We have a new Window of Opportunity in America. A huge picture window that can propel us forward.
September 21, 2025 held the Charlie Kirk Memorial Event in Arizona. In person attendance is estimated at nearly 100,000. Online attendance via television and the internet is guesstimated at over 100 Million! Not for a concert, nor a sporting event, nor a planned convention or performance. A memorial. A gathering of people who care in a spontaneous showing of respect, reverence and sympathy for the Kirk family, our nation and the millions who followed Charlie.
The entire leadership team from the White House on down to the state level officers showed up in force. Elon Musk was there. There were hundreds of key office holders, celebrities and influential people from a wide spectrum, not to seek the spotlight nor lobby for their candidates, but to show respect for Charlie and his influence worldwide. The most powerful people in America took to the stage and spoke of Jesus Christ, Faith in God, Charlie Kirk and the value of living a life with courage and rational discussion. No violence, no ranting demonstrations, no vandalism, no masks, no blaming, cursing or accusing. No put downs for other religions, no absurd costumes, just love and respect. What a blessing! And what an opportunity!!!
Each election season the major parties hold conventions. Enormous events planned months and sometimes years in advance. They are orchestrated, promoted and announced everywhere. People save their money to attend. Groups do fund raisers to send their delegates. Millions and tens of millions are spent on campaign ads and organizers circulate in every community to boost attendance. Yet these events do not equal what we saw in Phoenix.
With no advance notice, no advertising promotion, no “get your tickets now” campaigns, no precinct by precinct recruitment, throngs of people cancelled their other plans and went on a self-financed pilgrimage to Arizona to be a part of the official “Goodbye Charlie, and Thank You.” We haven’t seen this kind of event since the death of Martin Luther King. And this one is every bit as important. Not in the same way, not for just one race or political group, but for America in general.
Recent years have brought confusion to our culture. Angry groups were competing for the chance to tell us how to think. Schools were polluted with bizarre subjects and outrageous symbolic events. American History was no longer taught as before. Language was being morphed into politically correct proclamations and offensiveness avoidance terminology. Kids lost respect for America. Religion and faith in a Loving Creator was shoved aside. Being a person of character, integrity and responsibility was no longer the main curriculum.
But Charlie Kirk was such a person. He championed Family, Marriage, Faith, Learning, and Duty. He stood against his foes, not in anger, but in reason. He said, “Ok, if you feel so strongly. Come and talk with me. Prove me wrong!” He went where the disagreement was strongest, college campuses, leading universities, Oxford, and on talk shows and convention platforms everywhere. He knew what he spoke about. He understood economics, philosophy, religion, the Constitution, American history and so much more. He was an entrepreneur, a businessman, an investor, and all of this by age 31. Truly a unique man in all of history.
He didn’t rail against his foes, nor encourage others to “dox” them, taunt them, confront them violently, nor even scorn them. He said, “Talk to each other!” And he showed us how. There are countless video clips online of Charlie in respectful dialogue with some of the world’s weirdest people. He talked with atheists, Satan worshipers, abortionists, fascists who called him fascist, parents, students, clergy, intellectuals, and sometimes…idiots. His message and his reasoning prevailed. Plus, on things where his view was proven wrong, he acquiesced and admitted error. A man to admire and a model to emulate. That is how to be a true American!
He did the same in his home. As a father he set a godly example of love, strength and leadership. His top priority, he told his wife Erika, if ever elected to high public office, would be the revival of the Family. He believed totally in the value, strength and vital role of the family unit as a foundation of society.
It is time for a Revival. Not a tent filled with charismatic preaching, but a revival of the things that made America unique and wonderful in the history of humankind. We need to revive the dignity of hard work, the honor of being a person of integrity, the duty of serving your fellow man and community, the beauty of family dinners, parents teaching life skills and respect for others. We need to teach our children how to solve their own problems instead of seeking to blame or be compensated by others. Government programs that discourage fathers from staying with their families should be completely abandoned. Tried and failed. Let’s go back to the Judeo/Christian ethic that shaped our Republic. Be a good neighbor. Find a church and support it with regular attendance. Make the world a better place. Stop hatred at its source: you. When Erika Kirk said of Charlie’s assassin, “I forgive him.” The world gasped. Eyes welled up with tears and hearts overflowed. We need to do likewise with whomever we feel has wronged us. Forgiveness sets you free from the resentment and anger you otherwise would carry. It doesn’t make the wrong deed right, but it disconnects the victim from the perpetrator and frees them to go forward without a simmering grudge.
My recommendation to Turning Point USA.
The millions of people who are now connected to Charlie’s cause can add a valuable new dimension to their services. Leadership Training. Young people do not learn vital success skills in public schools nor in most universities. But Turning Point USA can fill that gap by teaching them how to lead.
The main “Ground Level Leadership” skills are:
- How to Solve Problems
- How to organize and conduct Projects
- How to Present your ideas to others
- How to Motivate yourself and others to take Action.
- How to lead effective Meetings
When I was Charlie’s age I was the Senior Program Manager for Individual Development (Leadership Training) at the national headquarters of the U. S. Junior Chamber of Commerce, the “Jaycees.” That organization was huge and virtually every township in America had a Jaycees chapter of young adults. The purpose of Jaycees is “Leadership Training Through Community Service.” Their slogan was “Young Men Can Change The World.” Later they opened to women membership and changed the wording. There were 356,000 US Jaycees when I was on the national staff. Today it is a much smaller and less influential organization. That, too, creates a window of opportunity.
Turning Point USA can structure their local chapters so that members can do public service projects and learn leadership skills in the process. I’ve seen entire communities transformed by young leaders doing what they cared about in their own communities. I’ve also seen individual lives transformed as they gained experience and set bigger goals. Many of our nation’s top leaders in the 20th Century came from groups like The Jaycees, The Scouts, The YMCA & YWCA, and similar programs. Teach them life skills, show them how to be people of substance. Steer them away from anger and toward building, repairing, creating and growing. Make Americans into better people like Charlie Kirk did. That is what will Make America Great Again. I’m ready to help, are you?
How would the person I’d like to be do the things I’m about to do?