When politics transcends children, family, citizenship, religion, and human nature, it ceases to be a negotiation over marginal tax rates.
The assassination of Charlie Kirk was a devastating blow to conservatives. Yet perhaps even more shocking was the response from segments of the left. While major figures issued expected denunciations, ordinary progressives celebrated the violent death of a father and husband or mocked his memory online. Conservatives discovered that some neighbors were willing to cheer the murder of a political opponent.
Since then, trade wars, foreign conflicts, and daily controversies have provided distractions from a darker realization: something about American politics has changed. The assumption that nearly everyone still adheres to the same basic rules can no longer be taken for granted.
Conservatives did not choose existential politics alone; they cannot resolve it simply by wishing for a return to normal.
Denial is a common response when faced with a problem too large to contemplate. The possibility that a substantial number of Americans now view political violence as acceptable carries implications the conservative movement would rather avoid. Yet reminders persist.
Recent videos have again shown people mocking Kirk’s death, including drag performances and comments from streamer and democratic socialist Hasan Piker. It is far easier to debate tactics, personalities, or the latest outrage than to examine what kind of political order produces individuals willing to celebrate an assassination.
