This weekend, nearly a hundred thousand people from across the country will gather to memorialize and mourn the loss of Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA and martyr for his beliefs. The vast majority of the attendees, along with the millions that will tune in live, however, will have never met Charlie Kirk. Likewise, a vast majority of them will neither have listened to the Charlie Kirk Show, attended his campus visits, attended a TPUSA conference, or followed him on social media. They do not know the history of Turning Point USA or Charlie’s particular strain of conservatism. Instead, like many on September 10th, Charlie is a recent friend to them— one they’ve never met, yet whose tragic death had an impact on them as if he was family.
They will not know nor remember Charlie Kirk like many of us did. I was first introduced to Turning Point USA in 2018 at Brigham Young University. Still a high-school student, I began attending the unofficial college chapter meetings in Provo, Utah. The next year, I visited his “Campus Clash” with the then up-and-coming Candace Owens at Utah Valley University— the same campus where he would be assassinated just six years later. I remember vividly the smoke machines, eye-catching visuals, and hype music that so characterized Turning Point rallies. Later that summer, I was privileged to see Charlie again, this time in Washington D.C. with a guest appearance by President Trump. For me, and for many of us, Charlie was our first introduction to the world of politics. He radiated a confidence that motivated our young and zealous souls to assert ourselves in the political sphere— to do something, to stand for something. At the same time, I, like many, had my reservations of Charlie’s particular strain of conservatism; this, it seems, is characteristic of right-wing politics: there is always something to disagree about! It is in the light of these formative years of my political life that will color how I will remember Charlie Kirk.
Yet, it is not how we will remember Charlie Kirk. His name will not immediately call to our minds his political action or the grandeur of his rallies. Rather, we will remember the myth of Charlie Kirk. For us who knew Charlie, and for those who didn’t, Charlie will be known for his commitment to free and open debate, to meet one another where they are, and to use our God-given reason to seek the truth of the matter; in a way, he assumes the place of the dying Socrates. He will be remembered for his Christian faith; not for his particular form of evangelicalism, no, but for his unwavering faith in JESUS CHRIST. Charlie’s Savior was and is our Savior, and his blood spilt on the grass of Utah Valley University is a seal of his testimony and a manifestation of his willingness to die for the Truth.
The particulars of his life will disappear, and, instead, we will remember those grand virtues that he strove for. It is in this myth that we beautifully gloss over our petty disagreements and trivial reservations and, instead, embrace a story of Kirk that may not be “historically accurate” or “empirically verifiable.” Similar to the famous fictional account of George Washington cutting down his father’s prized cherry tree, only to later confess to his father, “I cannot tell a lie, I did it with my little hatchet,” we also will speak of a Charlie that we didn’t fully know— an inaccurate representation. Yet, it is this very national myth-making — yes, lie-telling!— that educates us and our youth in the gods and heroes of our national identity. For my children, Charlie will be a figure bigger than life, one that they will look up to and emulate, one that they tell their children about. His virtues will be exaggerated, his patriotism accented, his unwavering faith in Christ emphasized.
But what a beautiful thing! To be remembered for our best attributes and characteristics; to be remembered for something we strove to be; to be remembered for something that we often fell short of! No doubt, the very real and practical life of Charlie Kirk will continue to inspire countless youth to be political, as it did for me, but the myth of Charlie is what will form the narrative of our nation. It is Charlie’s legacy that will cause me to ask myself, adapting the words of Elder J. Reuben Clark: “What of us? Can we keep and preserve what he wrought? Shall we pass on to our children the heritage he left us, or shall we lightly fritter it away?” Every culture has its gods, and I thank God that we were so lucky to have Charlie, America’s newest myth.
The Cougar Chronicle is an independent student-run newspaper and is not affiliated with Brigham Young University or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Cover Photo Source: https://newshourfirst.com/2024/10/01/charlie-kirk-drops-election-bombshell-its-happening/
