FIRST-PERSON: Then and now: The faithful courage of young conservatives

Our nation is in crisis and it’s stressful for anyone to be about their life journey when a simple act of watching the evening news can create significant anxiety. I mean it has me sitting down to watch a scary Stephen King movie just to unwind. I set myself to thinking about how Americans need to engage each other civilly about our differences in an environment of respect and honesty. Perhaps young people today can take that idea, after the last few weeks of turmoil, and make hay.

In the 1980s I came of age on Cumberland College’s campus clutching a rolled up copy of the magazine National Review, William F. Buckley, Jr.’s wit and wisdom, that substantially shaped my conservative convictions. I couldn’t get enough of his television series, Firing Line, which was a venue for debate and discussion on political, social, and philosophical issues of the day. Needless to say, Ronald Reagan’s presidency gave conservatism momentum, but it was Buckley‘s style and ideas in the 80s that grounded me. On Oct. 25, 1991, just after I had finished college and law school, I was fortunate to meet Buckley at the Kentucky Horse Park during his lecture series “Post Reagan Conservatism.”

It was co-sponsored by the Fayette County Republican Club and Buckley’s Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI), which was a nonprofit educational organization that promoted conservative thought on college campuses. His eloquence and God inspired vision complemented what Reagan had also fed me, so my plate was full of thoughts on freedom and liberty, free markets, religious freedom, constitutional protections, and limited government.

I studied our nation’s founding, founding principles, and the United States Constitution. Throw in some reading about and by Barry Goldwater, the Republican who ran for president in 1964, and I was hooked on the right. I became immersed in debates with my peers where we discussed issues openly and respectfully, in what has become some of my fondest memories.

Decades later, I get a picture from my 27-year-old son wearing Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA’s “Freedom ” T-shirt — a bold statement in today’s polarized world. As a young defense attorney, prosecutor, and judge, I learned the value of listening to both sides, a principle tying Buckley’s era to my son’s generation.

I read a post on X that spoke to the similarities between Buckley and Kirk: happy warriors, ready to debate anyone, focused on the rising generation, brought conservatism to college campuses, unapologetic in their Christian worldview, intellectuals, stoked and shaped a generation.

I realized just then that young conservatives in Generation Z display extraordinary courage, standing firm in their faith as they confront today’s complex issues a demand far greater than what my generation faced at a comparable age. Charlie Kirk just recently proved that.

The 1980s were a high point for conservatism. Buckley’s ISI, like Kirks TPUSA, armed young conservatives with ideas to effectively counter liberal thinkers and academia. Buckley’s book “God and Man at Yale” challenged secularism while Kirk’s videos and campus debates did the same. Both men made being conservative compelling, blending intellect with wit. Buckley did not win every debate, but he spoke sincerely of the future for conservatives, not so subtly suggesting the preservation of liberty was through one’s authentic faith.

Many years later and here we are, watching Kirk engage students with reason, not judgment. And yet, the attacks on young conservatives are on the rise. Why can we not debate, then depart as friends? I remember Buckley’s words, and Kirk’s example, to challenge ideas, not people, with authentic faith as our guide. I am convinced that conservatism has a moral core, but not to the exclusion of others.

That moral core lies in its commitment to preserving time-tested values that foster human flourishing. It champions personal responsibility, encouraging individuals to act with integrity and self-reliance, which in turn strengthens character and society. By valuing tradition, it respects the wisdom of past generations, promoting stability and community that nurture mutual care and civic duty. This moral framework prioritizes liberty tempered by order, ensuring individuals thrive within a cohesive, principled society. Whew, that was a mouthful, but important to emphasize.              

Today, young conservatives navigate tougher landscapes, led in large part by Charlie Kirk’s TPUSA movement. Founded in 2012, TPUSA mobilizes Gen Z through campus activism and real-world issues. Kirk’s style was bolder, more populist than Buckley’s, and his powerful Christian witness echoes the same spirit.

Through TPUSA’s “Faith and Freedom” events and church partnerships, young people are urged to root their activism in spiritual conviction, citing biblical principles to defend free speech and morality. Like Buckley, Kirk invited dialogue his “Prove Me Wrong” tables and X exchanges challenge those with different opinions to debate, not divide. This GenZ faces steeper odds.

Where my generation had Reagan’s cultural momentum, today’s young conservatives confront entrenched “woke” ideology, and growing social media scrutiny. A 2021 Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) survey found 66% of college students feel some topics are too controversial to discuss openly — a chilling effect currently being defied by “Freedom” T-shirt wearing young people. This faithful courage is becoming more and more self-evident.

I am proud of this young generation and their growing courageous faith in a culture where only 27% of GenZ regularly attended church a few years ago, per a 2023 PEW study. Recently, we have seen a marked surge in church attendance taking place. The boldness of these “Freedom” T-shirt wearers isn’t just political, it is a testament to faith, worn in a world quick to judge.

In the shadow of Charlie Kirk’s tragic assassination on Sept. 10, 2025, at Utah Valley University — one person on a rooftop tried to silence a voice that ignited faith in Christ to countless young hearts. Erika Kirk has picked up the mantle with a bold and yet humble forgiveness that captured the potency of Christian love.

I know detractors will point to this statement or that, and I will argue context or media bias, and yet we must agree to disagree. I reckon there will be those who disagreed with Kirk’s views, or at least some of them, but in grace we together can honor a clarion call to wield faith as both sword and shield against division.

 As vigils are held across the world, speakers and leaders will laud Kirk’s legacy and message of faithful courage. We are all imperfect but we can bridge the divides in civil debate without violence, keeping alive the flame of grace lit by people like Buckley and carried on by those like Kirk.

Jeff Burdette is a retired Circuit Judge living in Mt. Vernon, Ky. His family attends Fairview Baptist Church where Burdette serves as a trustee, teacher and leader.