Opinion

Are we still a people who will stand by our democratic allies, or must we prioritize those who claim the mantle of the oppressed, regardless of the methods they use to assert their will?

Charlie Kirk's tragic assassination at Utah Valley University on September 10, 2025, exposed America's deepening fractures—not just in politics, but in our capacity for civil discourse. As founder of Turning Point USA, Kirk championed conservative values like freedom, personal responsibility, and limited government, engaging critics with firm yet compassionate debate. He attacked ideas, not individuals, modeling a respect that's increasingly rare.

For over 200 years our elections were run by the counties. Then, all of a sudden, around 2000, the state started taking over our...