Gen Z Conservative: What Charlie Kirk Meant to My Generation | NFL Sports

Yesterday, Kirk stumped at a Turning Point USA (TPUSA) rally at Utah Valley University, civically engaging students on issues such as transgenderism and gun violence. Kirk promoted dialogue and forums at countless colleges prior, part of a greater effort to educate and mobilize a generation discouraged by current affairs. Tragically, one shot rang out that cut the conversation—and Kirk’s life—short, and as of this writing the assailant is still at large.

As America mourns the loss of Charlie Kirk, a substantive void must be addressed. Our nation has lost the ability to hold a national conversation, and our failure to revive it has had deadly consequences.

The reasons for this decline are numerous. Social media has accelerated polarization, limiting meaningful and cross-ideological interactions by catering content to our interests. Trust in public institutions, which are meant to facilitate responsiveness, has plunged as partisanship persists. Unequal academic and occupational treatment under the guise of diversity, equity, and inclusion has boxed in American opportunity and left many questioning their worth. In turn, our “great” communicators have spawned a culture of disillusionment among the masses, with common social values, like empathy and manners, in observable freefall.

My generation, Generation Z, reaps the pain of such division. Eighty-eight precent of college students self-censor or contort their views to succeed on campus, and exhibit the lowest level of patriotism out of all generations. Most of Gen Z is not willing to date others with opposing political views, so many end up romantically alone. Despite countless avenues for conversation, social anxiety and isolation rates have skyrocketed. An authenticity crisis among young people disincentivizes, if not disables, their ability to form meaningful connections with each other and their country.

The shared heritage, communal understanding, and civic principles that have spurred American excellence for centuries risk eroding from new-age cynicism and atomization. Kirk and TPUSA’s mission, which his critics frequently misinterpreted, was not to spread provocative rhetoric; it was to restore the energetic debates that gave citizens and institutions their purpose.

Kirk recognized the potency of my generation and relied on a willingness to take the public square to us. His orations of statistics, stories, and argumentative persuasion at colleges were energetic, frictious, and necessary to unshackle us from grievance and tribalism. Kirk provided us with seats at the table to deliberate and reform our views, rather than being passive recipients of others’ ideologies. Hundreds of thousands of students nationwide turned out to experience that intellectual stimulation over the years. Kirk gave them a sense of belonging, even if temporary, that traditional solutions failed to provide.

The gradual abandonment of belief in America, and the elitist quest for overarching tolerance, have made it difficult to comprehend, let alone prevent, tragedy. President Donald Trump was almost assassinated twice last year. Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband were killed in their home in what Governor Tim Walz said was a “politically motivated assassination.” When the national conversation and civic fabric decay, only the macabre remains, and we lose touch with our morality.

The murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson displayed this harrowing trend back in December 2024. Luigi Mangione, the Ivy League graduate-turned-killer, objected to the perceived corporate greed and injustice of America’s health care system and decided to take charge. Shockingly, swathes of the public approved of the killing—41 percent of 18-29 year-olds deemed it acceptable—celebrated Thompson’s demise, and later bankrolled Mangione’s defense fund. The public spun a civilian going rogue as admirable, and fetishized this dangerous mindset as a corrective force in today’s political landscape.

This culture views political violence as a more effective tool of expression than dialogue. Kirk’s death was an attack on free speech itself. As people online, in the media, and selfish politicians blame conservatives, and even Kirk, for this outcome, their tone-deafness perpetuates the cycle of apathy and instability.

However, up to his last moments, Kirk embodied what our national principles and conversation ought to be.

We need a robust advocacy and defense of public reason. We need a rediscovery of truth-seeking and the questioning of assumptions to expose contradictions and, more importantly, treat our current social condition. Charlie Kirk dedicated his life to purity, duty, temperance, and fortitude for the public good, upholding the “permanent things” that enabled his talks to transcend campuses and influence listeners to embrace shared civilizational values. America is in dire need of a moral imagination again, and Kirk forged its return in service and speech.

Kirk’s ideals are beginning to bear fruit. Generation Z is starting to attend church at record rates and giving up alcohol, and young conservative men rank marriage and having children as top priorities. These shifts signify that my generation no longer wants to be adrift—they yearn for mutual health, faith, prosperity, and the ability to connect. It is heartbreaking knowing Charlie Kirk can no longer assist in this national renewal. For his and America’s sake, my generation must pick up the mantle and carry on his legacy.

Alex Rosado is a political, cultural, and consumer freedom writer for Young Voices and writes in his personal capacity. Follow him on X @Alexprosado.

The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own.