| Sunday’s memorial service for Charlie Kirk drew tens of thousands of people to celebrate his life and the causes he championed. It marked another moment in the long-overdue process of national soul-searching that his death has occasioned. |
| What kind of nation are we if the bullet replaces the ballot as the means of resolving differences and settling scores? Sadly, the Kirk tragedy has proven that even the murder of a public figure can’t unite the country. |
| Immediately after the shooting, social media reactions from progressive activists and the far right ranged from tasteless posts to efforts to turn Kirk into a martyr. The senseless killing of an activist with a wife and young children quickly became secondary to political agendas. |
| As the Washington Postput it, “Online and all over the country, …Kirk’s killing…provoked furious recriminations, inspiring fears of further violence.” Utah Governor Spencer Cox was right to ask about the reaction to Kirk’s death, “Is this the end of a dark chapter in our history? Or the beginning of a darker chapter in our history?” |
| Many thoughtful scholars and leaders suggest that the answer to that question provides a window into the soul and fate of the American experiment. As one put it, “Kirk had bad ideas, but the right to have and promote bad ideas without fear of punishment or persecution is core to the American project — and core to any democracy that hopes to survive.” |
| Another wrote, “I think it is more useful to focus on how we as a society turn a page and open a new chapter, because this is like a bad marriage. And like a bad marriage, you can only lose by pointing fingers.” |
| Still others note that the dark clouds in America had gathered long before the assassination of Charlie Kirk, such that we can now rightly ask, “Are We Rome?,” the title of journalist Cullen Murphy’s book. In that book, Murphy identifies numerous similarities between the United States and the Roman Empire as each neared its 250th anniversary. |
| Like Rome, the United States has witnessed a consolidation of power in the executive and a diminished role in the legislative branches of government. Elites in both civilizations remained mostly unaffected by the changes that took place. |
| In the United States, as in Rome before its fall, ordinary citizens have seen their lot in life become a constant struggle. Their resulting anger and frustration have begun to dominate the political landscape. |
| There is, however, a much more lethal factor that threatens the United States as we come to terms with Kirk’s death, and it was neither experienced by the Roman Empire nor envisioned by the Founding Fathers. As leaders from both sides of the aisle recognize, the advent of social media now endangers the institutions of government, our leaders, and the well-being of the general population. |
| As an NPR story about reactions to Kirk’s death explained, “'When something happens, we go to our phone, we start hitting that refresh button…waiting to see the latest bit of information at the top of our feed….’ Nuance fails in online platforms designed to boost and sustain engagement and promote content likely to provoke a reaction from users.” |
| Governor Cox was more direct. “Social media,” he said, “is a cancer in our society…. People need to log off, turn off, touch the grass, hug a family member and do good in your community.” |
| Today, social media mobs threaten judges, elected officials, and outspoken advocates like Charlie Kirk, who are the torchbearers for different political constituencies. They fan the flames of hatred and encourage extreme behavior. |
| Instant communication leaves little time to absorb information and make a reasoned evaluation of what happened and why. FBI statistics establish that most shooters are, like Tyler Robinson, who allegedly killed Charlie Kirk, between 16 and 24. Psychology Todayreports that many feel inadequate and vulnerable, yet are not mentally ill. |
| They are particularly prone to “rush to judgment” after seeing something on social media and to demonstrate their anger by committing notorious acts of violence. |
| As Nathan Taylor Pemberton stated in the New York Times, “The internet machine is now operating out in the open, in front of everyone’s eyes, and as long as that continues unchecked, our ability to make meaning of the world will continue to deteriorate. Empathy, as a human quality, will be snuffed out for those who are chronically online.” |
| For the younger generation, Kirk’s death rivals an earlier generation’s reaction to the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy. But sixty years ago, we were not instantly inundated with conspiracy theories and overheated accusations. |
| In our era, Kirk’s murder may precipitate a rerun of the fall of Rome, or it may be the catalyst that finally demands that the public take a deep breath prior to reacting to such a tragedy. Sunday’s memorial service was just one occasion to consider those possibilities. |
| But if we are to avoid the fate of Rome, we must acknowledge that we have lost the habit of taking a pause before making up our minds about who did what to whom and why they did it. Now would be a good time to begin the process of relearning it. |
| Churches, social organizations, and civic groups should take the lead in helping Americans do so. They should send the message over and over don’t rush to judgment. |
| Empathize first. Criticize later. |
| In the internet era, is behavioral change possible? It is certainly worth a try. Tragedies sometimes shake people out of familiar but destructive patterns. |
| All those who mourn Charlie Kirk’s death should seek to turn his loss into an opportunity for reconstruction. Gov. Cox got it right when he asked those who took some perverse satisfaction in Kirk’s killing “to look in the mirror and see if you can find a better angel in there somewhere” and to see him as “an American.” |
| “We just need every single person in this country,” Cox continued, “to think about where we are and where we want to be. To ask ourselves, is this it? Is this what 250 years has brought on us?” |
| Is this it? Will America follow Rome to an ugly demise? Or will we right ourselves? |
| A good first step would be for all of us to put down our phones and ask who we want to be and what kind of country we want to live in. Charlie Kirk’s death should be enough to make us all remember that peace is better than war and unity is better than division. |
Have friends who like law? Forward this email. 
Like Verdict for legal discussions on Facebook. 
Follow @verdictjustia for news and updates on Twitter. 
