How To Become a Digital Martyr for Remoralization and Revival
Charlie Kirk is the first digital martyr of the 21st century - his legacy will remoralize the West and revive Christianity like Billy Graham
Comrades: The tyrant dies and his rule is over, the martyr dies and his rule begins. Charlie Kirk will not grow old, but he will be forever a young Christian patriot. What we post in life, echoes in eternity.
JFK, RFK, and MLK are the martyrs of 20th century America. CJK is the first of the 21st century. These heroes were taken from our mortal world at the ages of 46, 42, 39, and 31. For their families, they were fathers and husbands who never got to see their children grow up. For everyone else, they were iconic leaders who changed the course of history by inspiring billions across generations and borders. We will continue to honor their memories.
Charlie Kirk sparked a revival. He shined light into America’s darkest campuses to reverse demoralization into remoralization. Time after time, he charged into the lion’s den to subvert subversion with debate, truth, and God. Unlike his 20th century counterparts, thousands of his videos and podcasts will be accessible with the tap of a finger. He grew up with social media and built an enormous digital footprint over the past decade. His chair may be empty, but he will continue to fill our souls. How many millions will he inspire to read the Bible, go to church, start a conversation, register to vote, and build families? How many minds has he changed and hearts won since September 10? There will be metrics, but only God knows.
The Trump administration should honor Charlie’s name with as many dedications as possible. A national park, the new White House ballroom, or a memorial dedicated towards free speech are the grandest options. The communists running universities and schools will refuse to recognize him or fairly teach what he stood for. However, they won’t be able to stop his legend from growing on the internet. Every human on the planet can hear him speak directly through his microphone in perpetuity. The narrative has permanently shifted away from the commissars who seek to cancel, censor, and smear. Charlie will look down from heaven with our Creator and see his widow Erika lead his incredible team at Turning Point to glorious heights. Young Americans have filed over 100,000 inquiries to start or join TPUSA chapters over the past two weeks.
Charlie is most similar to a contemporary friend of JFK, RFK, and MLK who lived until he was almost 100 and passed away in 2018. The Reverend Billy Graham evangelized to more people than anyone in history. For decades, he filled massive stadiums around the world similar to the one that was packed for Charlie’s memorial. His crusades reached over 200 million people at 400 events.
Like Charlie, Graham utilized the novel technologies of his era (radio/TV) to spread the good word. Many of his sermons are available on his YouTube channel. They helped me find Christ and hope during COVID tyranny. The same will happen for so many others when they access Charlie’s archives. If you ever need white pills, read the comments declaring faith and love in these videos.
The real Yuri Bezmenov is a micro-influencer compared to the ones above. He gave many talks across America in the 1980s, but only a handful of them were recorded. His warnings about “subversion” and “demoralization” will last thanks to a few hours of his lectures. The most watched interview has received millions of views. If commentators like him were around today, they would have much more content on podcasts, Substack, X, etc.
Anons can also change the world without saying a word. We will never know Tank Man’s name, how he felt about the Tiananmen Square Massacre, or what happened to him. Yet the image of his brave stand will be forever seared into humanity’s memory.
Tomorrow is never guaranteed. Everyone who publishes online will one day perish, but our ideas will live on. Part of the reason I started this samizdat was to leave something behind for my children. They will witness history through their father’s eyes, learn about where they came from, and carry on the fight for freedom. If I have done my job right, they will appreciate my posts as adults. I don’t have many records or memories of my ancestors because the Communist red guards destroyed them. My father only had a few pictures and stories.
Despite the temptation, AI must not be used to exploit martyrdom. It can be a helpful tool to index and search through someone’s body of work. However, it should not be deployed to simulate words, voices, and videos for new content. Do not prompt “What would Charlie Kirk say about [insert current thing]?” when we have so much direct source material. This image is the borderline of what is appropriate. We will never forget you, Charlie and Iryna.
JD Vance’s speech at Charlie Kirk’s memorial was one of the most powerful of the day. The concluding passage will stay with me:
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Charlie suffered a terrible fate, my friends. We all know it. We all saw it. But think - it is not the worst fate.
It is better to face a gunman than to live your life afraid to speak the truth. It is better to be persecuted for your faith than to deny the kingship of Christ. It is better to die a young man in this world than to sell your soul for an easy life with no purpose, no risk, no love, and no truth.
Christ told us in the Gospel of John, “I have said these things to you that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart, I have overcome the world.” Charlie took heart and now we must do the same.
I’ve seen so many of you say, so many on social media talk about “for Charlie.” We must do this for Charlie.
For Charlie, we will speak the truth every single day. For Charlie, we will rebuild this United States of America to greatness. For Charlie, we will never shrink, we will never cower, and we will never falter even when staring down the barrel of a gun. For Charlie, we will remember that it is better to stand on our feet defending the United States of America and defending the truth than it is to die on our knees.
My friends, for Charlie, we must remember that he is a hero to the United States of America and he is a martyr for the Christian faith. May our Heavenly Father give us the courage to live as Charlie lived. That is what we must do for Charlie.
You ran a good race, my friend. I love you. We’ve got it from here. We’ve got it.
Charlie to us:
Turning Point to us:
Stop giving money to people who hate you and desecrate Charlie’s memory like Disney, Apple, CAA, etc:
On one hand, it's totally uncommon for anyone to accomplish as much as Charlie did in 31 short years. On the other hand, he's just getting started.
I've been put through the wringer the last few months by long-time friends who have severe TDS. I have spent many hours contemplating what I should do or say in response to their very personal attacks. I've decided not to engage and turn the other cheek - they know deep down that how they are treating me is wrong, my silence and disengagement will echo through their minds so they won't be able to hide from the truth. No one gets to hide from the truth; it's the sunlight that destroys the vampire.
Thank you for one of the best analyses you've written, well done.