A Nation at a Crossroads: 9/11, Charlie Kirk, and Violence

America is bleeding. Violence is no longer shocking. Instead, hatred has become the rhythm of our politics, and division is the language of our streets. We recently saw this violence in the shooting at Annunciation Catholic School. We saw the images of a horrific murder of a beautiful Ukrainian immigrant. Now we are reeling from the assassination of Charlie Kirk. This is a chilling reminder of just how far we’ve fallen. 

Charlie was a bold voice who was unafraid to call America back to its roots, to speak plainly about truth, liberty, and the Judeo-Christian foundation that once shaped this nation. For that, he became a target of an ideology that wants him (and us) silenced. His murder was not only an attack on a man but a strike at the very values he defended, especially freedom of speech. 

Charlie would engage in civil dialogue at the heart of America’s youth – our colleges and universities. That boldness of faith and willingness to challenge destructive ideologies cost him his life. It is a grim marker in our descent: if speaking truth costs you your life, our nation is already in the throes of judgment. 

This month also reminds us of another moment seared into our memory—September 11, 2001. That day, for a brief season, America remembered its mortality, vulnerability, and need for God. Churches filled, neighbors embraced, and partisan lines blurred. But that unity has long since dissolved. Our memory has faded, and our resolve has weakened. Instead of returning to the Lord, we have run further away from Him.  

The void has been filled by ideologies rising like floodwaters: secularism that denies God, Marxism that pits neighbor against neighbor, radical gender ideology that mocks creation, globalism that erodes sovereignty, and a virulent antisemitism that once again targets God’s chosen people (to name a few). These are not mere political trends but are spiritual strongholds that are tools of deception and are meant to unravel a nation’s foundations and silence God’s people. We cannot let that happen.  

Let's keep a proper perspective. Sin doesn’t sit neatly on one side of the aisle; it corrupts wherever hearts resist Christ. It is not up to one side to come to the other. It is time for us as a nation to humble ourselves before God. 

As saints, we cannot ignore the signs. America is no longer drifting – we are sprinting toward judgment. When the innocent are slaughtered, when truth-tellers are silenced by bullets, when remembrance of sacrifice is forgotten, when evil is celebrated and righteousness is mocked, I can only hear the words of Scripture that tell us exactly what hour it is. “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil” (Isaiah 5:20). Sadly, that describes the state of the United States. The question is, ‘Is it too late?’ Not if we turn our hearts to Jesus. 

This is not a call of despair but a call to repent. The basics of life and liberty were never meant to be untethered from the God who gave them. True freedom is not found in doing as we please but in doing what is right before Him. If America has any hope, it will not come from Washington, Silicon Valley, or Wall Street. It will come from the cross of Jesus Christ. 

The answer to hatred is not more hatred. The answer to division is not more slogans. The answer to violence is not more violence. The answer is Christ, who alone can reconcile the broken, heal the wounded, and restore the lost. 

As Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.” Joshua’s ancient challenge is our modern choice: “Choose this day whom you will serve… but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15). May we choose well, and may we choose now.