Valuing Each Other, Protecting Free Speech, and Ending Political Violence

If we truly want an end to political violence, we must stop devaluing each other. Every act of violence, let alone murder, must be condemned. On September 11, 2025, yet another act of political violence occurred when Charlie Kirk, an American right-wing political activist, was shot and killed by a lone gunman. My heart goes out to Charlie Kirk’s family, Melissa Hortman’s family, Brian Thompson’s family, the families of the children murdered in school shootings, the families of all mass shooting victims, the families of police officers murdered on the job, the families of unarmed people murdered by the police, the people in Gaza being murdered by the Netanyahu administration, the list goes on and on… If we genuinely want a more peaceful, harmonious world, we should all feel heartbroken every time murder occurs, no matter the identities or affiliations of the victim(s) or perpetrator(s). We must value every human life.

I disagree with nearly everything Charlie Kirk espoused, but I would never de-value his life, and I fully support his right to say all the racist, misogynistic, bigoted things he said because I genuinely support free speech. In fact, free speech is one of the few topics on which Charlie Kirk and I agreed. In Charlie’s Kirk’s own words in a May 2024 Twitter/X post, "Hate speech does not exist legally in America. There's ugly speech. There's gross speech. There's evil speech. And ALL of it is protected by the First Amendment. Keep America free." Do I wish people would not engage in hateful, ugly, gross, or evil speech? Absolutely. Would I take away anyone’s right to do so? Absolutely not. Taking away anyone’s right to free speech would be a threat to everyone’s right to free speech. Also, we cannot connect, open each other's hearts, or evolve our minds together if we silence anyone or refuse to engage in dialogue with our fellow human beings. Protecting free speech is an essential component of valuing every human life.

In the 2017 Supreme Court case, Matal v. Tam, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously reaffirmed that there is no hate speech exception to the free speech rights protected by the First Amendment and that the U.S. government may not discriminate against speech on the basis of the speaker's viewpoint. In clear violation of the law, the Trump administration has recently blamed all political violence on “the radical left” exercising their right to free speech and is taking official government action to punish and/or take away the free speech rights of people on the left side of the political spectrum:

• CNN, 9/15/25: "People are getting fired for allegedly celebrating Charlie Kirk’s murder. It looks like a coordinated effort."

• New York Times: On September 16, 2025, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi stated that she would target protesters engaging in hate speech and claimed she has the authority to investigate businesses that refused to print memorial vigil posters for Charlie Kirk.

• The New Republic, 9/15/25: "The vice president endorsed a censorial campaign as the guest host of Monday’s episode of The Charlie Kirk Show, stating, ‘When you see someone celebrating Charlie’s murder, call them out, and, hell, call their employer...’ The campaign Vance effectively co-signed has already caused innumerable people to be doxed, threatened, and professionally punished or fired for their speech.”

Do I find the celebration of anyone’s death disturbing? Always. Is celebrating someone’s death an incitement of violence? Absolutely not. According to the 1969 Supreme Court case, Brandenburg v. Ohio, “A state may not forbid speech advocating the use of force or unlawful conduct unless this advocacy is directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action and is likely to incite or produce such action”. According to Lee Rowland, a free speech attorney with the National ACLU, “Under the First Amendment, it’s an extremely high bar before speech can be criminalized as incitement. Unless and until there is an immediate and serious risk to a specific identifiable person, that speech can’t be made criminal consistent with our First Amendment”.

Clearly, under current U.S. law, people are legally allowed to celebrate the death of Charlie Kirk, as disappointing and disturbing as that may be. Instead of following the law and respecting the right to free speech, the President of the United States is targeting the people who celebrated Charlie Kirk’s death. President Trump’s actions since Charlie Kirk’s tragic assassination are a dereliction of his duties to every citizen of the United States of America as our elected President. Here are excerpts from President Trump’s Oval Office Address on September 11, 2025, along with my comments and questions for President Trump:

"It’s long past time for all Americans and the media to confront the fact that violence and murder are the tragic consequence of demonizing those with whom you disagree day after day, year after year, in the most hateful and despicable way possible.” 

If you, President Trump, are claiming that demonizing those with whom you disagree leads to violence and murder, you must make this accusation against anyone who demonizes those with whom they disagree, regardless of the political ideology of the purveyors of demonizing speech, the victims of violence, or perpetrators of violence. So far, you only make this accusation when the purveyor is on the left side of the political spectrum. You seem to disregard this when people on the right side of the political spectrum demonize those with whom they disagree. This is hypocritical, disingenuous, and dangerously divisive. You, yourself, constantly demonize those you disagree with, and some of your evangelical followers claim that Democrats, liberals, leftists, and all the other labels they thoughtlessly apply to anyone they disagree with, are literally possessed by demons…a claim I find mind boggling and completely out of touch with reality, yet I will continue to support their right to say it because I support free speech. If we want to have free speech in this country, it must be free speech for ALL, including those who speak in a wide variety of rude, uncivil, bigoted, hateful, demonizing ways, which, tragically, includes you, President Trump.

“For years those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world’s worst mass murderers and criminals.” 

Questions: Are you saying that terrorism must stop (yes, please!!!)? Or that free speech must stop? Or perhaps that hate speech must stop? If you want to stop hate speech, does that include the bigoted, degrading statements that you and many of your followers, including Charlie Kirk, have proudly made about women, LGBTQIA individuals, people of color, and immigrants? I disagree with nearly everything you say, but I still support your right to say it, as well as my right to say I disagree with it. If you want to stop free speech, you will have to stop free speech for everyone, including yourself, or you are a hypocrite and the very definition of a fascist: “Fascism is a political ideology that believes in the total control of society by a single leader or party…and that values authority, unity, and power over individual rights and freedoms…the leader or party in charge uses violence, fear, repression of opposition, and propaganda [lies] to stay in power, and puts the needs of the country above the needs of the individual” (https://www.simple-definition.com/what-is-fascism/).

“My administration will find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity and to other political violence, including the organizations that fund it and support it, as well as those who go after our judges, law-enforcement officials, and everyone else who brings order to our country.” 

Yes please! Including the murder of Melissa Hortman by a right-wing radical? Including the January 6th rioters you pardoned? Including the attack on Nancy and Paul Pelosi by a right-wing radical? I would love for our government to investigate and prosecute every act of political violence, regardless of the ideology of the perpetrator, with due process and the compassionate goals of rehabilitation, psychological insight, and violence prevention.

“From the attack on my life in Butler, Pennsylvania last year which killed a husband and father” [which was wrong and horrifying and also committed by a registered Republican…] “to the attacks on ICE agents, [which were wrong and horrifying despite ICE’s inhumane and often illegal actions] “to the vicious murder of a healthcare executive on the streets of New York, to the shooting of House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, and three others” [all horrifying] “radical-left political violence has hurt too many innocent people, and taken too many lives.” 

According to this 2024 study by the National Institute of Justice, from 1990-2024, radical-right political violence in the United States was responsible for 87% of ideologically motivated homicides and 84% of ideologically motivated attacks. Suspiciously, just yesterday (9/16/25), the U.S. Department of Justice removed this study from their website. Luckily, you can still access the archived document or find it at Wayback Machine. President Trump, if you are serious about ending ALL political violence, which I fully support, you should certainly include radical-right political violence since it is has been responsible for the majority of ideologically motivated attacks and homicides committed in this country over the past 34 years.

“Tonight I ask all Americans to commit themselves to the American values for which Charlie Kirk lived and died—the values of free speech, citizenship, the rule of law, and the patriotic devotion and love of god.”

Separation of church and state means that devotion to and love of any god have nothing to do with patriotism. You, President Trump, and other fans of Charlie Kirk can certainly state your personal admiration for his religious beliefs, but it is a violation of the separation of church and state for the President of the United States to equate any religious belief with patriotism. You are supposed to be the President for all Americans, not just religious Americans. Also, question: To which god are you referring? Would you consider devotion to Allah, or Brahma, or Zeus “patriotic”? If not, remember, you are supposed to be the President for all Americans, not just Americans who worship the same god that you do.

[End of excerpts, comments, and questions for President Trump]

Unfortunately, as a secular humanist pacifist, registered independent, and progressive Bernie Sanders supporter, I think President Trump and many of his followers would consider me on the “radical left”, though I don’t identify with that, and I certainly don’t wish any harm, let alone violence or death, on anyone, anywhere, ever. Despite that, I do not think the Trump/Vance administration cares what I have to say, but perhaps they still care what Republicans have to say. Please, especially if you are an honorable conservative/Republican with integrity and compassion who does not want to see an increase in violence toward anyone, call the White House and tell the Trump/Vance administration to:

1)    stop supporting doxxing people for exercising their right to free speech,

2)   refrain from violating anyone’s right to free speech in any way,

3)   use their positions of power to unite instead of divide us,

4)   investigate ALL political violence, regardless of the ideology of those committing it or targeted by it, and

5)   acknowledge the fact that the radical-right has carried out far more deadly attacks than the radical-left and is the greatest violent threat in our country today.

To conclude, I would love an end to political violence. I would love for our government to use due process to investigate and prosecute every act of violence, regardless of the affiliations of the victim(s) and perpetrator(s), with the compassionate goals of rehabilitation, psychological insight, violence prevention, and a more just, loving, peaceful world. We are all part of one human family. We all have a right to free speech, and we should all stand up for this right, for everyone, even those we disagree with. And though the right to free speech includes the right to devalue others and celebrate violence, I hope you will choose to instead condemn all forms of violence, value each and every human life equally, and engage in dialogue with people you disagree with in order to try to open their hearts and minds. Each of us is an ever-evolving product of our unique experiences, a field of pure potential capable of growth and change, and growth does not occur in response to violence, callousness, oppression, force, or silence.

Please value every person and protect freedom of speech for ALL. Our democracy depends on it.