By Otsego City Manager
Aaron Mitchell
We at the City of Otsego condemn the assassination of Charlie Kirk yesterday with the strongest of emotions. It was a sad day for so many reasons. It makes many uneasy about the future of our amazing country. We mourn for his millions of followers and the beautiful Kirk family for their senseless loss; the wife that no longer has a husband and a pair of young children who will no longer have a father. Most of all we are saddened by the fact that the 1st Amendment lost yesterday, civil discourse lost yesterday, Republicans lost yesterday, Democrats lost yesterday and most importantly America lost yesterday. The only winners yesterday were anger, hatred and violence. Unfortunately, this is not news to many of us. Our society is broken. Kindness, forgiveness and compassion have been replaced by the causes of yesterday’s heinous act in Utah; anger, hatred and violence. While it is not fair to expect for the Otsego community to change the national dialogue on politics, news and culture. We can certainly make a difference here in Otsego. You do not need to go far to see examples of these societal ailments. Almost any local Facebook group page will be littered with nonsensical hatred within the comments that spiral out of control (that is why we removed the ability to comment on our posts years ago). We have all been in line at McDonald’s or Culver’s and witnessed a teenage employee get read the Riot Act from a customer for a mistake that the customer actually made. Like I said “society is broken”. And all of these examples are symptoms of the same disease. Last week someone tried to burn down Northside Park as another example. When we witness the anger, hatred and violence, we need to identify it and do our best to not replicate it in our own lives. Dialogue and communication IS the answer. And unfortunately, that was a staple for Charlie Kirk’s unique approach to open debate and he was gunned down. Ironically, we seek unity on the day after which is September 11th; the day that symbolizes American unity and patriotism. We need it now more than ever. This also makes the memory of those brave 1st responders who perished 24 years ago today an additional victim of the cowardly assassin. Due to the fact that after yesterday’s events those 1st responder families and friends will now not be given the opportunity for the appropriate honoring of the day and victims. In closing I am asking for all of us to do better at living a life of love and not hatred. You do that with the pillars of kindness, forgiveness and compassion. Especially with those who you disagree with. RIP Charlie Kirk.
