By BEN CARPENTER
I remember exactly where I was on the morning of the September 11 attacks. I was in college in Utah, watching the second plane hit the World Trade Center. The air was thick with shock, fear, and uncertainty—but what came next was unity. We rallied. We chose to stand together.
This week, I watched the assassination of Charlie Kirk unfold in real time. The shock felt familiar, but the national reaction did not. Instead of unity, I saw division and even celebration from some corners of the internet. This was not just the killing of a man. It was the moment many Americans confronted real, naked evil for the first time. And unlike 9/11, it has left us fractured, not united.
The First Real Encounter With Evil
For older generations, national trauma—political assassinations, civil unrest, terrorist attacks—is horrific but familiar. They remember the killings of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr. My generation, Gen X, watched 9/11 and went to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan.
But for many Millennials and Gen Z Americans, the most “traumatic” collective event until now was the COVID-19 pandemic—fearful, but not violent. They had never seen evil strike in real time, in public view, aimed at someone they admired.
The footage of Charlie Kirk’s assassination was not just shocking—it was visceral and morally offensive. It forced millions to watch the extinguishing of a human life up close. It shattered assumptions about the safety of public discourse and the sanctity of life.
Charlie Kirk was their contemporary. To watch him cut down on screen was, for many, their first visceral taste of real evil. And that matters. As C.S. Lewis observed, every choice shapes who we become. How this generation responds to its first confrontation with evil will shape not just its future, but its soul.
The Rise of an “Assassination Culture”
Months before his death, Kirk warned of what he called an “assassination culture.” He cited data from the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI), which tracks ideologically motivated threats.
NCRI found rising glorification of political violence, growing tolerance for assassination attempts, and a disturbing normalization of violent rhetoric. One of their studies showed that 48% of self-identified liberals justified violence against Elon Musk and 55% against Donald Trump. After the assassination of a healthcare CEO earlier this year, online searches for “assassination tools” spiked 300%.
After Kirk’s death, NCRI’s director Joel Finkelstein told Newsweek that the killing reflected the exact warning signs they had identified—and that what was once taboo has become acceptable.
That is chilling. A culture that tolerates assassination is not just sick—it is on the verge of collapse.
The Real Crisis Is Moral Decay
But political violence is not the root problem. It is a symptom.
The deeper crisis is moral decay—a collapse of the spiritual foundation that once held our culture together. We live in a time when vengeance is celebrated, self-gratification trumps self-sacrifice, and too many Americans see politics as warfare rather than stewardship.
Our founders understood this danger. In 1798, John Adams wrote, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” He was right.
No law, no executive order, no regulation, and no police force can hold together our nation that has abandoned God. The collapse we are witnessing is cultural, not legal or regulatory—and it will not be fixed by legal or regulatory means.
The only path back is to once again become a moral and religious people: to fear God, to obey God, and to place Him first in our homes and in our hearts.
Rejecting Evil, Choosing Virtue
That means the responsibility is ours—personally and collectively.
We must lead our families and communities in reverence for God. We must teach our children His commandments and model what it means to live under His authority. We must put the needs of others ahead of our own and choose the narrow path of obedience when the world tempts us toward vengeance or self-interest.
Do not look to Washington, D.C. or your state legislature to heal this country. They can’t. Only God can. And He will—if we repent and return to Him.
Otherwise, the alternative is unthinkable: a future where might makes right, where those with the most guns or the loudest mobs rule, where our children inherit a country defined by vengeance instead of virtue.
A Rallying Cry for a Generation
Charlie Kirk was right to name his organization Turning Point USA. Because this truly is a turning point.
We can either descend further into moral chaos—or we can honor Kirk’s legacy by rejecting violence and embracing virtue. We can choose to fight evil not with more evil, but with faith, with courage, and with selfless leadership.
If this generation can make that choice, if it can rise to this moment, then Charlie Kirk’s death will not be the spark of collapse. It will be the spark of renewal.
Let this be our turning point, let it be toward courage, not chaos—and toward morality, not murder.
Ben Carpenter is a former Alaska state legislator, combat veteran, small business owner, and host of the Must Read Alaska Show.
Buddy, I’m a conservative Jew in Alaska, this site under former management allowed comments suggesting I’m somehow worthy of being shot because I worship G*d in a different ceremony than Christians do. I have long decried the tendency of the right wing to embrace eliminationist politics, and yet, the big strong tough Maga dorks are convinced that political rhetoric that embraces violence is exclusively on the left. Conservatism wins over rational thinkers, right-wing “let’s just arrest them or shoot them” does not. Hope that helps!
I’ve got to say, Jimmy, it doesn’t.
Jimmy, nowhere in your incoherent and rambling diatribe here can I detect the least glimmer of rationality or logical argument. I can only presume that you, like another certain very vocal and bullying MRAK poster, are speciously and dishonestly trying to equate criticism of the pernicious, perverse and pervasive hold that AIPAC and the Israeli lobby have over the American political scene with so-called “antisemitism”.
America First, NOT Israel First!
You presume incorrectly, Jefferson:
I am an American. I have no interest in Israeli citizenship. I recognize Israel as a US ally, same as The UK, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and all other Nato/Anzac/Us Allies. I do not think Israel deserves to have extra or special US-relations, in that manner I am influenced by Presidents Eisenhower and Reagan.
My loyalty is to my country, no other countries. My religion is guaranteed by our Constitution, not by internet commenters with personal agendas.
Perhaps you are a leftist?
I’m going to say that recent events, and the reactions on social media (and in person) prove your statements incorrect.
.
Also, whataboutism is a losing argument.
I’m still very sad can’t get the moment out of my head wish I never saw it.
My heart goes out to his wife and kids
All he ever talked about was humility of being a Christian don’t have abortions and be a good man.
A very well written, thoughtful and thoughtful provoking article by Ben. I suggest reading it TWICE to get the full impact and fully appreciate it.
Thank you Ben!
Which god is the author referring to exactly? We are a country of many faiths and no faith. As long as people keep it to themselves, I’m fine with whatever they want to believe. Just keep it out of the government and we’re good.
However, I don’t think that’s what the author really wants.
Mr. Carpenter is clearly speaking of God as found in the Bible. I think Mr Carpenter would agree with you, I do, and our founders do. So let’s get the no faith religions of man-made climate change, transgenderism, and equity out of our government. Stop jamming beaks of worms into our mouths like we are helpless ignorant chirps with heads back needing saving by the gods of the faithless of which you speak.
God is out of the Government now.
Is the government “good”
The sheer horror of these senseless attacks, time after time has cut into the heart of this country. We have forever been changed. God Please Help Us. Amen
Excellent article.
Is the author referring only to the Christian God, or will he concede that there are many other religions around the globe that advocate for peace?
It does not stand to reason that one singular religion or belief system is capable of producing harmonious co-existence.
Let’s make it easy, Ten simple rules. We could pick one a week. I hold the world would be a much better place, particularly for the believers in no-faith that Cman so eloquently describes above. Me? I find the world, and all the gifts we’ve been so graciously given, to be beautiful. I’m thankful for it every single day.
The God he refers to is more metaphorical than actual. I’m sure he understands that there are many higher beings referred to any in the multitude on religions. Not sure why everyone gets hung up on the word being spoken or written.
Hans: I am going to reply to you with exactly what I wrote in response to cman’s diatribe above.
……..
What the…
Seriously Hans, you read the column, and this is what you have to reply with? Why?
.
Any god. That is who the author is referring to. Perhaps no god. Should he have used the word creator?
.
I guess you chose to be part of the problem not part of the solution. There is nothing about your comment that is anything but divisive. Nothing.
Given the context there is little doubt that the author is referring to the Christian Triune God. Christian arrogance is a thing, wherein Believers feel both that their piety makes them superior to others, and that they are obligated to evangelize it as a result. The least one can ask of them is to concede that other religions are also capable of producing peace and harmony and to cease their proselytizing, as some really want nothing to do with it. One does not need a God in order to lead a life that is full of love, kindness, and usefulness to Humanity.
He did not mention Christianity.
He talked about God, believing in God & following God’s commandments.
The Commandments cover Judaism, Islam & Christianity.
But you can go w/ Buddhism or Hinduism if reason takes you there I suppose.
Excellent article Ben. Spot on.
To obey the one true God, the Creator of all things, the Torah instructs that we must befriend the stranger. Deut. 10:19. The fundamental importance of this law is found in its repetition throughout the OT — the Tosafot tradition counts 46 times it appears.
Jesus repeated the importance of this concept in Matthew 22:39, adding that it is the same as “loving God with all your heart, soul and mind.”
Sadly statistics show the moral shift from the founding principles of our Constitutional Republic as all our rights are granted from a higher being and not given to us by a government. Even those elected to serve us have drifted from the moral decency in a civil society. This was proven not just a week ago when an elected representative from VA in the halls of Congress decried that our rights are given to us by the government and laws. If the elected servants of our Nation feel that they are the ultimate control then what every they say will be taken by an uneducated society and acted upon as we saw with Charlie Kirk’s most vile public assassination. We have lost moral decency to see that even if you disagree with someone’s convictions that the killing of a living person justifies the ends.
As a Christian I can only refer to my one God. If others want to refer to their god, then that’s fine with me. I am not here to convert them; they must seek their own way. Most faiths that believe have a message of peace and unity. Those that follow false prophets or ideals for destroying others have no faith or morales. You can’t extinguish a value in the world because you disagree with it. You can learn to understand it or be ignorant but, you have no right to murder under any circumstance.
This country is only great because of the morale fibers that created it and hold it together. These threads are derived from Judeo-Christian beliefs of the founding fathers. They are intwined in our laws and rights. They are what allows us to disagree and coexist as Americans. We don’t have to agree because we have the freedom and liberty to do so and this is the only country in the world that can say it, for now. It may be too late soon. 🙁
It’s time for us all to stand up and carry on.
He was more than a man—he was a prophet calling others to the light of Christ our Savior. In parables and conviction, he spoke truths that stirred souls and challenged darkness. Though cast out and scorned, his voice shone like a beacon for the lost. His life a testament, his mission divine, he bore the burden of prophecy, guiding the faithful toward salvation’s promise with unwavering faith and fiery spirit.
Great response!
Judeo-Christian beliefs are a relatively modern oxymoron perpetuated by believers of the dispensationalist Scofield Bible which was financed and published in the early 1900’s under somewhat mysterious circumstances. Many theological scholars – both Jewish and Christian – reject the phrase!