Ursula: Charlie Kirk’s murder and the urgent need to lower America’s political temperature

The murder of Charlie Kirk is a horrific tragedy. No matter where you stood on his politics — or how strongly you may have disagreed with his words — his assassination should not be celebrated. It’s disgusting. A young life was taken, a family is grieving, and our country is left even more broken because political violence has claimed another victim.

Kirk was a polarizing figure, for sure. Among other things, he made recent statements about gun violence that I found deeply troubling, even suggesting that losing lives was an acceptable cost to protect the Second Amendment. Those views deserve to be debated and challenged — that’s democracy. But nothing about his words or his politics justifies murder.

What also makes this moment so horrific is how it happened: He was gunned down in broad daylight, on a college campus, in front of thousands of students, while answering a question about mass shootings. What does that say about the state of our democracy?

Political violence is not just an attack on one person or one side — it’s an attack on all of us. And sadly, Charlie Kirk’s murder was not the only violence we saw yesterday. In Colorado, another school shooting reminded us that gun violence is not rare in America. It’s constant. While we express outrage over this kind of political violence, we must also muster the same energy and resolve to end the gun violence stealing so many innocent young lives.

The responsibility to lower the temperature begins with all of us. This is a time to look in the mirror and ask, “What is my role in the solution?” This is not the time to call for “war or revenge.”

The responsibility of lowering the temperature must also come from our political leaders. When they pour fuel on the fire instead of calming it, the entire nation feels the heat. Our discourse hardens, our divisions deepen, and violence becomes thinkable. And for the unhinged, it gives them the fuel to act on their very worst instincts.

Celebrating a killing — even if it’s someone you vehemently opposed — lowers us all. It’s inhumane. 

But if words can divide, they can also heal. If rhetoric can inflame, it can also cool. It’s on all of us — citizens, those of us with a platform, and leaders alike — to turn down the heat before more lives are senselessly lost and our democracy collapses. 

Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio. 

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