An ai-generated picture of Charlie Kirk hugged Jesus. Another from Kirk Pose with angel wings and halo. Then there may be that of Kirk Stand with George Floyd At the gate of heaven.
When distinguished political or cultural figures die within the United States, the memory of their lives often becomes Realized in hagiography. And that is precisely what has happened for the reason that cruel killing of the conservative activist and Co -founder of turning point, Charlie Kirk.
The word hagiography comes from the Christian tradition of writing concerning the lifetime of the saintsBut practice often goes into secular politics and the media and falls under the roof of the so -called social sociological ”, that“Sacranization of politics. ““ In particular attacks and violent deaths are interpreted by sacred terms: the person will A secular martyr Who has brought a heroic victim. They are depicted as morally fair and spiritually purely.
To a certain extent, this can be a natural a part of grief. However, in the event you take a more in-depth have a look at why this is completed – and the way the Internet accelerates it – today offers some necessary insights into politics within the United States.
From president to protest against leaders
The construction of Ronald Reagan's postpresidential image is a principal example for this process.
Republican guides polished in line with his presidency his memory steadily in A Symbol of conservative triumphDown scandals like Iran control Or reagan Early skepticism about civil rights. Today Reagan can be remembered as a posh politician and greater than less A holy free markets and patriotism.
Martin Luther King Jr. experienced a comparable transformation among the many liberals, even though it took one other form. King Criticism of capitalismPresent militarism And Structural racism are sometimes played down in most mainstream memories and leave a Soft picture of the peaceful dreamer. The annual holiday, Numerous street renamed And public wall paintings honor him, but additionally they tame his heir right into a universally tasty history of unity.
Even more competitive numbers like John F. Kennedy or Abraham Lincoln Show the identical pattern. At their assassination, waves of mourning followed, which increased them to an almost mythical status.
Decades after Kennedy's death his portrait hung in The houses of many American CatholicsOften next to non secular iconography like Jungfrau Mary Statuetten. Lincoln has now turn out to be a type of citizen healing: his monument in Washington, DC, looks like a temple with words from his speeches etched within the partitions.
Why it happens and what it means
Hagiography of public personalities serves several purposes. It uses deep human needs and helps to violate mourners by granting moral clarity in view of the chaos.
It also allows Political movements to consolidate power by hanking their leaders and displacing contradiction. And it assures the supporters that their cause is fair – even cosmic.
In a polarized environment, increasing a figure to a saint is greater than the person. It turns a political struggle right into a saint. When you see someone as a martyrThen the opposition to its movement shouldn’t be just disagreements, but a desecration. In this sense, hagiography shouldn’t be nearly remembering the dead: it mobilizes the living.
But there are risks. As soon as someone is framed as a saint, criticism becomes taboo. The more sacred a figure, the harder it becomes to debate your mistakes, errors or controversial actions. Hagiography flies the story and narrowed democratic debate.
After The death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022For example, public grief in Great Britain and abroad quickly modified its legacy to a logo of stability and continuity with mass tributes, viral pictures and global ceremonies A fancy rule In a simplified story of dedication and repair.
It also drives polarization. If the leader is a martyr, the opposite side have to be malignant. The frame is straightforward, but powerful.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images
In Kirk's case, lots of his followers described him as a truth attempt, whose death underlined a deeper moral message. In Kirk's memorial service in Arizona, President Donald Trump called him a “Martyr for American freedom. “” On social media, the official X account of Turn Point USA and Kirk described him as “America's best martyrs for freedom of speech. “”
In doing so, they increased his death as a logo for larger battles About censorship. By emphasizing the undeniable fact that he died during easy speaking, additionally they intensified the concept liberals and the left are more of violence as a way to silence their ideological enemies, as evidenced by evidence.
The digital charge
The treatment of public personalities like Saints shouldn’t be recent, however the speed and yardstick of the method are. In the past 20 years, social media has transformed hagiography from a slow cultural drift right into a rapid-free production cycle.
Meme, live streams and hashtags now allow everyone to cannonize someone he admires. When NBA Hall-of-Famer Kobe Bryant died in 2020, Social media was flooded with prayer images inside a couple of hours, Wand paintings and video compilations That threw him a couple of athlete: he became one Spiritual icon of persistence.
As well as Ruth Bader Ginsburg's deathThe “NOTORIOUS RBG” meme ecosystem was immediately expanded to take them Digital portraits and goods She threw that as a sacred defender of the judiciary.
The The same dynamic surrounded Charlie Kirk. Within a couple of hours after his assassination, Meme published From Kirk to an American flag, draped, be carried by Jesus.
In the times after his death, AI-generated audio clips by Kirk, which were designed as “sermons”, circulated onlineWhile supporters Common Bible verses That they claimed that that they had the precise time of his death. Together, these actions occupied his death religiously: it was not only a political murder – it was a moment of spiritual importance.
Such clips and verses spread effortlessly about social mediaWhere stories about public personalities Can consolidate inside hoursOften before facts are confirmed, so little space for nuances or examinations.
Easy to create memes and videos too Enable normal users to take part in a sacrumination processWhat makes it more of a basic effort than something that’s imposed from top to bottom.
In other words, the digital culture once transforms the slow work of monuments and textbooks right into a full of life, flexible folk religion of culture and politics.
On clearer politics
Hagiography won’t disappear. It fulfills emotional and political needs too effective. However, the popularity of his patterns helps the residents and journalists to oppose their distortions. The task shouldn’t be to disclaim grief or admiration, but too Get space for nuances and accountability.
In the USA where Religion, culture and politics are sometimes connectedRecognizing that holiness in politics is at all times constructed – and infrequently strategically – can enable people to honor the loss without determining mythmaking the conditions of public life.
