Charlie Kirk’s killing is a call to disagree with civility, not anger | Opinion

With the killing of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk in Utah, we are facing yet another circumstance in which the political violence that all too frequently characterizes the landscape of public discourse in this country has tragically taken the life of a public figure.

What we know is this: American Public Square’s mission to depolarize our community by convening those who disagree is not a luxury in our current political environment. Our founder, former U.S. Ambassador Allan Katz, understood this when he started APS in 2014 — and it is even more urgent today.

The violence that took place against Kirk on a college campus, where he was invited to engage in free and open debate, reminds us exactly why a commitment to facts, civility and a desire to understand our fellow Americans is a not a luxury, but a necessity and something worthy of striving for.

Now, more than ever, we urge you to reach out to those with whom you may not see eye to eye, invite them to join you at one of our future programs and support those in your orbit with a constructive forum to convene, disagree and engage with civility and respect.

Regardless of our political persuasion, each of us has to decide for ourselves whether this tragic occurrence causes us to react with vitriol and divisive statements about the “other side,” or whether we choose to dig deep inside to demonstrate the character and resolve that is so needed in this moment to transcend our differences — and to do something better than villainizing and justifying harm to those with whom we disagree.

At APS, we know Americans are better than this. We can choose the path that leads to greater understanding through respectful and passionate disagreement, or we can retreat into our corners and let this country we love be ripped apart by our divisive politics.

I hope you will join American Public Square in choosing the former. The future of our country, as well as our health and well-being, depend upon it.

Claire Bishop is executive director of American Public Square at William Jewell College in Liberty, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that convenes non-like-minded people to improve the tone and quality of civil discourse and create paths toward actionable common ground. Allan Katz is its founder and board chair, and former U.S. ambassador to Portugal.