I was seventeen and watched on live television the second plane crash, the first tower fall, then the second. Everyone in that high school shuffled like zombies, in shock that melted into grief and suspicion. Those hallways had never been so quiet, I'm sure. By the time school was dismissed, we had done nothing productive (despite my algebra teacher's best efforts) outside of feeling feelings we didn't know we had.
Today, on this 24th anniversary of the terror attacks, the memorials, reading of names, replaying of the "Hey, Jules" phone call, the fare we have come to expect and rely on to keep our memories in focus, is not driving the news media; Charlie Kirk's assassination is.
It will be easy for you to learn about Charlie's life and work on the PJ Media website, so I'm offering you something different: a generational paradigm shift that has played out before, with my "Oregon Trail Generation" on 9/11, my grandparents' generation on December 7, 1939, and their parents' when Archduke Ferdinand was killed. Think about the photos of peaceful protestors being assaulted by firehoses during the Civil Rights Movement. Jackie Kennedy's pink dress covered in her husband's brain matter. If you're a history nerd like me, Paul Revere's engraving of the Boston Massacre ignited the fire of revolution. These singular events changed everything (Turning Points, if you will) because the raw, emotional images spoke to people.
Archduke Franz Ferdinand and wife hours before their assassination, which started WWI. June 28 1914 pic.twitter.com/ArUabK5JJW
— Fascinating (@fasc1nate) June 17, 2025
For as horrifying as 9/11 was in real-time, one of the most traumatizing and haunting events came the next day when the New York Times printed a photo of a man falling head-first, the iconic stripes of the World Trade Center towers behind him. Photographers know a photo of a single subject is more powerful than one of a crowd because it's easier for a viewer to relate to one person. In the image now called "Falling Man," we see one man who went to work one morning in his suit and tie, was probably sitting at his desk or maybe chatting up a coworker at the coffee pot over the Giants loss to the Broncos and, moments later, determined it was better for him to take his life because he was not going to be saved.
The image that stayed with me the most is the falling man. 💔
— Cat Brown 🏴🚜🇬🇧🏴🇮🇪 (@MrsBr0wn_82) September 11, 2025
Never forget what they did to us all.
9/11 Remember and never forget #911Anniversary pic.twitter.com/Hs6pSOWKgf
Falling Man was one of the countless others who intentionally fell to their death on September 11, 2001. We did not know that we would be confronted with their decision when we turned to page seven of the newspaper, but we were. We did not have a choice, and neither did the young people scrolling social media yesterday when they came face-to-screen with the close-up of Charlie Kirk's assassination.
The angle of this video (which I will not share or link to) gave a clear visual of Kirk's wound pouring blood in Quentin Tarantino-esque proportions. Teenagers witnessed a man die. This was not a video game or a movie, but someone they'd heard of, someone they knew, who was bleeding out right before their eyes. It was too quick to look away. The damage was done. There was nothing they could do to help, or to forget.
My generation was deeply affected by 9/11. Many of my fellow seniors decided to forgo college and enlist in the military; others decided to join the ranks as officers after college. The first time I saw my husband was actually in my dorm room when the Marines crossed from Kuwait into Iraq; I had no idea a man in the first vehicle would one day be my husband, but I prayed for him.
This young generation of high school and college students will also be deeply affected by violence. We saw Falling Man and imagined his movements right before tragedy; they saw Kirk and watched his movements, throwing hats and talking to people, laughing. We saw innocent Falling Man determine his fate, thus stripping the terrorists of another notch in their belt; they saw innocent Charlie Kirk lose his life to an assassin's bullet, and for what? Charlie just wanted to talk to people who disagreed with him so they had another perspective to consider. In a university culture rampant with propaganda, students craved new insight.
George W. Bush's famous "Can you hear me now?" bullhorn speech became a rallying cry for the nation. We were reeling, angry, determined, and proud to be American. It's possible a new moment will arise and give direction to the young people who are tired of living in the greatest country on the planet and cannot speak freely with civility and goodwill. The question of unity and mobilization will be answered in time. Hopefully, they will be more effective in their fight than any generation before them.
President George W. Bush’s famous Bullhorn Speech to Ground Zero rescue workers and first responders on September 14, 2001
— Jerry Dunleavy IV 🇺🇸 (@JerryDunleavy) September 10, 2019
“I can hear you! The rest of the world hears you! And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon!”pic.twitter.com/JNowdxgeJs
I am optimistic that the Sleeping Giant will once again awaken. People who are not political have taken notice of the political violence. A commentator on CNN this morning challenged her panel to be more civil in their disagreements. Democrats are disavowing their party, citing violence and unbridled rhetoric.
Jeffree Star speaks about the assassination of Charlie Kirk. You won't believe what he has to say. pic.twitter.com/SpqtowiSFT
— ɢʏᴘꜱʏ 🇺🇸 ᴘᴀᴛʀɪᴏᴛ (@GypsyPatriot_) September 11, 2025
Recommended: Is Trump Rewriting History at the Smithsonian?
In the words of Val Kilmer's Doc Holliday, "It's not revenge; it's a reckoning." The next generation has been handed the torch of change, and while we pass it to them, we will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them in this fight. What advice, wisdom, or insight would you give to someone who is brand new to politics and determined to Make America Great Again?
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