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The Murder of Charlie Kirk
In light of the public execution of Mr. Charlie Kirk, I'd like to share with you the significance of a quote which appears not only in the signature of my emails, but which serves me well as a guiding light in times of darkness. I hope it can serve you just the same.
"Tu ne cede malis sed contra audentior ito," my personal motto and the motto of my hero, Ludwig von Mises, comes from Virgil's epic poem, The Aeneid, and translates to "Do not give in to evil, but proceed ever more boldly against it."
After Troy is sacked, Aeneas is guided through the underworld by a prophet of Apollo called the Sibyl. Before their journey through hell, but after Apollo has relinquished control of the prophet, she tells Aeneas that although he has already suffered immensely, even greater suffering awaits him, still. His future teems with war and blood, and a great foe–"A new Achilles"–blessed by the goddess Juno will meet him in battle.
In a fight against overwhelming military force, a literal god, and fate itself, Aeneas will have to seek out aid from the most unlikely of allies. But! the Sibyl says, Aeneas, "secure of soul" and "unbent with woes," must then fight harder against the tides of fate–no matter how much he suffers. Only through conviction of soul (faith), and by remaining unbent (upright! proud!), will Aeneas emerge victorious.
Considering The Aeneid came out more than 2000 years ago, I don't think it's spoiling much to say that Aeneas wins in the end. But he doesn't just win; in the climactic battle, he defeats this "new Achilles" in single combat! Man versus man, power versus righteousness, Aeneas prevails and evil perishes.
The Aeneid, Book VI
Now, with a furious blast, the hundred doors
Ope of themselves; a rushing whirlwind roars
Within the cave, and Sibyl’s voice restores:
“Escap’d the dangers of the wat’ry reign,
Yet more and greater ills by land remain.
The coast, so long desir’d (nor doubt th’ event),
Thy troops shall reach, but, having reach’d, repent.
Wars, horrid wars, I view—a field of blood,
And Tiber rolling with a purple flood.
Simois nor Xanthus shall be wanting there:
A new Achilles shall in arms appear,
And he, too, goddess-born. Fierce Juno’s hate,
Added to hostile force, shall urge thy fate.
To what strange nations shalt not thou resort,
Driv’n to solicit aid at ev’ry court!
The cause the same which Ilium once oppress’d;
A foreign mistress, and a foreign guest.
But thou, secure of soul, unbent with woes,
The more thy fortune frowns, the more oppose.
The dawnings of thy safety shall be shown
From whence thou least shalt hope, a Grecian town.”
The Aeneid Today
If The Aeneid is prophetic in any way, it tells us that we have only just made it to shore, and much more suffering awaits us. We have yet to encounter our own Achilles–let alone wage our final battle–but when we do, it will be a great victory with great losses.
In Roman and Greek mythology, every man has a fate, and every man suffers the same fate–death. But while no man can beat fate, he can, like Aeneas, defy it and push it back. To do this requires men of faith or good conscience, and stubborn, unyielding action. Mr. Kirk and others were just such men, and all honest people can clearly see the good they've done.
Mr. Kirk's virtue laid in his willingness to pursue honest, peaceful, open debate with people of all sorts. He embodied one of the most crucial aspects of real Liberalism; an aspect which has allowed Western civilization to flourish. But with his death, now his admirers, and especially his opponents, are all the worse for having to live without him.
Many have no doubt seen the response from many people on the left, blaming Kirk for his own murder:
"Hateful thoughts lead to hateful words which then lead to hateful actions,"
said now-fired MSNBC analyst Matthew Dowd. As radical leftists have long maintained, words are violence, so anyone not willing to toe the line of acceptable opinion "has it coming." If you say "hateful" things, you ought to "expect" violent reactions. But by virtue of living in a liberal society, no American expects violence–they expect civility. Despite what the radicals say, Kirk did not "live by the sword." He hurt no one. He killed no one. And he did not deserve what happened to him.
But one of the most troubling parts of this whole ordeal is not that a peaceful man was butchered in front of his wife, kids, and thousands of eager students. It's the fact that thousands? millions? of people are unbothered by his murder.
Whether you liked or agreed with Mr. Kirk, understand that he represented millions of everyday, run-of-the-mill conservatives. To excuse his death as "just desserts" is no different from placing a hit on the lives of the millions of Americans who even remotely resemble him.
This is evil that no one should abide.
Our great fortune is that Mr. Kirk was not an island of virtue unto himself. He was not a one man army vanquished by a single act of savage rage. His character and his example is one that can be had and lived by anyone: honesty, truthfulness, openness to debate, and peaceful conduct.
As Virgil said, and as Kirk did,
"Do not give in to evil, but proceed ever more boldly against it."
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