Nonetheless, for once in a very long time, I found myself at a loss for words. Perhaps it was because of the senseless manner in which this rising young star’s life was extinguished. Or perhaps it was because I, too, was shot in the throat, and the unsettling video of Kirk slumping to the ground stirred memories of my own life-altering experience.

Upon further thought, however, I concluded that it was really none of those things — at least not singularly.

No, I think the real reason this shooting resonated so deeply with me was because it cut to the very core of my belief system — the same beliefs on which this country was built. The very freedoms that I, and countless others before me, fought to preserve. Liberties like free speech, open debate and disagreeing with one another without fear of reprisal — freedoms we all take for granted in the United States.

So, I had to ask myself, is that slowly eroding?

Unfortunately, I believe the answer to that question is yes, and this shooting is simply yet another ugly reminder of the undercurrent of animosity and anger brewing in this country today.

The reality is, we have become a country of intolerance. A country that puts hate and anger before moral integrity and compromise. A country where disagreeing with another’s opinion no longer elicits debate, or a grassroots effort for change, but instead an execution or assassination attempt.

It’s something that deeply concerns me — and it should concern you, as well.

When I was young, the political divide was nothing like it is today. The New York State government was synonymous with reaching consensus through the famous “three men in a room” way of governing, meaning the governor, the Republican Assembly speaker and the Democratic Senate leader would lock themselves in a room until a compromise was reached. Through debate and dialogue, and input from more than one way of thinking, a better outcome was reached for the people of the state.

Unfortunately, that willingness to understand another’s point of view and make any type of concession is all but extinct.

Whether you agree with him or not, Charlie Kirk was sitting unarmed under a small enclosure, debating not with a firearm but with a microphone, in hopes that those with a differing opinion might, at the very least, gain a bit more respect for his.

That type of thinking and reaching across the aisle should be revered in a day when partisan politics runs so deep that elected officials vote more on party compliance than conviction.

Meanwhile, I’ve watched as Americans on both the right and left used the tragedy of Kirk’s death to further their own political ideology.

And it sickens me.

We are devolving into a society of hate over love, and patriotism seems to have taken a back seat to whatever cause elicits wrath among us.

It truly is a sad state of affairs if we can no longer have open dialogue and debate without fear of being shot to death for it. That is the fabric of a North Korea, China or Cuba, not the Republic our forefathers envisioned here.

That is not the America I know — and it is not the one I want for my children.

I fear we have reached a breaking point in America where we no longer fight with our words but with clenched fists. This hate runs deeper than one man. We are no longer one nation under God, but a nation so intolerant that we are willing to kill one another if we disagree.

And it saddens me.

Truly, if this does not change, then it very well could be the unraveling of our Democracy as we know it, for future generations to come.

That, perhaps, should resonate the most of all.