Twenty-four years ago, I remember where I was when jihadists turned jumbo jets into weapons of war, striking the towers with the singular intent to sow terror and break America’s spirit. I remember the shock, the fear, the gut-wrenching grief that never really left. In those days, we promised, fervently and desperately, that we would never forget.
But do we remember? Really?
And now, with Charlie Kirk’s assassination, I cannot help but think of Martin Luther King Jr. Both men were influential voices in a movement, both stirred the hearts of millions, and both were silenced by violence. The parallel is chilling. One happened in 1968, the other in 2025. Different eras, different causes, but the same intent: to kill the messenger and cripple the message.
I love you, Charlie Kirk. And I promise to never be silent again. I promise to never again live in fear.
That’s what these evil people want.
They. Will. Lose. God bless you, Erika. I promise to honor your husband’s legacy forever. pic.twitter.com/2hpsPHTYy1— Sage Steele (@sagesteele) September 10, 2025
From Iryna Karutzka’s murder to Charlie Kirk’s assassination to the remembrance of 9/11, my emotions are raw. I’m angry and feel disbelief and sorrow. Each event carves out another piece of the American heart.
What ties them together is not just tragedy, but the chilling reminder that evil never sleeps. Whether it comes in the form of foreign jihadists, domestic hatred, or targeted violence meant to silence voices, the goal is always the same: to weaken America from the inside out. And too often, we let it.
Charlie Kirk wasn’t just a conservative activist. He represented something to a younger generation: a conviction that truth matters, that courage matters, that America is worth defending. His murder was not just a loss of one man; it was a deliberate attempt to silence a movement.
One of the cruelest parts of “forgetting” is the rewriting of history. The conspiracy theories around 9/11, whether it was inside job nonsense or those who dismiss the threat of radical Islam altogether, have become mainstream in some circles. What was once unthinkable has become cocktail-party chatter, as if mocking the dead is some form of intellectual rebellion.
That kind of amnesia is dangerous. Because while some Americans are busy spinning theories, our enemies sit back and smile. They know that if we argue ourselves into disbelief, we’ll never summon the strength to confront the truth: that a hatred for America fueled 9/11. And that hatred didn’t die in the rubble.
Every September 11, social media fills with hashtags and glossy images tagged #NeverForget. But is that what remembrance has been reduced to? Throwing up a meme once a year and moving on to the next post within minutes? Oh, trust me, I know I am guilty of it too.
But true remembering isn’t a performance for clicks. It’s a commitment, lived daily, to guard against the very ideologies that brought those towers down.
On the 24th anniversary of 9/11, we honor the lives lost, the heroes who emerged, and the resilience of the American spirit.
America will never forget. pic.twitter.com/FqV1MZNuG8
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) September 11, 2025
Never forget 9/11 #NeverForget911 pic.twitter.com/qvTnMjW2D8
— U.S. Marines (@since1775) September 11, 2025
We have forgotten. The memory of waking up to a world on fire has faded. The vow we made in the streets, swearing that America would never bow, has grown faint. Even the truth that freedom must be defended, not handed over to those who despise it, is too often ignored.
He carried the conviction that truth matters, that courage matters, that America is still worth defending. His voice reminded us of what we once promised, and his death dares us to rise and prove those promises still matter.
But here’s where determination comes in. Because despair is the easiest option. Silence is the easiest option. Forgetting, whether it’s 9/11, Charlie Kirk, or the grief of families like Iryna’s, is the easiest option. And that’s exactly what our enemies, foreign and domestic, are counting on.
So, no. I refuse silence. I refuse to forget.
Charlie Kirk’s assassination echoes the tragedy of Martin Luther King Jr. Both men were larger than themselves, voices of influence in a movement that unsettled the powerful and inspired the young. And both were silenced by violence meant to stop not just a man, but a message.
We look back on Dr. King’s murder and recognize it as a turning point in history. Charlie’s death must be treated the same way. This cannot be just another headline that fades. It has to be a wake-up call. If we allow his voice to be buried along with him, then those who pulled the trigger have won.
The message of 9/11 was clear: we are vulnerable, but we can rise. The message of Charlie Kirk’s assassination is equally clear: courage has a cost, but it also has a legacy. And the message of grief that remains in Iryna’s story is this: the pain is still real, still raw, and it demands that we remember.
The determination we need is not found in hashtags or empty political speeches. It is found in remembering, truly remembering, the vows we once made. Never forget meant more than memorial services and platitudes. It meant living with eyes open, refusing to embrace the ideologies that seek our destruction, and raising up a generation that values truth, courage, and conviction.
Can we honestly say we have done that? Charlie could. And now it is on us to prove we can too.
Feature Image: Created in Canva Pro
Leave a Reply