us targets for righteous bullets ourselves.” I meant every word.
I’ve been outspoken in my opposition to Trump and his ideas. In my view, he’s driving the country into the ground, hyperinflating the dollar, and taxing everyone to death. Politically, I oppose everything MAGA stands for—and that’s no secret. But to celebrate the death of a rival? What is that? What’s happening to us?
My friend said he thinks we’re reaching a civil-war-level boiling point, and I have to agree. Maybe it’s not the North and the South this time, but the separation is unmistakable, and the animosity is just as fierce.
For what it’s worth, I’m glad we still have this space where we can vent and discuss. But this might be the last time I touch on politics for a long while.
MenO