He Loomed Large in Life

Wisdom to know what is right. Faith and courage to act.

The death of Charlie Kirk foists upon society the need for introspection — and action. We owe it to him.

Kirk, in scant years before a public to whom he gave cause, did nothing more than encourage education and dialog because he believed deeply that most seek truth.

With open debate and discussion, he grasped, truth can be discovered, people’s perspectives changed for the better and their actions would follow suit. Heavy chains of ignorance and deceit would be lifted, he knew, and that would enable the individual to build better lives for self, family and community.

This is a wonderful life vision, rife with meaning and purpose. What greater calling than to seek and promote truth for family and nation?

This man whom, himself, eschewed the formality and structure of higher-education to learn on his own, had a passion to educate himself and the strength to speak out and teach what he had discovered. He spoke, simply, the truth as he understood it — after study and deliberation. He was open to recognizing shortcomings and welcomed correction.

Herein lies a problem: Kirk is irreplaceable. There is now a void.

He will long be missed, and many will suffer in darkness because of the light he provided on campuses throughout the nation. Even at 31 years-old, he possessed a combination of knowledge, faith, and courage so rare in the 21^st Century.

Faith, I add, because it was Kirk´s faith that nourished and spawned the courage to speak out. When asked what he wanted to be remembered for, this teacher responded, “the courage for my faith.”  There was absolutely no reticence, much less shame, in acknowledging Jesus Christ as Savior and Redeemer.

Some have the requisite knowledge. Fewer, yet, have the requisite courage. Many have faith, but few express it so openly and effectively.

All this in a single vessel?

A man with passion, purpose, and persuasive capabilities to connect with up-and-coming generations, all the while pursuing his own personal missions through dialog, is a rarity bordering on the impossible.

Our challenge, then: Each of us must honor him, his family, the organization he built, the movement he created and his legacy.

How can we do that?

It is a given that no individual will replace Kirk. Yet, we can all commit ourselves to helping fill the void. We must all attempt to be the next Charlie Kirk if we are to have any chance to make up for what was lost.

The greatest way to honor him and help our nation, I assert, is to emulate his thirst for knowledge, share your faith with unrelenting zeal, and develop the courage to speak the truth, at all times, in all things and in all places.

We can no longer be bystanders in modern-day America. We can no longer place job, reputation, money, or any other self-muting interest above the truth.

We can no longer just mind our own business and insulate ourselves from the political, economic, social, cultural and other debates of our day.

Too many have let a select few carry the “weight” for our mutual benefit.  We all need to share the burden now more than ever. As I have said on more than one occasion, “Freedom is not a spectator sport.” Our personal well-being, the future of our children and our nation are at stake.

And what happens if we don’t speak up? Especially as the purveyors of truth are threatened or murdered. We have recent experience to know exactly what happens when people do not have the faith or courage to stand up to what they know is right.

This became all too evident when men who identified as women were allowed to start competing against women in sport. Anyone who has any common sense, sense of morality, knowledge of right and wrong, knew then and know now that this is an abomination. It is so obviously wrong on so many levels that truly if someone actually believes this is just, in any way, they have a broken moral compass and most likely mental issues.

And yet, very few did speak up when this took root. And if we would have spoken up early, we would have never had the problem we face today.

I bring this up specifically because it requires no deep study or expertise in any field to have the knowledge required to make judgement on this subject. Many other areas of debate and controversy certainly do, but not on this. So, we all have the requisite knowledge.

But how many had the courage to speak up?

How many coaches at the 2022 NCAA swimming championships spoke up for their female athletes when male swimmer Lia Thomas was competing against them and changing in the women’s locker room? I’ve heard of little, small behind the scenes “don’t rock the boat too much” kind of complaints that happened at the meet, but obviously not enough! How many parents did? Administrators? How many of us do now? How long has it taken to speak up on a topic so clearly right and wrong?

My coaches of old drilled into me that great athletes, champions of any kind, and leaders, do the right thing, even if it’s hard, every time, regardless of consequences.

Guess their counsel did not pass along to this newer generation of coaches.

Oh, you don’t have a female athlete in your family, so it doesn’t concern you? Hogwash!  Knowing what is right and not acting upon it is cowardice. Doing the right thing is never the wrong thing to do. Actions speak louder than words and our collective actions over these last few years have shown we esteem our own security, our own comfort zones, more than the women in our lives about whom we profess obligations to protect. And if we won’t stand up for what we hold most precious (the women in our lives) then what will we stand up for? Anything?

Oh yes, but only if it doesn’t cost us too much. We can’t afford to risk our reputation, stir the pot, lose our job, be inconvenienced with the time it takes to get involved, and so on.

Some sell their bodies for money, but we sell our souls. We sell our souls as we knowingly allow false narratives to permeate our lives and our society. Kirk certainly did not. The men in women sport example is just one of many. Many abound as we sit quietly acquiescing to whatever is being served because we need our jobs, our friendships, our reputation etc. We run scared and we are muted. And of course, there is reason to be scared as we have just seen. The consequences are real. Yet, what do we value most?

Kirk had a clear understanding of what he valued most, that is quite evident. You might say, “Yes, and that is why I stay quiet!”  To which my response is, we wouldn’t be in this situation had we all united with one voice refusing to cow to the myriads of untruths that we have been force-fed over the last decade. The weeds of falsehood could have been torn out by their roots long ago before they infested society. We must have been too busy to notice and happy to pass along the dangerous responsibility to someone else we could hire as the gardener. But it didn’t work. Our lack of involvement in standing up firm to these lies has facilitated a generation or more to be poisoned with lies that has turned their perspectives toxic in any number of areas.

So as a society we are to blame. Sorry if it sounds harsh but I speak the truth.

If the children take over with little or no pushback from the adults in the room, then chaos will follow. We have allowed the children to have far more influence than they ought. Children, left to themselves, make poor choices and can devolve into chaos, Lord of the Flies style. Children, left to themselves, would eat ice cream for breakfast lunch and dinner, and would love it until it ruined their health.

As a nation, we haven’t had enough adults in the room. It’s time for the parental units to take control once again. It is time we tend to our own garden and stop relying on the few to carry our load. If we want any chance of a functioning society now, or for our children, we must act!

The sad part is these children (those who perpetuate false narratives like men in women’s sport) on their own would quickly collapse our society if they had it their way. They cannot self-govern in any functional long-lasting way. They need the parents to keep them alive. They need the producers to live off. The children should be grateful they have us, yet they are not, as they don’t see. They are children. And spoiled ones at that.

As young as Kirk was, he was the adult in the room teaching truth and espousing values that societies need to thrive. Sadly, he is no longer with us so we must step up right away and flood the room to gain order.

If we want to contribute in any way as Kirk did, his example can be emulated.

Kirk´s contributions are vast, we know, but impossible to quantify. As individuals, we will never rival the extraordinary gifts he imparted in such a short time, but we can try.

Be a parent/gardener through intense study of at least one important topic of our day. Together these false narratives can be weeded out before they engulf our garden further.

And, so equipped, have the courage to speak up!

We have allowed teachings such as the 1619 Project, Critical Race Theory, DEI, gender fluidity, man-made climate change, rights come from government not God and other destructive narratives to be perpetrated without impeaching a single contention. Our lackluster response to these issues allows them to grow like weeds in the garden. One day, we awaken and wonder, ¨What has happened to our formerly-beautiful refuge?¨

So, study up!

At least you’ll know more than Senator Kaine from Virginia who seems to either have rejected our Declaration of Independence’s recognition that our rights come from God or didn’t know it in the first place. Either way he should not be qualified to be a Senator in the United States. He should summarily be dismissed from the Senate by the other sitting members on both sides of the isle for political malpractice and failing to live up to his Constitutional oath of office.

COVID? Don’t get me started. For a country who once believed in “Liberty or Death” we have come a long way. We knew it was not killing our children, yet did nothing-to-little to stave-off the injury done to our children. Lack of courage, not knowledge. No excuse.

Anyone well-informed on a subject who has not spoken up because of fear of retribution is part of the problem.

Too many remain silent because of reputation, job, financial security, party affiliation, friends, or family. In short, fear. Our own inattentiveness to the garden has contributed to the weeds infesting our fruits.

So, who is to blame for Kirk’s murder?

My answer will not be liked but it is simple. Yes, the perpetrator is to blame without excuse. But many have allowed the rhetoric and lies to grow so as to stay out of harm’s way. Anyone who, at any time, had well-informed, well-articulated opinions on an important issue of our day and who shrank from sharing has culpability.

This is a call to action, not arms. No one can take Charlie Kirk´s place but, together with enough knowledge and courage, we can root-out the weeds that have grown up amongst us and make sure anyone spreading these seeds will be immediately refuted. We will set the record straight.

We’re all players now.

The response to Charlie’s murder, I suggest, is to get in the game!

Jeff Utsch is a Senior Faculty Lead Instructor at the Leadership and Freedom Center in Gettysburg, PA. and Head Swim Instructor at Streamlined Performance.