Twenty-four years ago, Americans watched in horror as planes struck the Twin Towers and forever changed our nation. What came next would become a topic of deep division in the years that followed, but in those first dark hours, we stopped being Republicans and Democrats, conservatives and liberals. Instead, we were simply American, united in grief to stand against those who sought to divide us.
Twenty-four hours ago, Americans witnessed two separate acts of violence that should have united us in sorrow again. Instead, many have tried to turn these tragedies into weapons in our endless political battle.
Charlie Kirk, a 31-year-old conservative activist and father, was assassinated while speaking at Utah Valley University. On the same day, a teenage gunman shot two fellow students before taking his own life at Evergreen High School in Colorado. Two tragedies, two sets of victims, and two opportunities for us to remember our humanity have instead turned to competition over who deserved more sympathy.
Before Charlie Kirks family had time to process their loss, social media began tallying political points. Some mocked him for his opposition to gun control policies, as if his political views made him more “deserving” of his fate. When House Speaker Mike Johnson attempted to hold a moment of silence for Kirk in Congress, the floor erupted, with cries that “silent prayers get silent results” and complaints that the Evergreen school shooting hadnt received the same acknowledgement. The chamber turned to partisan bickering over whose tragedy mattered more.
Writer and podcaster Manny Fidel captured our national condition perfectly, asking “What does it say about us that the news of a conservative political activist getting assassinated may need to compete for coverage with yet another school shooting?”
What it says about us is that we have lost our way.
On cable news, rather than simply mourning a life cut short, MSNBCs Matthew Dowd suggested that Kirks own rhetoric had contributed to the shooting, saying that Kirks “hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which often then to hateful actions.” This is victim blaming disguised as analysis. Dowd was appropriately fired for the comments just hours later. Meanwhile, social media platforms were flooded with graphic video of the assassination, turning the familys worst nightmare into viral content.
On the note of families worst nightmares, the Evergreen community has been forced to watch their childrens loss and suffering compete for attention in the national tragedy race. While dealing with unimaginable pain, theyve had to watch as we debate about whether their loss or someone elses deserved more coverage.
When our homeland was attacked in the name of terror and intimidation, political differences were set aside. Certainly not forever, but long enough for us to honor the dead and support the living. Leaders stood together on the Capitol steps, and Americans mourned collectively.
We understood that there was a sacred grief transcending politics. We know that when someone died, whether a firefighter running into the towers or an office worker who never made it home, they were more than just politics. They were humans, and they were us. They deserved our respect, and their memories still demand our reverence.
The aftermath of 9/11 showed us at our best. Neighbors helped neighbors, communities rallied around the grieving, and we could still distinguish between tragedy and a political opening. Today, our system has turned these tragedies into political content. Our mourning period for victims is mere minutes, and death is a zero-sum political game where one victims suffering diminishes another.
The student lying in critical condition in a Colorado hospital doesnt care about cable news ratings or social media engagement. The parents watching by the bedside arent thinking about political points. These families deserve better from us. They deserve a nation capable of mourning without immediately calculating how to leverage the events for political advantage.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis offers an example of good leadership, when he condemned both tragedies without comparison or competition. While his state mourned the loss of its own, he denounced political violence, mourning all victims as victims, rather than talking points. This doesnt mean we cant discuss the implications of these tragedies. But we must give our communities time and tools to heal first.
We must recall that Americas strength came not from our politics, but from our unity in the face of hate. The Evergreen students are more than statistics in the gun violence debate. They are each a future and a family broken by senseless violence. Charlie Kirk was more than his political views. He was a young father who stood for what he believed. We owe it to the victims to respect their loss and suffering.
Today, as we remember those weve lost on September 10th and 11th, lets remember our greatest strength is not in our division, but in our shared humanity.
Brayden Myers is a contributor with Young Voices and a student of economics at the University of Alabama. His research focuses on political thought, political economy, and tax policy. His work has appeared in The New York Sun, The National Review, and RealClearPolitics.