Charlie Kirk “was assassinated doing what he loved and what he did so well: He was exercising his right to free speech and encouraging civil dialogue among any who would participate,” writes Breitbart Senior Editor-at-Large Joel Pollak in a New York Post op-ed commemorating the slain founder of Turning Point USA.
Pollak notes that Kirk’s “first foray into political commentary” began at Breitbart News in 2012, when the then-high school student Kirk contacted this website seeking help in defending conservative principles at his school.
“In the spirit of citizen journalism, upon which Breitbart was founded, we encouraged this young high schooler to write down his thoughts and submit them for publication,” Pollak writes, adding:
Charlie never looked back. He built his career that way: with words, and with courage.
It took incredible bravery, and mental sharpness, to debate people with opposing views on college campuses, taking all comers and all questions.
His mind was clear, and uncorrupted by what our universities have become. He understood that civil discourse was the way, which fueled his ability to debate anyone, anywhere.
Kirk, Pollak writes, “wanted his opponents to be as free as he was—even when they were hateful, and wrong.”
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