By: Forrest R. Church, Publisher
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
I will be honest—I am struggling with how to approach this column composed shortly before our print deadline. I worry that to express what is on my mind fully, I would need far more space than these pages allow. Longtime readers know I tend to be a bit long-winded. I wish I had more days to process my thoughts concerning recent events within our country. Some of you may be in a similar position, minus the column-writing duty. America seems to be slowly processing last week’s news.
I will also admit that I’m unsure how to approach this topic from a completely neutral perspective. Regular readers know that, unlike many in the media world, I make it a point to provide fair and unbiased news coverage within our newspaper. If I write a column that touches on political topics, no matter how unbiased our coverage remains, many will automatically make false and baseless assumptions. For example?
Read my last column, where I talk about an anti-Trump group having a local rally, asking local media to announce the gathering in the same fashion as we do for pro-conservative gatherings. The result? Endless attacks against the newspaper and me in the comments section on social media as being a “liberal rag,” which is humorous, as probably 80% of the politically related news in our publication is conservative, simply put, because our area of Ohio is extremely conservative, thus more events (look at voting results the last few decades). If we give an equal platform, we are automatically attacked by some with conflicting views.
Even when someone’s views differ from my own—and I certainly have my own opinions, I do my best to give their perspective equal, if not greater, space in our pages. I wonder how many other outlets truly strive for that balance? I’m not looking for praise; it’s simply the way I believe journalism should be conducted. Fortunately, local news within our pages is generally positive, with only a small percentage of divisive issues falling within our coverage.
The concern? If we appear conservative, liberal, religious, non-religious, (fill in the blank), we could alienate a percentage of our readers from the opposite perspective.
Drive down the road during the political season. Even though results are typically politically predictable in our area by a 60-70% margin, you will see differences of opinion from one rural county road farm property to the next. Thus, my business brain tells me to tread lightly on this column to avoid offense. If I discuss the assassination of a political commentator/activist, I may have a sizable percentage of our readership instantly upset for even mentioning the scenario, simply based on the fact that the subject is not of their political beliefs.
My concern is bigger than ruffling the feathers of those who may disagree with me on this subject. I believe our country is at a turning point, and we need to examine our hearts.
Last week, I was horrified by the assassination of conservative commentator and political activist Charlie Kirk. 31-year-old Kirk was the founder of Turning Point and was, most importantly, a husband and father of young children. Kirk reached young people at levels rarely seen, especially on college campuses and via his podcasts.
I have seen some horrific footage in my media career, the worst being the beheading of a journalist in the Middle East a few decades back. Viewing such horrific human actions will scar a person for life. I would not recommend watching such content. On the flip side, I think it is essential to see the face of evil and recognize its existence to realize what dwells amongst us on this planet, not denying its existence. Thus, sometimes I will subject myself to visuals that I would not allow my loved ones to watch.
Charlie Kirk’s assassination video was among the worst I have viewed. If anything, I am glad this young man, whom many believed would be a future presidential candidate, did not suffer. Unfortunately, his wife and young children, who witnessed his death, will spend a lifetime dealing with what unfolded in front of them. Social media, which has recently censored many for political reasons—especially during COVID—displayed the full assassination before removing the videos half a day later. It was disgusting that a 12-year-old could log into their social media account and see what occurred when scrolling through their news feed to see what their friends were doing. This topic may be addressed in another column at a different time.
I don’t know why Kirk’s assassination hit me so hard. I have heard others, both locally and online in podcasts, say the same thing. This feels different than other tragic deaths from past decades. Why? Honestly, I’m not sure.
While I have heard Kirk speak frequently over the years, in my top 100 list of podcasts and media outlets that I follow from various podcasters/speakers, he did not rank particularly high in my day-to-day listening/reading/watching. And I did not always agree with everything he said (though I did on many subject matters).
I admired Kirk because of how he shared his faith. While I could and probably should write an entire column on just that, and I did last week on my personal social media accounts, I wanted to address that I also admired him for giving civil debate a platform. On that, in my view (see I get to have one too,) he was a champion.
I do not believe I am the only one with this opinion. Obviously, post-assassination, those who supported Kirk’s views lit up the internet with heartbreaking videos honoring their friend, hero, and, in the case of his wife, who addressed the nation, from his family.
Watching non-stop online videos since last week’s horrific action, I was most intrigued by opposing views that took to video to proclaim the assassination of his life as horrifically wrong, that what was inflicted upon his family was unacceptable. Out of everything I’ve seen and read, these voices were the most powerful to me. I am not cherry-picking videos; it was not just a handful. What a tribute to Charlie’s life!
When debating opponents who disagreed with his political perspective, gave tribute to the peaceful civil discourse that Charlie provided, it spoke volumes. Frankly, I am thankful for these individuals, many of whom I also disagree with personally, for being American, check that, being decent human beings, and stating such positive statements and calling out Charlie’s death as an unacceptable murder that was not deserved. That political disagreement does not justify violence.
While important, this was not the purpose of writing this column; I wanted to address the opposite reaction. I wanted to address what I believe is among the most concerning reactions I’ve ever witnessed within our country, leading to my conclusion that many have a serious heart issue, and it needs to be addressed. When the celebration of the end of a fellow American’s life in tragic form is conducted, it can be called nothing less than evil.
As tragic as the assassination was, at least for me, I think my heart hurts the worst from the immediate joy expressed by some. There was a celebration online at levels I’ve never seen on social media. And yes, some were local citizens in our area who took the time to make videos of their jubilation and post them online.
The videos are sickening. I saw a young twenty-something male with a bullhorn chanting, “We shot Charlie in the neck, in the neck” while young people danced in the background in what looked like a demonic ceremony. I watched a reporter ask college students at a very public university their thoughts. One young person stated, “Ha, ha, he got what he deserved, I’ll dance on his grave.” And it was not just young, ignorant youth that, like many of us, said dumb things in our lives. Doctors, teachers, professors, airline workers, journalists, celebrities, local officials, and more were fired for similar comments over the weekend. I think this will be a major news story in the forthcoming days (this column was written on Saturday, September 13, 2025).
Maybe I’m ignorant. Of course, there has always been a small percentage of extremists on all sides of issues, especially politics. These extremist views certainly should not speak for those of a group as a whole, but this is not just a handful of over-the-top individuals in the case of Kirk’s death. America, it seems, we have a severe problem.
If we are people of faith. No faith. Liberal. Conservative. No matter what the perspective, our hearts should break any time loss of life takes place, not just when someone votes for the same concepts we believe in. If a father is killed on live TV in what is supposed to be a nation that leads by example around the world for moral standards, we should all state this is unacceptable and grieve. When did such a heart issue develop in our midst? I have theories. If you agree with me, what are your own?
Think of a media “talking head” that rubs you the wrong way. Somebody you disagree with on almost all subject matter from politics to lifestyle. If we are honest, I bet most of us have someone that just came to the forefront of our minds. If something tragic happened to them such as a car accident, shouldn’t we mourn for that person, including their family? Now imagine something such as their murder took place. If we smirk or celebrate we should have a serious self-examination of who we’ve become as a human.
I know there has been extremism in our country’s history. I recall watching documentaries on WWII that talked about a sizable number of Nazi sympathizers within our nation’s borders in the 1940s. Did they teach you this in school? Look it up. But when tens of thousands, maybe more, go to social media within hours of someone’s assassination and dance and cheer like their team just won the championship or as if they held a winning lottery ticket, I was in awe, total shock, and utter disgust. And trust me, I have seen some horrific things in life, many first-hand, but I honestly do not recall being blindsided by such hatred.
We can celebrate if a political opponent is defeated in a fair election. But celebrating the murder on live TV of a father in front of his wife and young children because of disagreements with his politics or theology!?! What other word can be used but “evil”?
America has a heart issue, and we need to seriously reflect as a nation. America is strongest, when we live by the Golden Rule. Whether people of faith (or not), liberal or conservative, young or old, gay or straight — we need to treat others as we would like to be treated. Debate, hash out ideas, challenge one another, but at the end of the day, we need to have each other’s backs.
I heard last week in a leadership conference when Dr. Alveda King (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s niece) spoke, that we do not always like everyone, but as people of faith (those in the conference), we are called to love them. As Americans, we need to follow this rule. There is no doubt we will not always like everyone, or better put, not always like their actions/beliefs/behaviors, but we should always love them and treat them the way we would want to be treated, with dignity and respect.
As I was in Washington, D.C., for a two-day leadership conference last week within the hallowed halls of the Capitol, ironically, the news of Charlie Kirk’s assassination took place just hours before the event started. With the September 11th memorial services, the next day, it was beyond somber but we pressed forward.
Listening to NFL legends, members of Congress from both parties, wounded warriors, and some of the nation’s most inspiring ministers and speakers, one common theme I heard was that the partisan divide is harming our nation. More strongly worded, both political parties tend to radicalize their bases by calling political opponents names such as Nazis, and it has put us in a dangerous place where we hate those of opposing views. Remember what I wrote earlier, we may not like everyone, but we should love them (the opposite of this dangerous rhetoric).
Both sides of the aisle use this tactic. I have written in this column before that I often believe Americans are purposely divided by major political parties; we would be unstoppable if unified.
The danger? We have around 350 million Americans. If 1/1000% of 1% are mentally ill enough to inflict harm on others because their political leaders call opponents fascists or Nazis and they believe inflicting harm is okay because of this hateful rhetoric, then we have thousands, maybe tens of thousands of people considering harming countrymen. Another way to phrase this is that there could be a small internal army desiring to conduct harm because of dangerous rhetoric being flung around by political leadership.
Because we have a major heart issue, Mr./Ms. Leader (fill in the blank) simply stop it! Change typically starts at the top.
Maybe we can learn from Charlie Kirk? When large crowds gathered on college campuses, over and over again, he would tell crowds of supporters to calm down and be respectful to those they disagreed with when they spoke. Maybe our politicians could take a lesson?
Our country was built on debate, disagreement, and the exchange of ideas. We need to return to this with peaceful and civil discourse. While probably half of Americans disagreed with Charlie Kirk’s politics, he was one of the few who conducted such discussions with respect on college campuses, where so many American ideas start.
I also believe that if we wait for leadership or government to change our lives, we are putting our hope in the wrong place. Our government can help, but change starts within each of us. It starts in the family home, back to the Golden Rule that people of faith and non-faith used to live by in our struggling nation.
I feel as if America received a poor doctor’s report last week. There seems to be an illness within. When Americans (no matter how small a percentage) feel it is acceptable to eliminate an opponent, instead of debating them, some have arrived at the darkest places people can go mentally. I believe America is at a turning point. Which direction will we go from here? The status quo is not okay. What will the days, weeks, and months ahead look like?
May we self-reflect individually, as families, and as a nation …
That is it for this week. I’d love to hear from you. As always, feel free to reach out to me at publisher@thevillagereporter.com or via mail at 115 Broad Street, Montpelier, Ohio 43543.