In the hours after the news of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, amid the powerful voices sharing their shock, anger, and pain at the passing of their friend, there is… something else. We felt it on 9/11, and it’s been building again – a groundswell of grit and determination to reclaim our pride in the American dream. If the cowardly shooter thinks he killed Charlie Kirk, think again. He didn’t kill his idea, his spirit. He created a thousand more Charlie Kirks and awakened the Charlie Kirk in each of us.

We mourn the loss of the man and feel the anguish of his family, who lost a son, a father, a husband, and a friend. But beneath that grief is a fire. I feel it as I write this. A driving desire to retaliate, but with words and ideas that will shape the thoughts and minds of generations of young people to come. If those celebrating his death thought that this heinous act would change anything, they were wrong.

We recoil in pain at the thought of losing Charlie. He was a big man in both stature and deeds. He was also a deeply caring and pious man who lived his life as he preached. As they say, he “spoke truth to power,” but it was the power of his words and his actions that spoke to millions of Americans to show how to be a “happy warrior” of our way of life. To live that life unflinchingly and unapologetically. They tried to kill his spirit, but it will burn even brighter in his passing. He was a true martyr – a man who died living his life to the fullest, while trying to make the lives of all around him better.

Charlie Kirk lived the blueprint of what it means to be an American. It is deeply painful that the man is gone. Still, his spark, his love, and his idea will burn brightly for generations, until, ultimately, he will become a bright star in the constellation of America’s history. We love you, Charlie, and promise to keep your memory and legacy alive!

Steve Kirwan, Editor