I am angry. I am confused. Angry at how gun violence continues to ravage our country and confused at how differently we respond depending on who the victims are.
When Charlie Kirk was shot, before we knew who it did, before the facts were clear, Republicans rushed to point fingers and inflame division. And while they were doing that, another tragedy unfolded: in Evergreen, Colorado, a radicalized teenager took his own life after shooting two other teens. Three young lives shattered — yet the outrage, the headlines, the national attention, felt selective.
Why is one act of violence amplified as a political weapon, while another, involving children, barely makes a ripple? Why does it seem like some lives matter more than others? Why isn’t all gun violence condemned with equal urgency?
The Choice to Divide Instead of Lead
What has haunted me the most is this: when Republican leaders had a chance to rise above, to unify the country in the face of violence, they chose instead to spew more hate. They didn’t wait for facts. They didn’t calm the waters. Their first instinct was to exploit a tragedy for partisan gain.
Why was their priority blaming “the other side,” rather than starting real conversations about gun reform? Why were they rushing articles to the floor to honor Charlie Kirk, instead of pushing forward legislation to keep communities safe? Especially when so many of the very people they represent — millions of Americans — were hurt and damaged by Kirk’s own words of division?
And where was that same outrage when Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband were assassinated in their own home — a place that is supposed to be safe? Why wasn’t that tragedy, too, honored with the same urgency? Why no outcry from the right that one of their own supporters carried out such an act of hate — the very same kind of hate that also radicalized the Charlie Kirk shooter?
When will they realize that the anger and division they are fueling is consuming their own side as well? When will the moral compass of this government turn back toward basic humanity instead of endless hypocrisy?
The Martyrdom of Division
What bewilders me even more is how Charlie Kirk is being made into a martyr. Let’s be real: he built much of his public presence around anger. He went onto college campuses, not to listen, but to provoke. He thrived on stirring up division, on creating controversy, on turning young students into adversaries.
Why do we praise someone for creating conflict? Why do we accept anger as entertainment? And why, in the middle of all this, have we forgotten how to see difference of opinion as a human right rather than a moral failure?
What Has Happened to Our Country?
At some point, we stopped distinguishing between politics and humanity. We’ve let our leaders tell us whose lives are worth mourning and whose aren’t. We’ve let one man — Donald Trump — shape the tone of our country with his relentless attacks and unyielding hate. And we’ve allowed that poison to trickle down until families, communities, and neighbors can no longer see each other as human first.
We used to prize free thought. We used to believe in treating people with dignity, even when we disagreed. Today, that feels radical. Disagree, and you’re branded an enemy. Speak honestly, and you’re silenced or attacked.
A Plea for Equality, Peace, and Truth
Gun violence doesn’t care about your politics. It doesn’t care if you’re a famous commentator, a politician in her own home, or a child at school. It only destroys. And unless we begin to treat all gun violence as wrong — without cherry-picking whose lives are worth more outrage — this cycle will never end.
I am tired of the selective outrage. I am tired of the hypocrisy. I am tired of leaders who choose soundbites over solutions.
America can do better — but only if we demand it.
