Charlie Kirk on his first tour stop at Utah Valley University. The American Comeback Tour was a nationwide tour scheduled at various universities to “challenge leftwing indoctrination and promote free speech,” according to Turning Point USA. (Source: republicworld.com)

Wow…

To say that I am disturbed by what I have seen from the media would be an understatement. 

Within just a couple of weeks, the United States has been hit by one tragedy after another. An elementary school shooting in Minneapolis on August 27 left two children dead and 14 injured. On September 10, 2025, conservative speaker, activist and co-founder of Turning Point USA, Charlie Kirk, was fatally shot while speaking at Utah Valley University. On that same day, another school shooting occurred at Evergreen High School in Colorado, ending with the shooter–an Evergreen High student– deceased and two other students hospitalized.

Following both shootings, well-known HBCUs (Historical Black Colleges and Universities) such as Clark Atlanta University, Southern University and Virginia State University were placed on lockdown due to violent, racist threats sent to their campuses targeting black students. While all of these events carry different levels of pain and worry for these communities, they all share a commonality: All of these events paint a worrying picture of our country’s current political climate.  

Politicians Not Exempt From Violence

This is not the first time that recent political violence has negatively impacted our nation, as Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman, her husband and their dog were shot and killed in their home by Vance Luther Boelter on June 14. This incident alone should have shown another example that gun violence does not discriminate against anyone. This should have made it clear that political disagreements have gone too far to turn into life and death situations, but it sadly would not.

“Thoughts and Prayers”

Even though the issue of gun control has been debated among both people and politicians for years, it is frustrating to see how “normal” this violence is starting to become in our country. People will read the headlines, continue to look for updates, and we hope that there will not be any bad news when the next updates come. According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been 302 mass shootings in 2025 alone. It seems that every time there is a shooting, we follow the same old script: “Thoughts and prayers,” then government officials will make their statements condemning the shooter, and then someone, whether Republican or Democrat, will call us to come together as one.  

However, we are tired of following this same old script, because it is starting to feel like no one actually truly cares about the issues of gun violence like Gen Z does. The school shootings that took place in Minnesota, Evergreen High School, and the threats against HBCUs should reveal to people the worry that some parents feel about sending their kids to school. The reality of these threats means that fear for one’s safety is an everyday experience that some students have to face. The only thing that students should have to worry about is whether they are prepared for their classes and performing at the highest level they can. 

Real Talk

Although I disagreed with Kirk’s viewpoints, everyone has the right to express their beliefs according to the First Amendment. However, we live in a world now where some people are beginning to question whether anyone even has the right to free speech anymore. Do we still have the freedom of speech like the Founding Fathers intended for us to have, or is the idea of freedom of speech only tied to one specific party? Overall, I understand that people may not be a fan of Kirk, but now his two children and wife have to live without him. 

Pointing Fingers

On September 12, 2025, Tyler Robinson turned himself in to the police thanks to the help of his family. While he is currently affiliated as nonpartisan, this does not mean that those who are on the right should have automatically assumed that it must have been a Democrat who killed Charlie Kirk. In fact, according to NBC News, they reported that investigators have found no connections between Tyler Robinson and left-wing groups. 

President Donald Trump and Representative Anna Paulina Luna criticized the Democrats for what had happened to Charlie Kirk without any evidence beforehand, which only added fuel to the fire. They should be focusing on the fact that a human was executed in broad daylight, and there should be no place for political violence. 

The truth of the matter is that violence is slowly becoming a common solution to how we fix our problems. This should be an alarm for all Americans, as we can not have a democracy if we constantly feel like we are under threat for going to school, exercising our right to free speech or going to a place where we share a common identity and thought with others. 

What are we going to do about it? Are we going to accept this reality of political violence, or are we going to finally say that enough is enough and put some actions behind our words? It should not matter what political affiliation the person is registered to, but we need to ensure that the person gets the justice that they deserve. Change takes time, but it should be now or never.

Acknowledgment: The ideas expressed in this article are those of the individual author.