In the forecourt of the BBC’s headquarters in central London stands a sculpture of George Orwell. On the plinth are inscribed the words: “If liberty means anything at all it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.” Orwell’s wisdom stands as a reminder of something that many – including, all too often, the BBC itself – have forgotten, or simply no longer accept: that free societies are defined by their willingness to protect the expression not just of uncomfortable truths, but of uncomfortable opinions as well.

Patti Coleman wipes tears from her eyes at a memorial for Charlie Kirk in Phoenix, Arizona.Credit: AP

The assassination on September 10 of the conservative agitator Charlie Kirk – whose funeral on Sunday will be a major political event and, perhaps, a cultural tipping-point as well – has widened yet further the already deep fault-lines that make the American political system so dysfunctional. It reminded us yet again – not that we needed reminding – of the lunacy of the prevalence of firearms as a norm of American life. And it exposed the hypocrisies – on both sides of politics – of the freedom of speech debate.

The First Amendment may have protected Kirk’s right to free speech, but the Second Amendment protected the gun culture that made it so easy for someone to kill him.

Kirk’s body was not yet cold before Donald Trump took advantage of the occasion, not to tone down the violence, or call for national unity........

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