Right & Wrong

Do I have to say it? It is wrong to kill people.

I feel galvanized to speak about this. I had no idea who Charlie Kirk was. For whatever reason, he never crossed my newsfeed and I don’t know anything about what his views were. I didn’t know what he stood for, but I do know that for the second time in a year I see people in my network celebrating the murder of a human being.

It is despicable behavior, and we all must be closely looking at and reorienting ourselves. For we have lost our way.

This treatise should be agnostic of your opinion on politics. If the shoe was on the other political foot, I would say the exact same thing. This is not an attempt to influence you about how you would change the world. It is a plea to return to human decency and it’s in your best interest if you are one who is celebrating to heed this warning.

It seems baffling that I have to say this, but killing somebody for any reason is wrong. It should never be celebrated, you shouldn’t taunt someone after they’ve been murdered. You shouldn’t be signalling publicly to your network that you think it is a great triumph, or that violence against innocent people is ever the answer.

Perhaps we need reminding, but rules like these are the foundation of the society we live in. Yes, there are problems and yes, things could always be better. There are groups of people who have a bad deal. That being said, if you live in the west and you’re able to be on Instagram, sharing stories about how awful everything is, then I would surmise that you’re a great beneficiary of the moral codes that inform our society (like don’t kill anybody).

If you think that somebody who feels differently about an issue or espouses ideas that you don’t agree with, deserves to die, then it is an implicit admission that you think someone else who feels that way about you ought to be able to murder you.

This is the golden rule. “Do unto others” or if you’re Jewish “don’t do unto others”. You see there is a logic in the golden rule, because what goes around comes around.

It is clear to me (as it should be to you) that murder is bad. It is harmful to everyone involved. To explain further, a man is dead, that on its own is terrible. Life is precious. Some people are gleefully celebrating this death in the virtual town Square. That is self-evidently terrible.

Not convinced? Imagine if the shoe were on the other foot. Violence only ever escalates and many of us would not be surprised if tomorrow prominent left-wing advocates and activists were murdered in a similar fashion. I am surely cynical, but I think that this is likely to be attempted.

Glee in the suffering of others, endorsement of (and incitement to) violence only enables your “enemies” to reciprocate. You see this in almost every conflict in the history of the world. You see it in large scale wars, you see it with gangs and turf wars (Ever read Romeo & Juliet?), you see it on a smaller scale within interpersonal relationships, and business dealings. There is intense wisdom in turning the other cheek and yearning for mutual understanding. There is might and value in empathizing and hoping to bring out the humanity in others.

On a grander scale, this just gives license for evil people to do evil things. It is a Casus belli - a just cause - for people who want to take away your freedom in the name of security to do so.

I would posit that this is the best time in the history of the world to be alive. I take it for granted and I would suggest that you do too. Are you willing to risk that sense of normalcy for a new order? One where murder is back on the table, or violence is fair game, or anyone is allowed to pursue their goals by any means necessary? Are you ready to accept a world where your friends, icons, & prophets are sacrificed?

A constant criticism of right wing ideology is that it is totalitarian, oppressive, and violent. If you are promoting violence, then you are becoming the thing you detest. You are on a course where you are not truly attempting to change things. You are simply attempting to replace those you call overlords.

I am an amateur student of history, and understand that sometimes violence is the only way out. But in every single one of those instances, where violence was employed as a means of revolution - everyone involved aside from a select few power brokers at the end of the day tend to have regretted it. There is always a better way: through communication and empathy and shared humanity. Remember that the worst atrocities in the history of our race are typically committed by people with intense inflexible ideologies.

I hope you’re OK. I hope you and your loved ones are OK. I hope that America and the Western world can move through this with sympathy and understanding, but in this moment I am doubtful.

So instead of hope, I end with caution. Remember that an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. And that yes, it is wrong to kill people.