“Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
- Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “Loving Your Enemies” sermon, 1957
We are horrified and saddened by the killing of political commentator Charlie Kirk on Wednesday. We are holding his wife, his children, and all of his loved ones in the Light. Our faith teaches us that violence harms those who inflict it as well as those who suffer from it, and so we also hold the gunman in the Light, along with all those who have been impacted by the tragic event.
As Quakers, we deplore all violence and are rooted in our belief in the inherent worth and dignity of all people.
In the wake of this latest traumatic act of political violence, we are once again called to sound the alarm over the dangerous direction our nation is heading, and to reflect on what we must do – as individuals and collectively – to help change course toward a better future.
Following the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump last summer, we issued a statement calling to renew democracy and love our neighbors. In it, we warned:
“We stand at a critical moment in our country’s history. We are gravely concerned by the potential for more violence and the unraveling of our democracy if steps are not taken immediately and continually to reduce partisan polarization, prevent violence and extremism, rebuild civil discourse, and protect our democratic institutions and processes.”
This surging political violence threatens all of us. It must be urgently de-escalated.
These concerns have only grown more dire, and the work before has only become more urgent. The assassination of Charlie Kirk is the latest incident in a frightening escalation of political violence, including the horrific killing of Democratic Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark in June.
This surging political violence threatens all of us. It must be urgently de-escalated. Doing so will not be easy, and we don’t have all the answers. The divisions in our nation are deep, and the root causes are layered and daunting. But we must challenge our elected officials, ourselves, and each other to recognize the gravity of this moment, and to act with moral courage to help make the real change needed to address this national crisis.
That means reaffirming our commitment to nonviolence and rejecting political violence in all of its forms, no matter the target or perpetrator. It means practicing deep listening, and working in good faith to find common ground across divides. It means being mindful to avoid spreading inflammatory rhetoric and misinformation. It means loving our neighbors – no exceptions – even when it feels difficult to do so. It means holding strong to empathy — to seeing our common humanity, the inner Light, and that of God in one another.
For our elected officials, it means not just condemning political violence, but taking ownership of their roles in changing the conditions that are fostering it. It means rebuilding a culture of political cooperation and respect for democratic institutions and the rule of law. It means looking beyond the lens of partisanship and working together to rebuild social cohesion and trust in our systems and each other.
We must also confront the broader epidemic of gun violence in our country that continues to take an unacceptable toll on our communities. On the same day that Charlie Kirk was killed in Utah, another devastating school shooting occurred in Colorado, along with at least 30 other incidents of gun violence across the country. We reiterate our calls for a national assault weapon ban and for long-overdue action to reduce the accessibility of guns in our society.
What’s needed now more than ever is a rejuvenation of nonviolent civic engagement in a spirit of compassion and solidarity.
We must confront other forms of violence in our society too, including state violence and the violence exported overseas through U.S. militarism. We urge President Trump not to use this horrible incident as a justification for inciting more division, launching more attacks on civil liberties, or undermining our democratic freedoms. As Quakers, we oppose the death penalty and urge a fair and just trial for those implicated. The death penalty denies the sacredness of human life and forecloses any opportunity for redemption. Answering one killing with another is not justice.
To be clear, none of this is to say that we should stop speaking out and taking action to oppose the many injustices we are seeing in our society, including the deep harms caused to so many by the Trump administration’s policies.
To the contrary, what’s needed now more than ever is a rejuvenation of nonviolent civic engagement in a spirit of compassion and solidarity. To build the more just, peaceful, and inclusive democracy we seek, all of us must be able to participate in our democratic process and make our voices heard without fear. Political violence is a direct threat to this democratic process, which at its core is a system of nonviolent conflict transformation.
While it can be easy to feel powerless in frightening moments like these, each of us can play a role in building the better future we know is possible.
As Utah Governor Spencer Cox put it simply, “our nation is broken.” It’s up to all of us to help fix it.
