His murder forces America to confront both political violence and the legacy of hateful rhetoric

I was sitting at R House, one of my favorite food stalls in Baltimore, when a potential client across the table interrupted our conversation with the words: “Charlie Kirk has been shot.” At first, I shrugged it off. I didn’t even immediately connect the name. But later, as I scrolled through Facebook — yes, Facebook — the weight of the moment became clearer. My evangelical friends from Texas, my Republican family back home, and my college classmates who lean Democratic were all posting, grieving, and arguing. The deep political divides of our country were suddenly on full display in my feed.