This wasn’t politics as usual. It was political violence. And violence of any kind is always a failure of leadership, a failure of our society’s character. We can agree or disagree with Charlie Kirk’s views, but none of that justifies taking a life. None of that excuses threats, extremism, or the kind of rhetoric that leads people to believe that violence is ever acceptable. What should unite us now are higher values — respect for life, justice, truth, restraint.