Charlie Kirk’s killing threatened to tear this country apart — but there’s a better way forward

This has been a very difficult two weeks.

The political assassination of Charlie Kirk has sparked anger, upset, blame and grief. If there is anything we can and should take away from this tragedy, it’s the need to come together. This is a moment to remember that most of us share a common belief system and that we don’t want more division. We love our neighbors, or at least want the chance to know them better and to care about them.

Now, it’s easy to point to the media and put us at the top of the list of those accused of being one-sided. I understand. I get asked all the time, “Why don’t you have more Republicans on-air?” Let’s be clear: I’d love to! But at this point, that’s challenging. Some Republicans are willing to be nuanced and critical of President Trump. For that, they get pummeled by the hard right. On the other hand, other Republicans are only talking to an “audience of one,” performing to please Trump with one goal in mind: “To own libs.”

At the same time, for some viewers, they will refuse to watch or listen to any Republican who is not firmly in the “Never Trumper” camp. That can’t be the right answer either.

What it leaves us with is people staying in their own camps, finding explanations that match their existing beliefs, scrolling through social media and soaking in whatever rage the algorithm is heating up that night.

And it works. Why? Because the most extreme moments online grab our attention, get supercharged and then amplified. Or as we’ve come to say, “They go viral.” Perhaps the wake-up we need is to realize that “going viral” is making us sick, and none of it is making us smarter or better.

You know what doesn’t go viral? People doing their jobs or simply looking out for one another. But I sure wish it did, because that’s the norm, not the exception — and it’s what makes humankind exceptional.

So maybe what we need right now is to be more engaged and informed, because I believe we have an actual opportunity to come together. But it won’t happen by default or accident.

We need to make a conscious decision, because those social media algorithms are stacked against us. Maybe the only thing that can weaken the divide and bring us closer is a humane algorithm that’s driven by goodwill.

Over the last two weeks, there’s been a lot of attention paid to Christianity, but perhaps not as much to one of its core tenets: forgiveness.

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We have a colleague who lost his role after speaking during uncertain moments of a breaking news story and apologized. Jimmy Kimmel was temporarily suspended amid criticism of his comments about Kirk’s murder. Perhaps it’s not a surprise that things can get heated or even out of bounds after something as extreme as a public assassination.

What is new is our government appearing to use its regulatory powers to — in the words of FCC Chairman Brendan Carr — achieve its goals “the easy way or the hard way,” a sentiment more commonly heard in mob movies. (Carr on Monday said he wasn’t actually threatening the licenses of ABC stations that continued to air “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” and accused Democrats of distorting his words.)

Or when our government pushes countries and companies to follow a designated path or face punishment, something that only warps free markets and honest negotiations. In those instances, businesses are forced to make hard decisions and sacrifices in order to stay alive. I don’t envy those decision makers.

Yet, all these things can be true: The First Amendment protects our right to free speech in America. Private companies can set their own standards for conduct. Regulators can follow a framework of rules that the government believes are designed to make life fair and just.

Most important, though, decency, compassion and forgiveness can and should reign supreme. Someone losing their life because of their political views — whether in Utah or Minnesota — should do one thing: Bring us together.