I have told you previously that Peggy Noonan is one of my favorite editorial writers, and she writes weekly for the Wall Street Journal. Below are some comments she recently shared when she wrote about the death of Charlie Kirk.
Hold the line. In spite of what we are seeing all over, how inundated we feel about bad actions and bad indexes, you have to maintain faith in yourself and your neighbors. Gratitude for them too: They’re under the same cultural and societal pressure you are, and hanging in. Keep healthy those parts of life you can have a real impact on. Be a leader of your family, friends, kin and colleagues.
All week I’ve been thinking of the impromptu remarks of Gen. James Mattis, the defense secretary, in August 2017. America was erupting—the end of a hard-fought presidential election, a new presidency, Charlottesville. Gen. Mattis was travelling outside the country and met up with some U.S. troops deployed in an undisclosed location, believed to have been Jordan. “You’re a great example for our country right now that’s got some problems—you know it and I know it,” he said. In times like this, “you just hold the line, my fine young soldiers, airmen, sailors, Marines. You just hold the line until our country gets back to understanding and respecting each other and showing it—being friendly to one another. The only way this great big experiment you and I call America is gonna survive is if we’ve got tough hombres like you.”
What a cheer they gave him. It’s good to keep your values, do your duty, protect your own compass—and to be appreciated. All parents have to be tough hombres now, and hold the line.
The reality today is that our world is in real trouble. There is hatred and evil being demonstrated across our country and around the globe, and in so many small towns here in the US – note the major church fire and shooting of multiple church attendees in Michigan just last Sunday.
Some good news is that Turning Point USA (TPU), founded by Charlie Kirk, had 2,100 college and high school existing chapters at Charlie’s death. Since his death, there have been over 100,000 requests to open new chapters at both the college and high school level. That can begin to show you the major impact Charlie Kirk had on young high school and college-age students during his 12 years of building TPU.
So, although we may seem to be overwhelmed by bad news surrounding us, there is some good news on the Christian front as well. It seems that Charlie Kirk was able to build a huge commitment of young people seeking true meaning in their lives, and he was convincing them that such meaning only existed in Christian lives following Jesus Christ. I believe that leadership will continue under the new leadership of Charlie’s wife Erica.
In addition, we all have family, friends, and others who we communicate with regularly in our lives. We need to reach out to those we see and speak with regularly, and speak with them about our faith, and how it has led us to Godly living for Jesus Christ throughout our adult lives. I do believe that we can, and must, continue to be “influencers” to our children, grandchildren, and others. We need to show everyone that the only path to true meaning in their lives can be achieved through developing a relationship with Jesus Christ.
The same is true of random folks with whom we may come into contact each day. Imagine the doors that might be opened by simply sharing a smile with someone! Remember Tina’s Shine! Shine! Shine!! As Peggy told us – Keep healthy those parts of life you can have a real impact on. Be a leader of your family, friends, kin and colleagues.
John 16:33 – These things I have spoken to you so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.