By Ryan McPherson
US Vice President JD Vance spoke at TPUSA’s “Building a Legacy – Remembering Charlie Kirk” memorial on Sunday. Among the several themes of his speech, perhaps the most characteristic was that Kirk lived an exemplary life of Christian virtue and American patriotism.
“Charlie understood that the best evangelization was not in what you said, but in how you lived your life,” Vance said during his speech. “And in this city [Phoenix, Arizona], he lived his life well. He raised a wonderful family. He had a beautiful wife, two beloved children, and a loving and godly home. In this, he showed us the importance of family.
Opening his speech, Vance emphasized that the death of Kirk prompted not only a funeral, but a religious revival.
“They tried to silence our dear friend Charlie Kirk, and today, tonight, we speak with Charlie and for Charlie louder than ever. The evil murderer who took Charlie from us expected us to have a funeral today, and instead, my friends, we have had a revival in celebration of Charlie Kirk and of his Lord Jesus Christ,” Vance said.
An interesting point made by Vance about Kirk’s life was his relation to the Western tradition of philosophy and civilization. The vice president linked him to Socrates as one who sought “to question, to search, and to teach.”
Kirk did not debate because he liked to debate, but because he knew the medium of debate was capable of “bringing the light of truth to dark places,” the vice president further commented.
Vance then went beyond Greece to the Judeo-Christian tradition, stating that Kirk “was Athens and Jerusalem, the city of reason and the city of God, in one person.”
Yet, neither Athens nor Jerusalem could compare to America for Kirk in terms of being a home.
“But if he loved those places, they were not his home. America was his home and he was willing to die for it,” Vance stated.
“You know, Charlie, he loved this country with a contagious intensity,” the vice president continued. “Anybody who talked to him knew it and felt it. He knew that America was a beautiful place and we had these incredible ideas, but he also knew that our country was a covenant between the generations past, present, and future.”
Kirk’s tragic death, Vance said, was terrible, but not the worst fate a man can undergo due to the courage with which Kirk lived his life and his commitment to his convictions.
“Charlie suffered a terrible fate, my friends. We all know it. We all saw it. But think: it is not the worst fate. It is better to face a gunman than to live your life afraid to speak the truth. It is better to be persecuted for your faith than to deny the kingship of Christ. It is better to die a young man in this world than to sell your soul for an easy life with no purpose, no risk, no love, and no truth.”
