The heroes of the masses - In memory of Charlie Kirk

Dear friends,

I spent ten days in the Himalayas, a place said to be where heaven touches the earth. I was invited there to give a lecture connected to my book on totalitarianism. I am now traveling through central India, and I had intended to stay far away from social media during this journey. I changed my mind.

Yesterday I read that Charlie Kirk was murdered while giving a speech at a university in Utah. A wave of emotions is sweeping across the world. We are not human if we stand outside these tides of life.

Who did it? The authorities say they do not yet know. Read the newspaper articles that suggest a far-right Trump supporter “died in a shootout.” They are now busily cutting and splicing Charlie Kirk’s speeches, trying to make him the criminal. In this way, after the murder comes the character assassination, and with it the preparation for the next murder.

I have written a book on totalitarianism. It brought me to the Himalayas and to many other places around the world. That is because it touches something people everywhere feel is happening. More and more believe they must commit violence to ruthlessly enforce a discourse that is already dominant.

I call these people the heroes of the masses. They are always fighting for “the good cause.” They are lavish in displaying their “virtue.” They drip with it. That is because it is cheap. It is paid for with counterfeit currency that can be printed at will.

Do not be deceived by the heroes of the masses. They are cowards, but they are ready to die for their cause. That is their secret: the only desire their withered, hollow lives can still bring forth is the desire for death. It is not death they fear—it is truth.

I see these words appearing on the page before me. I did not really know Charlie Kirk. But I know those who took his life. I know those who took a husband from his wife. I know those who took a father from his children. I know the heroes of the masses.

Silence offers no safety when totalitarianism is on the rise. It is a direct road to a world where the heroes of the masses alone hold power. Do not postpone the act of speaking. Your words need not be perfect. Do not wait until you are sure what you say is “correct.” That is not the point. The point is that you speak with your own voice, even if it trembles.

Above all, guard yourself from becoming a hero of the masses. I say this also to myself. Everyone is vulnerable to the cowardice of the group. True courage shows itself when you stand alone against the many. Time and again, in whatever group you find yourself, let your most sincere voice be heard. If no one does this, every group becomes a mass.

Charlie Kirk, you spoke. In the coming weeks I will listen here and there to some of your speeches. Perhaps my opinion is completely different from yours, perhaps not. That does not really matter. By speaking your mind in a time when the heroes of the masses inscribe their words only on bullets, your death has become a mountaintop where heaven touches the earth.

And the echo of your words will form a mountain range. Your voice will resound—in your wife’s memory, in your children’s future, and in the mouths of all those who, through your death, find the courage to speak for themselves.

Mattias