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A strange thing happens when a notable public figure is killed: Their rough edges are sanded down, and a multidimensional person is flattened into the simplicity of a myth.

This has happened with jarring speed to Charlie Kirk, the conservative influencer murdered last week in Utah. Many paeans to Kirk, including from those who opposed him on many issues, have focused on Kirk’s eagerness to engage with those with whom he disagreed. Some of Kirk’s friends and allies have even compared him to Martin Luther King Jr., another prominent leader assassinated for his politics. In the rush to canonize K

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