"When people stop talking, really bad stuff starts."
Charlie Kirk wasn't the first to issue that warning. In fact, it's been said in various ways throughout human history, and more than that, it's been demonstrated over and over again. Charlie's murder was further proof of this.
Communication is key in any relationship. Ask any marriage counselor, and the first thing they'll highlight is a need for good communication. Two sides cannot understand one another or reach any mutually beneficial conclusions without relaying information to one another in productive ways. That's just a basic fact of our species. Even God wants you continuously in open communication with Him through prayer and asks that you listen as intently as you can for His own words.
Yet, the left has concluded that communication is something that can't happen between themselves and the right. You've seen this in various ways yourself.
They've refused to go on networks or appear on shows that feature right-leaning hosts or commentators.
They scream, chant, or find ways to make noises around those who espouse differing opinions to drown out the words.
They've attempted to shut down dialogue through censorship, both corporate and legal.
They'll go so far as to begin riots on campuses to shut down events where conservative or Christian speakers are set to talk to students.
They will shoot someone on the right to stop them from communicating with others.
They will also establish what they see as good reasoning for not talking to the right. Rob Reiner did just that recently while talking to Bill Maher.
Reiner told Maher that dialogue between the right and the left can't happen unless there is an agreement about certain "facts."
"Let’s say we’re going to have that argument. You’re going to try to talk to somebody and you have a point of view,” Reiner said. “The other person has a point of view. Before you have the exchange, you have to agree on certain facts.”
Maher disagreed vehemently, saying you should just go in and talk, but Reiner insisted.
“No, no, you talk to people,” Reiner responded. “But if somebody says 2+2 is four and the other guy says no, it’s not, how do you begin the discussion?”
🚨NEW: Bill Maher SPARS with Liberal Actor Rob Reiner, who wants to put conditions on Dems *EVEN SPEAKING* to GOP🚨
— Jason Cohen 🇺🇸 (@JasonJournoDC) September 22, 2025
MAHER: "This would make some sense for the Democrats if they had any power. But the idea of 'we don't talk to you when we don't even have the power'? Of course you… pic.twitter.com/oqBdUUBkUB
What Reiner is doing is an old Democrat strategy of trying to define the battlefield before it's fought on. For communication to happen, certain requirements need to be met, such as what terminology is allowed, and what viewpoints are valid and which aren't. Political correctness is often part of this strategy, and even a base disagreement with using the words they prefer means they stop the argument completely.
If they can't control the battlefield, they lose the argument pretty fast. This is why they rely so heavily on the "correct terminology" and acceptance of ideas (think "gender" and "sex" are two totally different things) before they'll even engage. If you simply reject an idea because it makes no sense or has no basis in fact, then they don't have a foundation to argue from.
Thus, a shutdown in communication, a divided nation, and blood on the ground.
Charlie's approach was the right way. Sit down and talk. Be willing to communicate without terms. Just start talking, and eventually we'll start getting somewhere. Even if one person doesn't get it, the next might, and from there we can begin building understanding.
The issue is that we don't agree on facts to begin with, so if we're just refusing to talk because we don't agree on a few key things, then we'll just be in this position forever.
Reiner, and indeed many on the left, want the assurance of victory before debate can begin. If not a factual victory, then at least a "moral victory." That's not how debate works. That's certainly not how discovery works.
Reiner's strategy is one that caused misunderstanding. It allowed lies to flourish, and people believed falsehoods about their fellow man because no one in their circles stopped to confirm whether it was true or not. They were told repeatedly from trusted sources that they were, indeed, fighting the worst people in the history of forever, and now an innocent man is dead because of it, and a nation is divided and at war with itself ideologically because of it.
Problems that should've been fixed long ago exist now because spite dictates that the solutions can't come from the other side.
Reiner is wrong. His way brings ruination, and I don't know how often we have to see examples for people like him to understand how wrong they are.
