Charlie’s death is more than a personal tragedy — it is a sobering reminder of how political violence is fraying the bonds of our nation. He often said, “When people stop talking, that’s when you get violence, that is when civil war happens.”

If you recognized the name Charlie Kirk, you probably had an opinion about him. At 18, he founded conservative organization Turning Point USA and quickly became one of the most important activists of our generation, making him a close ally to President Donald Trump. But at 31, his life was cut short by a gunman who stole a father and husband from his family.

Charlie and I were not close. But we talked at length once when my friend and employee Hayden Williams was attacked at UC Berkeley for exercising his free speech rights. His first question — “

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