I am not old enough to remember the assassination of President Kennedy, nor of Martin Luther King, Jr. I do remember the murder of John Lennon. This week, a United States Citizen, husband, father, activist, and patriot – Charlie Kirk – was assassinated on a college campus for speaking his mind.

Make no mistake – Charlie was killed to silence him. Free speech in the United States is a fundamental right. Charlie did not demand anyone agree with him. He challenged young people, old people, left wing, right wing, and everyone in between, to critical thinking and debate on many topics.

I did not always agree with Charlie’s point of view. But if anyone in our country is afraid of critical thinking and reasoning out the foundation of whatever you believe in – in order to articulate it with the courage of your convictions – then this is not the country for you.

#IamCharlieKirk