Local Perspective: September 10, 2025

By Contributed Article · Thu Sep 25 2025

by Sarah-Kate Duran

That Wednesday afternoon, I was at lunch with a friend at Mr. Q's in Atascadero enjoying their signature chile relleno, when I got a text from my 18-year-old son, "Y'all hear about Charlie Kirk?" Needless to say, my whole afternoon was over. I was frozen while trying to finish my to-do list. I was grateful that it was Wednesday, and so our church family came together for our normal mid-week service at The Revival Center. But it wasn't normal. We were grieved. We prayed. We sang in worship "Blessed Be Your Name."

I didn't know Charlie Kirk personally. Why was this affecting all of us so much? Here are some reasons:

The good vs evil spiritual war just undeniably spilled over into real life. It's no longer theoretical. It's high stakes reality.
Charlie was killed for beliefs that every Bible-believing Christian should have. So it could have been any of us.
We lost one of the captains of our team. Charlie was uniquely gifted and anointed. It's like we knew we could win with him on the field. It wasn't any easy job he did or role he filled. Now what?
His assassination was gruesome and public. We all saw it. He was martyred for his faith, beliefs, and moral character. It was degrading. He was made in the image of God and widely admired and loved.
Evildoers have delighted in evil. They are celebrating with demons. It's offensive. It's wicked. It's inhumane.
We sympathize with his family. His two young children will grow up without their daddy and not be able to enjoy his amazing personality. That's tragic and heartbreaking. But praise God, they will be able to know him through countless videos, recorded debates, hundreds of podcasts, and his personal videos. What a treasure.
We felt like we knew him, because we did in a lot of ways. We've listened to him talk, teach, share, debate, and preach for hours and hours. We have been impacted by his words, his work, his life, and his influence.
He represented the American dream. He was a self-made man that built so much at such a young age, with little resources. Starting with what he had, he literally changed the world. He wholeheartedly believed in freedom of speech—for everyone. That should be celebrated, not hated.
He was taken way too soon. He was young, healthy, and strong. His life was cut short by evil. It's made all of us come to grip with our own mortality. Life is fragile. We must remember that none of us are promised tomorrow.
We can't do anything to bring him back. We have to face the fact that we have an inability to fix the situation. We are helpless and can't control everything about our world and even our lives.

You are allowed to mourn and grieve a stranger's death. It's justifiable to feel righteous anger. Instead of revenge, we will harness the anger into resolve.

One last thing: This tragedy took place, and not one riot. No city was burned to the ground. There was no looting. His supporters and those who stand for freedom turned to prayer, worship, and introspection. Spiritual revival is breaking out, citizens are determined to speak up, and we are being inspired to be better people all around.

We weep. We heal. We fight. We win.

Sarah Kate Duran is an independent columnist for The Atascadero News and Paso Robles Press; you can email her at alphabeth@tcsn.net