Even before the start, the commemorative service for the conservative activist killed Charlie Kirk was described as a mixture of state funeral, religious renewal and Maga mega-ray, with high level security reflecting time.
Reality on Sunday carried this on Sunday. The service at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona – attended around 100,000 people, including mourning people in a neighboring overflow arena – was in many ways the emotional summit of a burning episode in modern American political history: the assassination of September 10 through a large number of charismatic and politically dividing young leaders.
The tributes of President Donald Trump, the vice -president JD Vance, Donald Trump Jr., and several members of the cabinet, as well as the widow of Mr. Kirk, captured a mixture of emotions – of love, sorrow, faith and admiration – around a young man who had built a national movement from zero and who, the supporters, could even get Somède in the highest function country.
Why we wrote this
The commemorative service for the conservative activist killed Charlie Kirk presented his influence in political and religious spheres and stressed how his message will continue to shape the republican party.
The service recalled to the extent that religious conservatism remains closely linked to republican policy at its highest levels. More importantly, the speakers have promised that the movement that Mr. Kirk has started would continue and prospere under the direction of his wife, Erika Kirk, recently appointed his successor as director general of Turning Point USA.
It remains to be seen whether the assassination of Kirk, forged by a shooter accused on a university campus of Utah, turns out to be an inflection point in the polarized policy of the country. In the aftermath of the shooting, Trump opted for a message of revenge on national unity. Friday, dozens of democrats in the congress voted against a resolution in honor of Mr. Kirk – saying that many have found his vision of the world “racist, harmful and fundamentally non -American”, according to a press release from the Congressal Black Caucus.
In the service of Sunday, President Trump and the widow of Mr. Kirk offered contrasting remarks. In what could have been the highlighting point of service, Ms. Kirk said that she had forgiven the accused shooter: “Because that was what Christ did and that is what Charlie would do.”
“The response to hatred is not hatred,” said Kirk, her thick emotion voice. “The answer we know of the Gospel is love and always love.”
But Mr. Trump, speaking directly after Ms. Kirk, was characterized as incapable or does not want to forgive.
“He didn’t hate his opponents,” Trump said Mr. Kirk. “He wanted the best for them. This is where I disagree with Charlie. I hate my opponent and I don’t want the best for them. I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Erika.”
The President’s words stood out among the series of speakers who spoke mainly to honor the deep religious faith of Mr. Kirk and a heritage of awareness and dialogue with all the arrivals in the events of the campus nicknamed “prove that I was contrary to”.
“A training effect on the whole world”
Braving the sticky heat, tens of thousands of participants full of hope, covering all ages and all races, aligned Sunday morning in red, white and blue. Many sported shirts like that which Mr. Kirk had on the day of his death, with “freedom” stencil on the front. Some wore bibles. Some held infants. A mother treated while walking.
Evan Doreau was standing online while holding his son, not yet 8 months old. An self -proclaimed libertarian of Mesa, Arizona, Mr. Duteau noted that Mr. Kirk had only a few years less than him and had also founded a family.
Sarah Matusk / The Christian Science Monitor
The militant’s murder had “a training effect on the whole world”, explains Mr. Doreau, who has a rainwater harvesting company.
He says he agreed with Mr. Kirk on most of the questions. And although he only knew Mr. Kirk on social networks, he said: “His death assigned me a lot.”
Alexis, who asked that his last name will not be published, came to the service with his family from San Diego. The seven -year -old mother, conservative Christian, says that her husband deepened her Christian faith by listening to Mr. Kirk on Youtube.
The couple cried when they learned the news from the murder, says Alexis. But the participation rate of the commemorative Sunday gave him hope.
“The death of a man brings so many people to Christ,” she says, and God “uses evil for good”. Alexis says that she did not feel safe until her arrival here and witnessed “all the patriots come together” who loved Mr. Kirk.
“People wake up to this madness, liberalism,” she says.
A handful of demonstrators were also on the scene, positioned behind barricades outside the stadium. Jorge Soria, a Phoenix democrat, said that he opposed Mr. Kirk’s message and the celebration of his life.
“All he argued was racism, and for the white man to keep his power,” said Mr. Soria.
Other demonstrators have used the opportunity to promote unrelated causes, such as support for residents of Gaza.
A deeply divided country
Since the murder of Mr. Kirk, the Americans have debated where the sharp divisions of the nation are directed. Political violence is increasing, with recent cases affecting the elected officials of both parties and other eminent personalities, of President Trump to the legislators of the State of Minnesota to a CEO of health care.
At the Kirk Memorial, some speakers have worryingly suggested the upcoming reprisals. Trump and some of his best aid said they were looking for measures against liberal groups they accuse of violence.
“You have no idea of the dragon you woke up,” warned the Chief of the White House, Stephen Miller, in a comment immediately shared on the social networks of Donald Trump Jr., a close friend of Mr. Kirk.
Other Republicans have sought to alleviate rhetoric. “Using Charlie’s murder to justify the reprisals against political rivals is wrong and dangerous. He will divide and matured our country. Bading anyone other than the alleged shooter of Mr. Kirk, Rove added, was an” insult “in memory of the conservative activist.
Democrats are also reflecting in the sense of this moment – and when the nation is heading.
“You don’t have to agree with everything Charlie Kirk said he was absolutely horrified by what happened and denounce what happened,” explains Karen Finney, a democrat consultant.
But Ms. Finney expresses that Mr. Trump’s calls for remuneration, and not forgiveness, will only increase the country’s divisions.
“It could be such a big moment of unity and bring people together, right?” she said. “And devil, you can always push your ideology, but you can do it in a more unifying way, instead of this division.”
Revival instead of riots
In Glendale, Kirk supporters leaving the service thought about what the young chef meant for them.
The couple of Arizona Daniel Villani and Josilynn Reyes left the memorial of an overflow space holding hands. 20 -year -old Christians describe themselves as politically moderate, although he says he is leaning conservative. Although he does not agree with all of Mr. Kirk’s opinions, Mr. Villani said that he appreciated the emphasis put by Mr. Kirk on the connection to God and the first family.
Sarah Matusk / The Christian Science Monitor
The couple hopes to follow the traditional gender roles modeled by the kirks. “I want to live this traditional life,” explains Ms. Reyes, a special education assistant who says she wants children one day. “I know it’s not for everyone.”
For her, this lifestyle means respect and loyalty to her partner, as well as submission.
“If she wants to work, of course, she can,” says Villani, an Aciérique. “But I don’t want her to feel like she is working.” He says that Mr. Kirk inspired him to be a better man and to respect himself.
In her remarks in the service, Erika Kirk gave words of hope that the murder of her husband would have a positive impact. Following her death, she said, many people opened a Bible for the first time and went to the church for the first time.
“After Charlie’s assassination, we have not seen any violence,” said Kirk. “We have not seen riots. We have not seen the revolution. Instead, we saw what my husband has always prayed for him to see in this country – we have seen the renewal. ”
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