A week to reflect on humanity
This past week, America grieved twice. Thursday marked the somber anniversary of 9/11, a day of collective memory and sorrow. The day before, we lost activist Charlie Kirk to an assassin — a man who claimed Kirk was a fascist but, in taking his life, became the very thing he condemned: a silencer of voices, a taker of speech.
No matter what you believe, this assassination will live in infamy among my generation. Maybe there were things I didn’t fully agree with, but Charlie was a man who used his platform to spread messages of the past and show how things could change. Because of him, my generation is expected to become the most conservative generation in a very long time. For a man who preached for the betterment of humanity, I find it deeply troubling that some have celebrated his passing. Humanity failed him.
It got me thinking about education. In my formative years, I was taught that school should challenge the mind and inspire curiosity. We studied those who defied the status quo: Galileo, Frederick Douglass, Martin Luther King Jr. — people whose ideas were once considered dangerous but whose courage to speak reshaped the world. Is challenging thought truly so threatening? And why, in a country that claims to value free speech, do some cheer when it is violently taken away?
On Thursday, September 11, I set out to complete the 9/11 Stair Climb Challenge — 110 flights in honor of the firefighters and first responders who climbed those same floors on that tragic day. I wasn’t alive when it happened, but the meaning behind it has always resonated with me.
That morning, I finished not only the 110 flights but pushed past it — 128 floors in 43 minutes. While I know this is nothing compared to what those first responders endured, for me it was a way to pause, honor their sacrifice, and push myself to grow stronger in both body and spirit.
As someone who works in media, I rarely weigh in on politics or controversial events. But some truths transcend debate: without empathy and humanity, we have nothing.
Flags are at half-mast this week, per presidential order, in honor of Charlie Kirk. And while we honor him, we also remember those who survived 9/11 and those who served during its aftermath. These dual moments of grief remind us that our country is more than ideology — it is a collective humanity that demands reflection, respect, and the courage to protect the voices of others, even when we disagree.