The tragic slaying of Charlie Kirk, called by many a political assassination, is more than just the loss of a leader, evangelist, and peacemaker. It is also the loss of a father, husband, son, uncle, and human being. His absence leaves not only a cultural and spiritual void, but a deeply personal one for those who knew and loved him.
I was at work when I heard the tragic news. The moment the words reached me, my heart sank. Shock set in immediately, and I found myself joining the nation in mourning and in prayer, hoping against hope that he would survive.. After seeing the video of him being shot, my hope wavered — my mind swinging back and forth between he can make it and he won’t make it. Then the sinking realization came: if he doesn’t make it, what kind of vacuum and void will he leave behind? Charlie wasn’t just a fiery commentator; he was a peacemaker, an evangelist, someone who could bridge divides and reach the next generation. His absence would be more than personal loss — it would be a tear in the cultural and spiritual fabric of our time.
In that moment, my mind connected to history — imagining how the nation must have felt at the assassinations of JFK, RFK, Martin Luther King Jr., and even the attempt on Ronald Reagan. In an instant, I felt the ache of history repeating itself, and how deeply such moments strike at the soul of a people.
And yet, beyond the pain of his passing, this is also a direct strike at the collective psyche of the people. When events of this magnitude occur, grief is natural. But grief also makes us vulnerable — and in that vulnerability, propaganda finds its strongest foothold.
The Emotional Drain of Tragedy
In moments of shock, anger, and mourning, our defenses are lowered. The conscious mind is overwhelmed, emotions are heightened, and the subconscious absorbs more without critical questioning. This is the very environment where narratives are planted. As words, slogans, and headlines flood in, they bypass rational scrutiny and become emotional “truths.” This is how perception is engineered.
We can see the same dynamic in our everyday lives. How many decisions are made in the heat of emotion — yelling at our kids, walking out on a marriage, or filing for divorce — only to be regretted later? This is why the principle of HALT (Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired) is so vital: never make decisions when you are in one of these states, because your emotions are in control, not your reason. And it isn’t only negative emotions — even happiness can hijack our judgment and lead to choices we wouldn’t otherwise make.
What happens in our personal lives also happens on a national level. In a moment of collective grief and shock, propaganda exploits that same vulnerability. Emotions override reason, narratives slip past our defenses, and a temporary frenzy becomes permanent perception.
The Danger of Politicization
Charlie Kirk’s death will not remain only a human tragedy. Already, narratives are forming — framing it as a political war, a partisan victory, or a rallying cry for one side against another. This is the nature of modern propaganda: take a wound and turn it into a weapon. Instead of allowing grief to unify, it will be manipulated to divide. The danger is not only in false information but in selective truth, in how the story is told and retold until it reshapes the culture itself.
Shielding the Three Minds
To withstand this manipulation, we must guard what you call the three levels of the mind:
- The conscious mind: Stay alert, skeptical, and resist the first wave of emotional headlines.
- The subconscious mind: Protect it from repetition of slogans and emotionally charged language designed to bypass reasoning.
- The unconscious mind: Recognize that propaganda often aims here, using trauma to build long-term associations of fear, anger, or blind loyalty.
How to Mourn Without Being Manipulated
We must mourn Charlie Kirk as the man he was — a peacemaker, a voice for God and country, a bridge-builder in a divided generation. But mourning does not mean surrendering our minds to the spin machine. The most honorable way to preserve his legacy is to keep clarity: to separate genuine grief from engineered outrage, to resist hatred, and to stand firmly in truth without letting propaganda turn us into pawns.
Final Word
Tragedies like this create a tear in truth. They shake us, divide us, and tempt us to abandon discernment in exchange for easy answers. But this is when clarity matters most. If we honor Charlie Kirk, it will not be through politicized frenzy or tribal rage. It will be through protecting our minds, defending truth, and refusing to let evil hijack tragedy to serve its ends.
As we mourn, let’s also remain vigilant. Let us not allow our minds to be propagandized or our grief to be manipulated. Instead, may we pray for God to bless our nation with discernment, for Him to steady our hearts, and to comfort Charlie Kirk’s family in their unspeakable loss.
Perhaps the most honoring thing we can do in this moment is to step back from the noise. Turn off the news. Stop chasing the latest sound bites. For 24 to 48 hours, take solitude, pray, reflect, and let mourning have its sacred place. A media fast gives us space to grieve without distraction and to seek God’s voice above the clamor of men. In silence, we can honor the man, the mission, and the memory of a life cut short.
