The Darrell McClain show
Independent media that won't reinforce tribalism. We have one Planet; nobody's leaving so let’s reason together!! Darrell McClain is a Military veteran with an abnormal interest in politics, economics, religion, philosophy, science, and literature. He's the author of Faith and the Ballot: A Christian's Guide to Voting, Unity, and Witness in Divided Times. He was born and raised in Jacksonville FL, and went to Edward H white High School,l where he wrestled under Coach Jermy Smith and The Late Brian Gilbert. He was a team wrestling captain, District champion, and an NHSCA All-American in freestyle Wrestling. He received a wrestling scholarship from Waldorf University in Forest City, Iowa. After a short period, he decided he no longer wanted to cut weight, effectively ending his college wrestling journey. Darrell McClain is an Ordained Pastor under the Universal Life Church and is still in good standing as well as a Minister for the American Marrige Ministries . He's a Believer in The Doctrines of Grace, Also Known as Calvinism. He joined the United States Navy in 2008 and was A Master at Arms (military police officer) He was awarded several awards while on active duty, including an expeditionary combat medal, a Global War on Terror medal, a National Defense Medal, a Korean Defense Medal, and multiple Navy achievement medals. While In the Navy, he was also the assistant wrestling coach at Robert E Lee High School. He's a Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under 6th-degree black belt Gustavo Machado, Darrell Trains At Gustavo Machado Norfolk under the 4th-degree black belt, and Former Marine Professor Mark Sausser. He went to school for psychology at American Military University and for criminal justice at ECPI University.
The Darrell McClain show
The Tragedy of Charlie Kirk: Violence in American Politics
The assassination of Charlie Kirk has sent shockwaves through America, forcing us to confront the alarming normalization of political violence in our society. Charlie, just 31 years old and father to two young children, was gunned down while speaking at a Utah campus event - a place meant for the free exchange of ideas, transformed into a scene of senseless tragedy.
What does it say about us when disagreements end not with debates but with funerals? When someone can be killed not for wielding power or enforcing laws, but simply for expressing opinions? This podcast examines the profound spiritual and moral crisis revealed by Kirk's murder and the disturbing celebration of his death by some on social media.
Drawing from biblical wisdom, we explore how political violence represents a form of idolatry - vengeance dressed as justice that promises deliverance but leaves only ruin. The commandment "thou shall not kill" contains no exceptions for political disagreements. When we celebrate the killing of someone we disagree with, we reveal hearts darkened by hatred - a burden that enslaves the soul.
The Christian response offers a revolutionary alternative to the cycle of violence. Forgiveness isn't weakness; it's strength beyond anything vengeance can offer. Jesus didn't tell us turning the other cheek would be easy - he told us it was necessary. Only by valuing life more than ideology and choosing dialogue over destruction can we heal our fractured society.
This episode serves as both lament and challenge - mourning a life cut short while calling us to a better path forward. Listen as we examine what's at stake when bullets replace words in our national discourse, and discover how faith offers hope even in our darkest moments. Share this message of peace and reconciliation with others searching for answers in these troubled times.
Welcome to the Darrell McLean Show. I'm your host, darrell McLean. Independent media that won't reinforce tribalism. We have one planet. Nobody is leaving, and let us reason together.
Speaker 1:So I started recording a episode when I was having breathing problems last night. So I got up around 3 am and I started recording and I do apologize as I speak to you right now because I'm still somewhat having them. But there's something that we need to talk about. But there's something that we need to talk about, and that is the death that has started to run rampant in America and it has started to hit home. So much that I was literally reflecting about the murder of a 23-year-old young woman who had come to America to flee the violence of Ukraine, who then was met with violence in the United States and was killed while nobody lifted a finger to help. And while I was reflecting on that, I went to the gym to work out and got online but got a black belt from Gustavo Machado Chesapeake, from Greg Walker, a guy named Chet. I saw he had written Pray for Charlie Kirk. I was getting ready to head in the sauna, so I looked up it. I was getting ready to head in the sauna so I looked up and I saw the video that I wished that I did not see Charlie Kirk, a father of a one-year-old and a college campus in the exchange of free ideas in public. I am saddened as well as shocked and angry by this, not just because of the violence that happened, but also the disappointing reactions of some people who I know personally, who I do believe should know better. I left comments on the Darrell McLean show Facebook page and I have written an article about it, and I'm probably going to write another one and layer some historical context to it as well. It as well.
Speaker 1:I've been thinking about why this particular thing affects me personally, trying to do some self-reflection. I do think it has a lot to do with the fact that my father was killed while I was in the womb and Charlie had a one-year-old and a three-year-old who will now grow up without a father, and that's not fair. So, and I need to share this thought that I wrote three hours ago, after having back and forth with people that I do believe should know better, let me share profound Christian truth with those who may be struggling to grasp it. When the Bible says thou shall not kill, it doesn't include a clause that says unless you disagree with their beliefs. The very essence of following Jesus is recognizing that people have the capacity to change in an instant. If you believe that bullets can transform America, you'll be heartbroken when the guns are turned on you and your children and your children. I have lived long enough to witness a young boy Walk into the African Methodist Episcopal Church my denomination and take the lives Of people Praying. Where do you think this path will ultimately end? An eye for an eye eye leaves the entire world blind. If you celebrate the taking of a life of someone like Charlie Kirk, who wrote no legislation, who held no public office, wore no police badge or military uniform, but had a public opinion different than yours and was literally known for going on college campuses and engaging other people with those opinions and debating people whoever was ready to debate him, you have truly let your heart be darkened by hate, and hatred is a hard and heavy, heavy burden to carry. That's what I wrote on Facebook, and now I'm going to talk to you like this. I'm going to talk to you like this.
Speaker 1:The world has once again been jolted by the reality that America has become far too comfortable with violence. Like I said earlier today, charlie Kirk, a 31 year old, the founder of Turning Point, usa, was shot and killed during a campus event in Utah. His death is not only politically sad, but it is profoundly spiritual. What does it say about us as a people that our disagreements now end not with debates but with funerals? The Bible says very clear like I just said, thou shall not kill. That's it. That's it. There isn't a hidden clause that says unless their tweets annoy you or unless they vote differently, god's law is clean, stark. Differently, god's law is clean, stark, unbending. Life is sacred because God gave it to us. When we cheer a killing, even if we dislike the victim, what we reveal is that our hearts have been darkened by hatred. And I have to be blunt, hatred is not clever, it's not righteous. It's a milestone tied around not your neck, not your body. It's a milestone tied around your very soul and it will drag you straight to the depths of hell.
Speaker 1:Following Jesus means believing in change. The gospel lives or dies on this point, because people change. Saul of Tarsus went from being a terrorist to an apostle in the blink of an eye. The thief on the cross went from being guilty to redeemed in a single breath. To deny transformation is to deny Christ himself. If you insist, some people are beyond redemption. You are not protecting the gospel, you are not protecting America, you are not protecting freedoms. You are abandoning those principles.
Speaker 1:Only the fool dreams of bullets. There are people in this country right now who whisper that America can be fixed by force, that America can be fixed by intimidation, maybe even violence. That is a damn lie. Bullets don't convert hearts, they only carve graves. They silence voices. But they multiply bitterness. And remember this when you normalize violence, it eventually comes for you. The sword never stays sheathed once it has been drawn. You are making a belt for your own back.
Speaker 1:Okay, years ago, a young man by the name of Dylan Ruth entered the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the denomination I was raised in, and slaughtered people as they prayed, and we all mourned. Now Charlie Kirk has been cut down at a campanus event. Different context, same poison Hatred. Hatred feeding on itself. How many memorials do we need before we admit we are learning nothing? Charlie Kirk didn't write any laws. Charlie Kirk didn't write any laws. Charlie Kirk didn't wear a uniform. Charlie Kirk didn't hold office. Charlie spoke opinions, he wielded words. If words are now the grounds for execution, then the American experiment is collapsing under our feet.
Speaker 1:Disagreement should sharpen democracy, it should not end it. Strip away the slogans and charts, and political violence is nothing more than ideology. It's nothing more than idolatry. It's vengeance dressed up as justice. It promises deliverance but leaves only ruin. You don't have to carve wood or stone to build an idol, you just bow at the altar of rage. It is natural to want revenge. You just bow at the altar of rage. It is natural to want revenge, human even. But the divine call is forgiveness. Jesus did not tell us that turning the other cheek was easy. He told us it was necessary. Only forgiveness breaks the cycle of retaliation and forgiveness, no matter how hard it is. Forgiveness is not weakness, it is strength, beyond anything vengeance can offer.
Speaker 1:Some are actually celebrating Charlie Clerk's death tonight. They think it's freedom. But hatred doesn't liberate. Hatred enslaves. It gnaws at the soul, it poisons the spirit, it corrodes joy. Hatred is a backpack filled with bricks that you voluntarily carry for no reason. It's the poison that you swallow hoping that it'll kill your enemies. And it won't. It will slowly kill you.
Speaker 1:The church cannot retreat into pious silence either. It must bear witness. That means preaching peace when crowd chants violence, creating dialogue when the mob builds walls and embodying Christ's love when society bows to rage. Now we must speak. Now we must yell at the top of our lungs that life matters, not because of politics but because of God. We've got to relearn the basics here Disagreement, not destruction. To disagree is human. To kill over disagreements is barbaric. America desperately needs civil discourse once again, rooting in reverence for the human life. We must insist that the resurrection is real, insist violence is not the last word and insist that love can outlast all the hate.
Speaker 1:Why speak Christian truth after a shooting? Because silence is complicity. Is it turning the other cheek, naive? No, it's the only way to end this cycle of violence. It's the only way we can make this end. What's the difference between indignation and hate? One seeks god's justice and the other seeks anarchy and destruction. Can different beliefs coexist peacefully? Only if life is valued more than ideology, only if we love our neighbors as ourselves.
Speaker 1:How do we pray when violence wins? By praying for the victims, by praying for the victims, by praying for the victims' families and, yes, by even praying for the attackers. What should we do now? What should churches do? What should the body of Christ do? Preach boldly, dialogue honestly and serve visibly. Charlie Kirk's death is not just a political headline, it's a moral warning. A political headline, it's a moral warning. Every act of violence is a scar on humanity. Every life loss is a sermon unpreached, a sung unsung, a story unfinished. The true path forward is not paved with bullets, but with forgiveness, faith, love. Violence is not our destiny. Christ's way is. I wrote an article today and working on another one that I let out tomorrow and it's a Christian reflection on violence and death and Charlie Kirk, and I've been working with an AI reading model and I'm going to let it read the article for you. Thank you for tuning in. We'll be back to somewhat regular programming and I'll see you on the next episode.
Speaker 2:A Christian reflection on violence and the death of Charlie Kirk. The world has been shaken again by the grim reality of violence in America Today. Charlie Kirk, the 31-year-old founder of Turning Point USA, was shot and killed during a campus event in Utah. His death is not just a political moment, it is a spiritual one. It raises a profound question for believers and skeptics alike. Where do we think this path of hatred and bullets ultimately leads? The biblical commandment thou shall not kill has no exceptions. When scripture declares thou shall not kill, there are no footnotes or loopholes that say unless they disagree with your beliefs. God's law is clear. Life is sacred because it comes from him. To celebrate or excuse the taking of a life, whether it's a political opponent, a stranger or a neighbor, is to misunderstand the very heart of God. Following Jesus means believing in transformation, not retribution. The entire message of Jesus is about change radical, sudden, redemptive change. Saul of Tarsus went from persecutor to apostle overnight. The thief on the cross went from condemned criminal to promised paradise in a single conversation. If we give up on the possibility that people can change, we give up on the gospel itself, the dangerous illusion. Can bullets really change America? There are voices that claim force, intimidation or even violence can restore America, but the sobering reality is this Bullets cannot convert hearts. They can only silence voices, leaving behind grief, anger and division. And when we cheer violence today, we may live to mourn when the same violence turns against our own families tomorrow.
Speaker 2:Lessons from tragedy, the AME church massacre and now Charlie Kirk. I have witnessed firsthand what hatred unleashed can do. Years ago, a young man walked into an AME church my own denomination and gunned down innocent believers as they prayed. Today, charlie Kirk's death joins that sorrowful list of tragedies. Different settings, different people, same broken spirit of violence. Both moments force us to ask have we really learned nothing what the death of Charlie Kirk reveals about America's spiritual crisis? This is not only a political crisis. It is a moral and spiritual one. When someone can be killed not for writing laws, not for holding a badge, not for wielding power, but for speaking opinions, we have crossed a terrifying line. America's public square has become poisoned with the belief that disagreement equals war, political violence, the new idol of hate. In the absence of God, people have turned their passion into an idol of vengeance. It promises justice but delivers ruin when opinions become grounds for bloodshed. Charlie Kirk did not die as a legislator or a soldier. He died as a man expressing beliefs. If we accept such killings, we accept the collapse of freedom itself.
Speaker 2:The Christian call forgiveness over vengeance. It is easy to want revenge. It is human to want payback, but it is divine to forgive. The hardest, holiest work is to pray, even for enemies, to lay down the sword and to trust God with judgment, turning the other cheek in an age of retaliation. Jesus never told us that turning the other cheek was easy. He told us it was necessary. Hatred is a crushing burden on the soul. To celebrate a killing is to chain yourself to bitterness. Hatred doesn't liberate, it enslaves.
Speaker 2:How communities of faith can respond to violence? The church must not retreat into silence. It must speak, teach and act in ways that restore life over death, building bridges of dialogue instead of walls of division. Disagreement is not destruction. Civil discourse must be reborn if America is to heal, restoring the sanctity of life in public discourse. We must return to a reverence for human life, not just in sermons but in daily practice. Hope beyond the darkness, living out Christ's way of peace. Even in the shadow of Charlie Kirk's death, christians are called to hope.
Speaker 2:Violence is not the final word. The resurrection proves that love triumphs over hate, light over darkness, life over death. Faqs on faith, violence and forgiveness. One why speak Christian truth after a shooting? Because tragedy often silences us, but it's precisely in tragedy that truth and hope are most needed.
Speaker 2:Two isn't turning the other cheek naive? It is difficult, yes, but it's also the only way to break cycles of violence. Retaliation only multiplies pain. Three what's the difference between righteous indignation and hatred? Indignation seeks justice under God, hatred seeks destruction without him. Four can belief systems coexist without violence? Yes, but only when people value life more than ideology. Five how do we pray when violence wins? We pray for the victims, for the grieving and even for the attackers. Prayer softens hearts where politics hardens them. Six what tangible steps can churches take now? Teach peace boldly, foster honest dialogue and serve communities as witnesses to Christ's love. Conclusion a call to lay down hatred and live out love. Charlie Kirk's death is not just a political event. It is a moral warning. Every life matters, not just the ones we agree with. Every act of violence is a scar on humanity, not a step toward progress. The only true path forward is not lined with bullets, but with forgiveness, faith and love with bullets, but with forgiveness, faith and love.
Speaker 3:Tonight, conservative firebrand and close ally of President Trump, charlie Kirk, shot and killed by a sniper while speaking at a college in Utah. The 31-year-old was traveling the country inviting people with differing views to ask him questions, to disagree with him. It was during one of those events. Today he was shot in the neck.
Speaker 4:It's chaos as shots ring out on the campus of Utah Valley University. Students flee after conservative activist Charlie Kirk is targeted by an assassin. Kirk was addressing a gathering of students when he was shot in the neck. At the time he was actually talking about gun violence. Do you know how?
Speaker 5:many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years.
Speaker 4:Two seconds later, all the broadcast networks broke into regular programming. They're coming on air with breaking news right now.
Speaker 6:Conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who appears to have been shot in the neck.
Speaker 4:Brock Bales is a student at the university.
Speaker 5:There's a ton of people crying, screaming, it was just chaotic.
Speaker 4:Former Utah congressman and Fox News personality, Jason Chaffetz, was also there. I happened to be watching Charlie. I can't say I saw blood. I can't say I saw him get shot. But as soon as that shot went out he fell back. Megan Kelly broke down in tears. I don't know how he is. I don't know if he's okay. I don't know what the state of his injuries are.
Speaker 3:Mac and shooter Charlie Kirk had been on top of the building wearing jeans, black shirt, black vest.
Speaker 4:Who dare you? Cops were seen detaining a man, his hands cuffed, his pants around his ankles, but according to a university spokesman, he's not the gunman.
Speaker 5:This is Les Trent in DC, moments after Charlie Kirk was shot. Today, president Trump cleared his schedule. His top administration officials gathered in the Situation Room to monitor events, trump posting we must pray for Charlie Kirk, a great guy from top to bottom.
Speaker 4:Then, at 4.40 pm, he posted the terrible news the great and even legendary Charlie Kirk is dead.
Speaker 3:So who was Charlie Kirk? He was one of the most outspoken conservative voices in the country, and he also never shined away from controversy.
Speaker 4:Charlie Kirk has been a staunch Trump supporter since the president's 2016 campaign, and here he is speaking at the GOP convention last year that nominated Trump. He also spoke at the presidential inauguration. Kirk has been called the Trump whisperer because of his closeness to the president and the administration. Here he is on stage with Donald Trump Jr at the Turning Point Convention, the organization he founded to promote conservative values on college campuses. He has millions of followers on social media and crisscrosses the country speaking at high school and college events. He has a reputation for getting crowds worked up and he doesn't back down if you disagree with him. He and his wife Erica have two children, a boy and a girl.
Speaker 6:Charlie Kirk has been shot. He was in Utah giving a speech at a college and I just found out that he's passed away. It is beyond tragic. It's disgusting, it's terrible. It's the worst thing that has happened in American media and politics in a long time. So this violence is not the answer. It is the very worst possible answer. We don't know who did it, and some of you might have seen an older guy getting dragged away by the police. It turns out they released him. He's not the guy. So they haven't caught the guy yet. But I can't believe he passed away. I can't believe it. So he's gone.
Speaker 6:And violence is surrender. It's saying that you can't win in the battlefield of ideas. What a terrible, terrible message to send and that you have to be barbaric and you have to be violent and you have to be a savage, but you have to just shut that person down physically because you can't defeat them with your ideas. What a cowardly form of surrender. What a disgusting thing to do. How deeply immoral. This is a terrible, terrible day, because so not only do I know Charlie and you can say hey, he said bad things in the past. Who cares? That's not the point today. Okay, it doesn't matter what people said. You never do violence, never. That's the exact opposite of being a progressive. It makes no sense at all. We're against the violence. If you do violence, you're not one of us. You're disgusting, you're immoral and you're deeply counterproductive. It makes everyone else hate them, rightfully so. So none of our side should ever, ever do that. Plus, he's a human being. I met him and his wife behind the scenes, etc. They're human beings, no matter how much we agree or disagree with anyone.
Speaker 6:This is just terrible, guys. This is going to lead to worse and worse violence. I hope to God it doesn't. I hope that America regains its senses and gets back to peace and civility, but this is not the way. This is terrible. I feel awful for Charlie's family, obviously for Charlie. Stop, stop all of the violence. This is the problem. This is not the way to solve it. So it's an absolutely tragic day and my heart goes out to his entire family. I'm so sorry that this happened to anyone. I just can't believe it. All right, guys, please, everyone. Nothing but good thoughts and prayers for Charlie's family.
Speaker 1:Friends, before we end tonight, I want to say by our hearts in prayer. Lord, you see us in our grief and in our confusion. Another life has been cut short. You see us in our grief and in our confusion. Another life has been cut short, another family torn by violence and a nation once more staring at itself in the mirror. Help us remember, god, that human life is sacred, not because of politics, not because of influence, but because every single person bears your image.
Speaker 1:Comfort those who mourn, steady those who are shaken, and turn our eyes away from vengeance and back towards the cross, where you showed us that love triumphs over hate and life triumphs over death. Oh Lord, you give and you take away, and blessed be your name. You alone hold the days of men in your hand. In a world that groans under sin, it reminds us that death is not the final word. Christ has conquered the grave, and so, while we grieve the loss of Charlie Kirk, we do not grieve as those without hope. Us, even in this moment of sorrow. Use us in this moment to awaken our hearts to the brevity of life and the weight of eternity. Let the name of Jesus be magnified in our mourning, and may your sovereign grace prove sufficient for every broken heart, for every broken heart, for every broken heart. Tonight, may the Lord keep you, may his face shine upon you and may he give you peace that the world cannot give. Good night, and we'll see you on the next episode.
