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Yesterday afternoon, after hearing that the conservative activist and influencer Charlie Kirk had been shot, I turned, as I often do when news breaks, to social media.

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Some years ago, trying to understand what it might take to break America’s fever of political violence, I asked a former Justice Department official what she thought about the possibility of a second civil war in the United States.
Mary McCord, a former federal prosecutor who has spent much of her career thinking about how to combat extremism, was worried about worsening political violence.

Sunil Pradhan / Anadolu / Getty
A protester carrying a Nepalese flag hangs a pirate flag as smoke and flames rise from the Singha Durbar, the seat of Nepal’s government, in Kathmandu, Nepal, on September 9, 2025.Ambir Tolang / NurPhoto / Getty
Young protesters demonstrate against corruption and the ban on social-media platforms by the government in Kathmandu, Nepal, on September 8, 2025.

Yesterday afternoon, at a Utah Valley University political event, hundreds of attendees watched the murder of 31-year-old Charlie Kirk, a conservative movement-builder and itinerant controversialist. Within hours, millions more had seen the gruesome video of the moment when, in mid-sentence, a bullet pierces Kirk’s throat and streams of blood issue forth. It did not look like a survivable wound, and I am sorry to say that it was not.

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This column generally focuses on how to become happier. But over the years, I’ve found that the questions I most often get from readers are less about getting happier and more about becoming less unhappy. People inquire about how to resolve relationship disputes, quit a job they hate, or deal with anxiety and sadness.