intramuralist ™

Ever since 2016, there’s been a quote circulating on social media attributed to C.S. Lewis in his satirical novel, The Screwtape Letters. Screwtape is a fictional senior demon, and he is talking to his nephew, Wormwood, a junior demon. The letters are Screwtape’s attempt to advise Wormwood on how to corrupt a “patient” — or a human soul — and turn him away from God. 

The quote in question goes like this:

“My dear Wormwood, 

Be sure that the patient remains completely fixated on politics. Arguments, political gossip, and obsessing on the faults of people they have never met serves as an excellent distraction from advancing in personal virtue, character, and the things the patient can control. Make sure to keep the patient in a constant state of angst, frustration, and general disdain towards the rest of the human race in order to avoid any kind of charity or inner peace from further developing. Ensure the patient continues to believe that the problem is “out there” in the “broken system” rather than recognizing there is a problem with himself.”

Allow us to be clear. The quote is wrongly attributed; it was never written by C.S. Lewis and is not included in the book. However, the point of the post is sadly, absolutely believable: politics serves the demon’s purpose to corrupt a human soul.

So dare we humbly ask today: how?

With summarizing assistance from AI, how politics helps serve the demon’s purpose in corrupting the human soul is soberly comprehendible…

Encouraging extremes: The demons’ goal is to push humans toward either blind, unquestioning loyalty to a political figure or extreme cynicism and disillusionment with the entire system. Screwtape notes that “all extremes, except extreme devotion to the Enemy [God], are to be encouraged.”

Mistaking the “cause” for faith: Screwtape advises Wormwood to make the patient treat their politics as part of their religion, then the most important part, and finally, to make religion merely a tool to serve their political “cause.” This inverts the proper order, turning a person’s faith into a means to a worldly end, and is a major victory for the demonic forces.

Fostering hatred and pride: When humans get caught up in political infighting, the emotional frenzy obscures rational thought and compassion. The demons encourage a sense of smug, self-righteous pride in a person’s own political correctness and a hatred for the opposing faction. This provides a justification to abandon charity and demonize political opponents.

Using distraction to hinder spiritual growth: By keeping a person obsessed with political gossip, outrage, and the faults of others, the demons distract the patient from their own spiritual and moral growth. An endless focus on problems “out there” prevents them from recognizing internal moral issues.

Debasing language and promoting ignorance: The demons corrupt language and reason so that a person judges ideas not on their truthfulness but on whether they align with their political tribe’s approved jargon, such as “progressive” or “conservative.” In a separate essay, Lewis also wrote that a demonic version of democracy, where everyone insists “I’m as good as you,” can lead to a populace that is “cocksure” in its ignorance and quick to attack.

Perverting the desire for heaven: Screwtape tells Wormwood to manipulate a human’s desire for a better world by convincing them that a political project can create “Heaven on Earth.” This shifts their hope away from God and places it in a human, earthly candidate or ideology. 

This reflection makes me think…

The Screwtape Letters is a work of fiction.

I wish what we’re witnessing today was also a fictional work.

Respectfully…

AR

Wow… what a story…

We often hear encouraging, inspiring stories of faith. People speak of what God has done in their life… how He’s been at work… some absolute amazing, jaw dropping stories. 

The testimonies come from near and far… from those we know and those we don’t. They come from people in every demographic. God does not discriminate.

We hear these stories, too, from so many athletes and celebrities, thanking God routinely, publicly… 

So many speak of their faith and what God has done.

This past weekend, I was struck by something profoundly new. I was encouraged and inspired not by someone sharing what God has done. Rather, by someone sharing what God is currently doing.

A friend shared her story as to how she sees God at work in her life. It’s not because she is a cancer survivor. She has cancer now. 

She calmly articulated how only two short years ago, she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer in her bones and her blood. Not only is the cancer aggressive, it’s also incurable. Her life expectancy is notably shorter. She’ll stay with her current treatment plan until it’s deemed ineffective and perhaps they can find another approach.

Soon after being diagnosed, she lost all ability to walk.

With treatment, therapy and prayer, she has begun to walk again.

Not only does my friend share calmly, she shares hopefully. Peacefully. And joyfully. To call her sharing encouraging and inspiring is an obvious understatement. She isn’t sharing some past story of healing and success; healing may never come. She is sharing the inner strength she has now — amidst the disease. That is the work that God is doing. To have peace, to not be rattled, and to exercise trust in the middle of circumstances that are potentially dire and indeed hard.

After my friend shared publicly via video, she sat on a stool on platform with a mic in her hand. The keys and acoustic guitar played lightly in the background. And then she sang this…

After a break in her song, just time to acknowledge God and give him thanks, my friend had one more thing to sing…

What a story… that peace, hope and joy in the midst of the hard… what a miracle now.

Sweetly…

AR

So let’s ask. Is the systematic killing of Christians in Nigeria on your radar?

Allow us to provide some critical context…

• First, in regard to Nigeria, with more than 230 million people, not only is it the most populous country in Africa but also the world’s 6th most populous country.
• While there is no official state religion, the country is roughly half Christian and half Muslim. It is estimated, therefore, that there are somewhere near 109 million Christians in the country.
• While difficult to discern an accurate count due to the rurality of the attacks, tens of thousands of Christians have been killed in Nigeria since 2000, with many estimates over 100,000 people. The International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law reports that at least 52,250 Christians have been killed in Nigeria over the past 14 years.
• The violence is not equal across the entire West African nation. Most of the violence takes place in the northern parts of Nigeria, which is home to more of the Muslim community. The larger Christian population lives more in the southern region of the country. The violence has begun to extend into some more southern, Christian-majority states.
• This is primarily a religious conflict, although it isn’t only religious. Christians are being targeted. They are being killed because of what they believe and Who they believe in.
• Nigerian government representatives have repeatedly denied that Christians are being singled out; however, the involved, self-proclaimed Islamic militant groups say otherwise. One of those primary groups, Boko Haram, has explicitly and repeatedly called for the elimination of Christianity in the country, ordering Christians to convert to Islam or be killed.
• Many secular journalists have portrayed the killings as merely “clashes” between farmers and herders, downplaying the religious nature of the conflict. Such results from the numerous farming communities that have been attacked In the Middle Belt of Nigeria. Note that the farmers are predominantly Christian, and they’ve been attacked by primarily Muslim herders, most who’ve become radicalized Fulani militants.
• Kidnapping has also become a serious problem, with more than 20,000 people abducted between 2019 and 2023. Christians have become specifically vulnerable targets.
• Just this past week, on the night of October 14th, 15 people were reported to be massacred by those Fulani terrorists. 

Back to Maher for a moment…

“This is so much more of a genocide attempt than what is going on in Gaza; they are literally attempting to wipe out the Christian population of an entire country. Where are the kids protesting this?”

A few more thoughts…

First, what’s happening is horrible. 

Next, we struggle with the word “genocide.” It’s very emotive. Also, according to international law, a situation has to meet very specific requirements to qualify as such, and that then triggers a responsibility for governments to take determined action against the violence. Such makes sense why a country may deny key elements of the conflict. 

And finally, it leaves us with some very basic questions — specifically, one, what we most protest and why — and two, what keeps us from being aware.

Thinking out loud today…

AR

Let’s intensify it a bit…

But those have never been real. Let’s intensify it a bit more…

Democrats vs. Republicans

Dare we say briefly more this day? 

The pitting of the latter two rivals is often ugly and intense. My strong sense is that each is more successful when they focus on what they have in common, coming together to solve the problems that plague the country most. I believe, too, they serve the public poorly when they focus most on what’s wrong with the other. They are less efficient, less integrous, and make fewer people want to be like them.

“Can’t we all just get along?”

Unfortunately and understandably, many don’t believe such is possible ever again.

And while I may be an optimist, here’s where I differ. Why?

733 days. 1,195 originally murdered. 251 hostages. Reports estimate that in the conflict, over 92,000 people have since died.

Let’s be clear: Israel and Hamas don’t believe the same thing. They aren’t just rivals; they are enemies. An enemy is marked by his hate. And yet this week, two groups of people who hate each other agreed that they needed to find a better path. Their previously chosen paths were destructive and serving their constituents poorly.

Let us thus state the current situation bluntly but clearly…

If Israel and Hamas can find a way toward peace — two groups of people who often kill because of disagreement — Democrats and Republicans can find a way, as well. These government shutdowns often seem silly — hurting people who don’t deserve it — and sadly, they most resemble exercises in mutual hypocrisy with the parties changing words and roles, contradicting what they said before pending who’s in power now. The parties would serve the public better if they would each be wiser. Sharpen each other. And quit blaming the other all the time.

Yes, we need peace here, too.

Respectfully…

AR

It was the best…

Full of fun. Full of festivity. Full of friends, family, food and all sorts of just the right touches and treats in the creating of meaningful moments. 

It was my son’s 24th birthday — and a grand one at that.

24 years ago, we found out halfway through our pregnancy that the babe had a specific congenital heart defect that when present in utero, 50% of the time, it indicates the child has Down syndrome. 

A couple moments stood out to me from those initial, immediate, and sometimes shocking conversations. One was when the doctor asked us if we’d like to proceed with more testing. In response to me earnestly asking why, he said so that we can be prepared to have a baby with a disability. It struct me as odd at the time — not wrong nor any judgment, of course. But I can remember responding matter of factly back with exactly what I was thinking. “You said we have a 50% chance of having a kid with Down syndrome. I think God’s telling us we need to be prepared.”

Next was when the two doctors in the room looked to each other, not making any eye contact with us as of yet, when one soberly said, “Should we have the conversation with them now?” Then they turn to us, respectfully but bluntly asking if we would be interested in aborting our child. Again, no judgment; it just made no sense to us with a kid we had long started to love.

Somewhere amidst all this unanticipated development years ago I became newly aware of an oft used — and I believe misused — colloquialism. It was just something that got me thinking in a way I previously had not; that’s good for us at times. I speak of this whole idea of “quality of life,” the standard we perceive of health, comfort and happiness experienced by another.

For full comprehension purposes, the term “quality of life” originated in the 1920’s but gained prominence in the 60’s and 70’s, particularly in the U.S. after World War II. It became a common metric in medical and public health research, driven by growing awareness and the need to evaluate health outcomes by more than just the physical. It makes sense.

But my perception of misuse comes less from the metric’s value in public health research than in our sense of assessment capability. I feel like we think we are far more capable of discerning another’s quality of life than we actually are.

Let me be respectfully clear. I am not referencing a person whose life is only viable via artificial means. I also am sensitive to those whose perceived quality of life was at one so-called level and then drastically changes, perceived as incredibly negatively so. I can only imagine the effort and perseverance such takes. God be with persons in said circumstances.

My discomfort instead comes from when we look at another whose life is different than our own or different than what we believe is good and then we assess that their life is somehow lesser — “lesser” meaning less good or not so great or not as important or worthwhile as others. That’s why those doctors asked me immediately after diagnosis if we wished to abort; they perceived my son’s life as lesser.

All due respect to those doctors; many in the medical community became deeply valuable, precious and trusted resources during that time. But to see my son now — what they clearly couldn’t see then — and think his quality of life is somehow lesser is to not know my son. He works, cooks, cleans and brightens the days of many. He takes care of dogs, volunteers in the community, and passionately yells at the TV on college football Saturdays. He is humble, kind, faithful and loves people — many days better and more than me. In other words, at 24, he is thriving.

Thanks, no less, to the many who reached out to extend warm wishes to him on his birthday. He was so grateful!

It was a most wonderful — and always meaningful — day.

Respectfully…

AR

It is no secret that the Intramuralist has long appreciated the insight and influence of Bari Weiss, the articulate, incredibly witty, always fair, more-liberal-than-conservative, Jewish, lesbian journalist who left the New York Times because she wasn’t left enough for them. Bari is respectful and thought-provoking. She founded the truth-based Free Press; her platform just increased immensely. Excuse us this day, as we hear Bari’s announcement this week. It’s a little longer for us than usual, but I believe it to be noteworthy. Also, all emphasis is mine. From Bari…

____________

We’ve sent more than 4,000 emails since we started The Free Press five years ago. This one is different. We’re a news organization, so I’ll get right to it: This morning, The Free Press is joining Paramount. This move is a testament to many things: The Free Press team; the vision of Paramount’s new leaders; the luck of starting an independent media company at the right moment; and the courage of my colleagues to leave behind old worlds to build a new one. But, above all, it’s a testament to you, our subscribers.

From day one, the promise—and the business proposition—of this publication was simple: We would marry the quality of the old world to the freedom of the new. We would seek the truth and tell it plainly. And we would treat readers like adults capable of making their own choices. So many people told us this was no longer possible. That the premise of a media company built on trust rather than partisanship was, at best, a relic from the past—and, at worst, a fantasy that never was. That the internet killed journalism. That there simply weren’t enough Americans out there in search of media driven by honesty, independence, and integrity. You proved them wrong. You demonstrated that there’s a market for honest journalism. And you’ve given us a mandate to pursue that mission from an even bigger platform…

The Free Press uncovered an America hiding in plain sight. People who want to be surprised. People who want to learn. People who are open to changing their minds in the face of new facts. People who believe that curiosity is a virtue and who crave common sense in a world that feels upside down. People who resist the warmth of political tribalism even as they seek community with one another. People who want logic and wit, not conspiracy theories and demoralization.

Most of all, Free Pressers are people who want to face the truth. Because we understand that knowing it is the only way to improve lives—our own and those of our fellow citizens. Being almost entirely a subscription business has kept us honest. We publish stories, we get subscribers. We build trust, we get subscribers. Story by story, hire by hire, that’s what we did.

I won’t list the news this team has broken, the brilliant pieces by our writers that made sense of a roiling and confused political moment, the conversations we’ve cracked open, or the merry band of brilliant misfits who have done it all…

If you have been here from the start, you might have questions. Wasn’t The Free Press started precisely because the old media institutions had failed? Isn’t the whole premise of this publication that we need to build anew? Why flee The New York Times only to head back into another legacy institution?

In 2020, when I quit The New York Times, I left a job that, on paper, was exactly the one I had always dreamed of having. But it wasn’t The New York Times anymore. It was, by then, a fancy logo and a motto that many had abandoned in exchange for devotion to a set of narrow, partisan ideas.

I was raised to be a believer in the institutions that built America and that made sense of it—the universities, book publishers, movie studios, and newspaper companies that forged public opinion for the entirety of my grandparents’ and parents’ lives. But what I found in 2020 is that the most important public conversations were happening outside of those places. I wanted to be a part of that more than I wanted to cling to the prestige.

Five years later, so much has changed. As the gatekeepers of the mainstream have failed one after another, an explosion took place across the media landscape. Incredible new voices came to the fore. Personalities and influencers have overtaken hundred-year-old journalism brands in only a few years. It’s an exciting, fascinating moment. It is also a deeply uncertain one.

If the illiberalism of our institutions has been the story of the last decade, we now face a different form of illiberalism emanating from our fringes. On the one hand, an America-loathing far left. On the other, a history-erasing far right. These extremes do not represent the majority of the country, but they have increasing power in our politics, our culture, and our media ecosystem.

Overlooked by all these so-called interlocutors are the enormous numbers of smart, politically mixed, pragmatic Americans. The people who believe, unapologetically, in the American project. This is the actual mainstream. These people are the overwhelming majority of the country. And they are being ill-served.

As proud as we are of the 1.5 million subscribers who have joined under the banner of The Free Press—and we are astonished at that number—this is a country with 340 million people. We want our work to reach more of them, as quickly as possible. This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity allows us to do that. It gives The Free Press a chance to help reshape a storied media organization—to help guide CBS News into a future that honors those great values that underpin The Free Press and the best of American journalism. And in doing so, to bring our mission to millions of people.

The values that we’ve hammered out here over the years—journalism based in curiosity and honesty, a culture of healthy disagreement, our shared belief in America’s promise—now have the opportunity to go very, very big…

What does this mean for CBS News? It means a redoubled commitment to great journalism. It means building on a storied legacy—and bringing that historic newsroom into 2025 and beyond. Most of all, it means working tirelessly to make sure CBS News is the most trusted news organization in the world.

We would not be doing this if we did not believe in David Ellison, and the entire leadership team who took over Paramount this summer. They are doubling down because they believe in news. Because they have courage. Because they love this country. And because they understand, as we do, that America cannot thrive without common facts, common truths, and a common reality.

If you’ve been on this journey with us at The Free Press since the office was our kitchen table, thank you. If you’re a CBS News reader or viewer hearing our name for the first time: I am eager to earn your trust.

With immense gratitude,

Bari

____________

Blessings, Bari. The Intramuralist respects you deeply. We’re with you on this and can’t wait to tune in.

Respectfully…

AR

I can’t imagine what it must be like to be the father.

You hear of the tragedy. You hear of the gruesomeness. And then you see him. You see your own son and realize he is responsible.

What in the world are you supposed to do with that?

Your heart breaks.

You love a person so incredibly much and have to simultaneously hold the fact that he was an agent of evil. Satan got inside of him in such a warped, twisted way that he thought the taking of an innocent life was an appropriate thing to do. He didn’t just think it was appropriate; he thought the killing was justified.

How awful. How deranged. How so far off from the love and will of God.

The older I get the more I’m struck by the role of the Most High God as Father.

Let’s face it… 

We all have one. But let us acknowledge the reality of our individual experience, being real enough to admit that not all fathers have been trustworthy nor good. Some have been awful — abusive or authoritarian. Such can make it understandably difficult to trust dads and even men going forward. It makes it challenging to see what fathers actually should be.

Fathers should be ones who generously offer simultaneous love and promise, care and protection, and encouragement and discipline.

And yet here is an earthly father — who, too, is an imperfect reflection — and he sees pics of his son on TV and elsewhere, shockingly realizing his own flesh and blood is responsible for pulling the trigger of the kill shot that ended the life of Charlie Kirk. 

It matters not what Charlie believed nor what he strove for or what he encouraged. This father’s son intentionally eliminated another out of hate. That, bluntly speaking, is evil.

To think of the depth of all the competing emotions that dad must have held before he picked up the phone and called another to report. I can only imagine. And then he punches in the numbers…

What does he say?

Seriously… what does he say?

It was him. It was my son.

As I ponder the times I do something lesser — and call “lesser” whatever you want — unholy, misguided, wrong, stupid, sinful, damaging, hurtful, grievous, you name it — I wonder how the great big God of the universe feels about me. How does this all work? What does faith have to do with it? … whether I have one or not?…

Does God love me less?

Does he want to make me pay? … really… will I pay for what I did?

If I’m rawly transparent, those are the places we have opportunity to lean in and painfully, profoundly trust him more. God’s love for us is unchanging. No matter our thought processes or behavior, no matter the good or the stupid we each do. And yes, it’s true; we all do stupid. Regardless, God loves us no less. Nor no more.

That’s the profound reality of the God we serve. His love for us is not based on our behavior. His love for us is based on the fact that he created us. That’s enough. Hence, he is enough. That why he implores us to find our moral code, worth and wisdom all in him.

When that father picked up the phone to share the heartbreaking, gut-wrenching reality — “it was my son” — that father poignantly knew that his love and and support and the coming consequences were not in competition with one another. Love and justice can be simultaneously held. Painful, yet true.

God be with the assassin’s father and family. Your loving courage amidst your heartbreak is something from which each of us can learn.

Respectfully…

AR

It’s hard to pay attention to the news for multiple reasons. Sometimes it’s just depressing. Often it’s so focused on the gross, sensational and insensitive. And the unfortunate reality is that we can’t fully trust all we read and hear.

With the horrific assassination of Charlie Kirk (a moment that may serve as the next “where were you when question” — i.e. where were you when the Space Shuttle exploded?… where were you when you heard the plane struck the first tower? … where were you when you heard Princess Diana died?), but since that time, we’ve been watching what the media has had to say and how they characterize what occurred.

Some has been inaccurate. For example, Charlie Kirk wasn’t a saint. He would be the first to say so. No need to call him that.

Some has been in poor taste. For example, Charlie Kirk wasn’t uneducated or ignorant. No need to insult or call him that either.

Watching the media that matters, here is how seemingly more reasonable voices attempted to wrestle with our current reality in recent weeks, discussing this significant event and moment in time:

1. America Awaits Fateful Consequences of Horrific Killing
2. The American Spiritual Revival and the Assassination of Charlie Kirk
3. Assassination Leaves Lawmakers on Edge
4. The Awakening Few See Coming
5. Charlie Kirk Helped Defeat the Old, Failed Consensus
6. Charlie Kirk’s Killing & Our Poisonous Internet
7. Charlie Kirk’s Legacy of Grace Triumphs Over Hate
8. The Cries of This Widow Will Echo Around The World Like A Battle Cry
9. Don’t Shut Down Free Speech in Kirk’s Name
10. The Evildoers Have No Idea What They Just Unleashed
11. A Force Like No Other, Impossible to Overstate Kirk’s Influence
12. Four Ominous Trends
13. How Charlie Kirk Reached Young Americans
14. How ‘Fascist’ Ended Up on Kirk Assassin’s Bullet
15. I Forgive Him
16. Is There Any Way Forward After Charlie Kirk’s Murder?
17. Kirk Assassination Has Cast a Dark Shadow Over U.S.
18. The Kirk Assassination: More Than Just Murder
19. Kirk Made No Intro Speech; He Went Straight Into the Debate
20. Kirk Was Very Effective and That’s Why They Killed Him
21. Kirk Was Wise Beyond His Age, and a Master Builder
22. Kirk’s Assassination Is a Turning Point for America
23. Kirk’s Death Ignites a Campus Reckoning
24. Kirk’s Impact Wasn’t Limited to Campus Politics
25. Kirk’s Murder, Aftermath Symptoms of Fragile Democracy
26. Let’s Listen as Well as Speak After Kirk’s Assassination
27. Our Country Is Not Prepared for This
28. Pray Now for America. We Are in Big Trouble
29. ‘Prove Me Wrong’: Charlie Kirk’s Final Challenge
30. Ramifications of Charlie Kirk Assassination Could Be Huge
31. They Came To See Kirk. They Won’t Be Quiet Now
32. They Want Us To Hate Each Other. Uniting Would Be Act of Defiance
33. Was Charlie Kirk ‘Divisive’ – or Did He Say What Millions Believe?
34. Was Current Madness Birthed in Universities?
35. A Watershed Moment for Movement Charlie Kirk Founded
36. We Are Not OK, But There Is Hope
37. We Have Entered, Indisputably, a New Age
38. What Kirk’s Assassination Tells Us About the American Mind
39. What Would Charlie Do? The Path Forward After Darkness
40. Why Kirk’s Assassination Will Change America

What we read and hear matters. Even and especially when it’s hard, depressing and/or sensational. My goal is to discuss all things well.

Respectfully…

AR

(Sources utilized for the above included but were not limited to American Greatness, The Atlantic, Axios, Blaze Media, Bloomberg, CNN, Epoch Times, The Federalist, FOX News, The Guardian, HuffPost, Los Angeles Times, MSNBC, New York Magazine, New York Post, New York Times, Real Clear Politics, Real Time, Salon, Slate, Spectator, Substack, Turning Point USA, UnHerd, Vox, Wall Street Journal, Washington Examiner, Washington Free Beacon, Washington Monthly, Washington Post, Washington Times, Washington Week, and X.)

It’s almost a 9/11 moment — not in comparison to the number of deaths, of course, but rather in how the shock and horror has gotten our attention. While one motivated-by-evil man may have wanted to silence Charlie Kirk and allow his influence to extend no further, he was grossly naive and blatantly unsuccessful. Kirk’s influence is wildly far more now than it was when he was alive. Church attendance has swelled nationwide the last two weekends, and Turning Point, the nonprofit Charlie founded to converse with the younger generations, has seen national interest and inquiries unprecedentedly surge. Something is happening in our land.

As a current events blogger — and only a semi-humble one at that — it makes me ask a lot of questions, things like…

What’s happening? Why?

What’s good? What’s not?

Will things get better? 

Or will they get worse?

So many things we don’t know. In all that’s happening with all those questions, there’s so much yuck, judgment and strong opinion espoused especially on the airwaves and social media, and also especially from those who didn’t know him nor listen to the totality of his message. It’s really easy to take things out of context.

I was thus struck by the Jimmy Kimmel situation last week. The late night ABC host was suspended for a week for misleading comments made about Kirk in his monologue shortly after Kirk’s death. Some cheered. Some jeered. Some decided to boycott ABC and Disney, ABC’s parent company.

A couple comments…

Did I care? Not really.

Did I think Kimmel should have been suspended? I don’t have a strong opinion on such — not one way or the other. Kimmel’s a comedian; he says all sorts of misleading, often insensitive things. 

Do I think Kimmel is funny? Sometimes. Not as much as he used to be, but that’s a matter of opinion — not right or wrong.

Do I watch him? No. I used to years ago, but I lost interest when he chose to become exceedingly political. I don’t find politics my favorite thing to focus on prior to sleep; it doesn’t help with the rest.

Was it an issue of free speech? No. He’s employed by ABC. In an employee/employer relationship, there are things you can and cannot do; assuming no illegalities, the employer gets to decide.

Do I think he should have been allowed to go back on air? Again, I don’t care. That’s not my decision, so I try not to assume control in a place where I have none.

Should the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) have pressured Disney to indefinitely suspend Jimmy Kimmel? No. The employer can decide that. And the public can also decide whether or not to watch.

What do I think Charlie Kirk would have said about Kimmel? Charlie once tweeted that “Kimmel isn’t funny.” Despite his personal comedic evaluation, Charlie has long been one of the most vocal, fiercest defenders of free speech. He was admirably comfortable with opposing opinion, knowing we can learn much from such. While Kirk would have recognized it wasn’t a freedom of speech issue, I wouldn’t have been surprised if Kirk would have invited Kimmel to join his podcast and also agreed to appear on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”

What do I think about all those who did have a strong opinion — both thrilled that he was off or incensed that was gone? We all have different opinions. We all have hypocritical moments, too, unfortunately. What’s challenging is that the intensity of our emotional charge often has more to do with whether we found like or unlike thinking in Jimmy Kimmel. We’re not especially consistent in who we find courage to cancel.

Will I watch him now? Nope. I haven’t found Kimmel (nor many of those he most makes fun of) to be very well versed in respectful dialogue.

As said just a couple of comments.

Did I mention that something is happening in our land?

Respectfully…

AR

I know of no more powerful word.

I know, too, of none more profound.

And I’m not sure it’s a word we really know very well. I mean, intellectually, perhaps, we think we comprehend it, but yet we keep crafting creative reasons why it isn’t necessary, isn’t deserved, and would best be intentionally withheld. Hence, maybe we know what it means, but we have minimized the power it unprecedentedly holds.

Many words have been written and spoken since the horrifying assassination of Charlie Kirk two weeks ago. Let me just say many who write and speak now clearly didn’t know him very well. I’ll rephrase. When there’s a person we aren’t in the regular habit of listening to, learning from or conversing with, it’s easy to contrive concrete opinion based more on the incomplete collection of snippets and soundbites as opposed to the totality of context and conversation. Charlie would have offered those with both like and contrary opinion generous grace. He interacted with all. He also believed grace is always available to us all.

Yet with the plethora of words echoed over the last few weeks, one word in one sentence reverberated loudest and arguably most powerfully. It was spoken by his weeping widow at the memorial. She said in regard to the man who murdered her husband…

“I forgive him.”

Erika Kirk continued… “I forgive him, because it was what Christ did, and is what Charlie would do. The answer to hate is not hate. The answer we know from the gospel is love, and always love. Love for our enemies and love for those who persecute us.”

Erika, in her pain, in her grief, in her absolutely unimaginable heartache, has chosen to forgive a man who wronged her, who did something deeply immoral, whose evil and cruelty is unquestionable. His sin cannot be undone. And yet she chooses to forgive.

Why?

To forgive is a conscious decision. It’s a choice to let go of the resentment, anger and desire for vengeance against the person who hurt you.

Again, there is no question they hurt you. There is no question the assassin in Utah hurt Charlie Kirk and his family and the millions who loved and respected him across the globe. So why forgive?

Many have suggested it’s less about the forgiven and more about the forgiver, as the granting of forgiveness has the power to give us peace; it’s freeing. It’s what frees us up from the anger, bitterness and resentment that rots us from the inside out.

Still more encourage us to forgive because it reflects God’s own gracious character. He is a God that consistently promotes and even implores forgiveness. Like him, it’s important that we remember that forgiveness doesn’t exonerate the perpetrator from all earthly consequence, but it removes us from any attempt at control and instead trusts that God will bring justice in his time. It means trusting in God more than me.

Let us also briefly acknowledge that to forgive someone is not saying, “Hey, it’s ok; all my anger is immediately gone.” We don’t have to deny how we feel. But forgiveness is a profound recognition of how God treats each of us in our imperfection; that’s the message of Jesus. If God’s not going to hold my sins against me, then I will not do that to another either.

If I choose to hold sins against an equally imperfect other,  then I will never be able to love you well. God commands us to love… not just to love those who agree with me or who don’t hold an opinion I’ve cast as oppression or those easiest for me to talk to. That’s what Erika Kirk was saying on Sunday. The answer is always love. Love is not selective.

So if our answer isn’t always love, what is it?

That’s the scary part; the opposite of love is hate. The answer to hate is clearly not more hate. The answer is learning to love… even when it’s hard.

Genuinely…

AR