When I think of my friend Charlie, I think of a man who never stopped talking. Not in the sense of noise or chatter, but in the sense of conviction. He believed that words mattered—that truth spoken boldly could cut through the lies of a culture determined to silence us. Charlie taught me, and so many others in my generation, that when the world tells you to sit down and shut up, that’s the exact moment you stand taller and speak louder.
The worst thing we could do right now is to be quiet. That’s what our opponents want. They hope grief will muzzle us, that fear will keep us silent, and that apathy will win. But silence isn’t an option. When good people stop talking, bad ideas take root. When the truth retreats, lies advance. That’s why Charlie never stopped showing up—never stopped encouraging, mentoring, and fighting for young voices to be heard.
Charlie believed in us—in Gen Z. He believed that our words, our ideas, and our courage could shift the direction of this country. He told me once that when others wrote off my generation as apathetic or distracted, he saw potential. He saw leaders. He saw voices that could not and should not be silenced. That belief became his mission. And because of it, countless young people—myself included—were inspired to pick up the microphone, write the column, or start the conversation others were too afraid to begin.
This is the task before us now: to carry Charlie’s mission forward, to make sure his belief in us was not misplaced, and to prove that even in moments of loss and uncertainty, our generation will not sit on the sidelines. If we want to honor Charlie, we don’t do it with moments of silence. We do it with a movement of voices.
That means speaking up even when it’s uncomfortable. It means having the courage to post the truth online when you know you’ll face backlash. It means defending your faith in a classroom where your professor rolls their eyes. It means telling the truth about America, even when the culture insists you stay quiet. Every time we speak, we take ground. Every time we refuse to back down, we keep alive the legacy Charlie left us.
There will be those who say we should take a step back, let the noise settle, or wait for a “better time” to speak. But history tells us the opposite. The civil rights leaders didn’t wait for perfect conditions. The Founding Fathers didn’t wait for unanimous approval. They knew that truth cannot be postponed—it must be proclaimed. The same is true for us today.
Charlie showed us the way forward. It’s not complicated, but it does take courage. We have to keep talking. We have to keep standing. We have to keep believing that words can still change hearts, shift culture, and shape the future.
Because if we stop talking, Charlie’s voice dies with him. But if we keep talking and revive civil discourse—if we refuse to back down—then his mission lives on, louder than ever.
We can’t stop talking. Not now. Not ever.
Brilyn Hollyhand is a 19-year-old political commentator, bestselling author of One Generation Away: Why Now is the Time to Restore American Freedom, and host of The Brilyn Hollyhand Show. He’s a freshman at Auburn University studying political science. For more of his hot takes you can follow him on socials @Brilyn Hollyhand or visit his website.
The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own.
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