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Principled Ideas from the Centennial Institute Publisher, Dr. Donald W. Sweeting Volume 10, Number 2 • February 2018 Editor, Jeff Hunt

THE BATTLE FOR THE FUTURE IS ON honestly. I run into senators here and there, and I look at them OUR COLLEGE CAMPUSES and say, “I am so disappointed. What are you doing all day long?” Who else here worked, knocked on doors, and made Charlie Kirk, WCS17 phone calls so that they would repeal Obamacare? And then I have to sit here and listen to five senators who don’t have the backbone to do what they said they were going do, are you kidding me? For seven years we had to hear, “We’re going to repeal Obamacare, just give us the House.” We gave them the House. Then they said, “We need the Senate,” and we gave them the Senate. Then they said, “We need the White House.” Now they have all three chambers and we’re hearing nothing but excuses. What makes me the sickest is that the people who voted for a full repeal of Obamacare only did it because they knew Obama was going to veto it. They lied to us! They didn’t actually mean Charlie Kirk, speaking at the 2017 Western Conservative Summit. it. So excuse my candid, extemporaneous comments, but I’m just sick and tired of these people going to Washington, saying I come from Chicago, Illinois. I grew up twenty minutes down they’re going to do something, and not doing it. the street from where Hillary Clinton went to high school, thirty minutes down the street from the Barack Obama for I live in America, I don’t live in Washington D.C. My passion America headquarters. every single day is working on college campuses, because I love working with 18, 19, and 20-year-olds who want to hear about So you might say, “What is a guy like you doing starting a history and about freedom. They are persuaded by these values national student activist organization?” I started Turning Point and these arguments. It’s entirely possible for a student to go USA when I was 18 and realized I was a conservative. When to one of the best schools in the country, you are surrounded by people you disagree Stanford, Princeton, Harvard, Yale, and not with, you find what you believe very quickly. With the right hear about a conservative idea for more than In the trenches, you either fight or flee, and ten minutes throughout their four years. boy did I argue with a lot of teachers and outreach and the Think about how sick that is, that you pay students those years. I’m 23 now, and I’ve right organization, $200,000 to get a political science degree, found that my generation can understand and you can’t articulate the other side or the freedom, can embrace those values, and we can win back other perspective. does not have to fall victim to Bernie Sanders-style socialism. I believe, with the the future. Over the last five years, as we’ve taken right outreach and the right organization, Turning Point USA to more and more we can win back the future. campuses, we’ve realized that the Left hates the idea that there are other ideas. Think about that. That is exactly what our organization does every day and we The most intolerant people in the world are those that preach are keeping quite a pace. We hosted the nation’s largest young tolerance. They say they stand for diversity. At UC Berkeley, women’s leadership summit, a young Latino leadership summit, they have thirteen full-time people dedicated to diversity. But and a high school leadership summit. At our chapter-leaders’ their definition of diversity is just racial and ethnic diversity, summit, we announced we are adding thirty new staffers this not the most important type of diversity, which is intellectual year. We do all this because, as you know, college campuses are the new battleground. The Left knows they have lost politically Charlie Kirk is an American activist and the founder and executive director of with older adults. The only ground they still hold is our Turning Point USA, an advocacy group for young conservatives. college campuses, which makes this work the most important Centennial Institute sponsors research, events, and publications to enhance fight today. public understanding of the most important issues facing our state and nation. By proclaiming Truth, we aim to foster faith, family, and freedom, By the way, is anyone else really upset at Congress right now? teach citizenship, and renew the spirit of 1776. I could not be more disappointed. I’m just going to speak diversity and diversity of thought. See, I challenge my liberal counterparts on campus and I say, “If conservative ideas were so bad, wouldn’t you want as many conservative speakers as possible, because they’ll all just fall flat on their face, no one will follow them, and everyone will think that’s stupid, right?” The Left is threatened by our value system. They are threatened because they know, when students are able to hear about free enterprise and the Constitution, things actually end up more 50/50. In fact, they end up more on the center-right. So what the Left has created are what I call “Islands of Totalitarianism” on our college campuses. The greatest threat to Western Civilization is what is going on in our colleges. I cannot overstate the threat of what is going on with the assault on free speech and the absolute silencing of opposition of ideas. Let’s go through a little crash course. I will not dive into hyperbole even though you might think I am Turning Point USA Founder Charlie Kirk brings the crowd to their feet at the 2017 Western making this up. We’re going to talk about four things: micro- Conservative Summit. aggressions, trigger warnings, safe spaces, and free speech zones. can you speak freely. Of course, they have to approve what Let’s talk about micro-aggressions. If you say something to a you’re going to say about any ideas, perspectives, or values. student or teacher that you don’t intend to be offensive but that It’s always enforced unfairly against conservative students and might come across as offensive, that is a micro-aggression. The conservative groups, but Planned Parenthood and the Hillary micro-aggression rules say that that word or phrase must be for America campaign can gallivant around campus and say disallowed. The phrase, “In America, if you work hard enough whatever they want and they are never forced into a free you can succeed,” is considered a micro-aggression against speech zone. immigrant students because that might Microaggressions, trigger warnings, be offensive to them. I’m not kidding. free speech zones and one more, The statement “illegal immigrant” is safe spaces. A safe space is a physical a micro-aggression against all people The greatest threat to location on a college campus where of Latino background or culture. Western Civilization students can seek refuge when they You cannot say the term “radical hear ideas that are so offensive to them Islamic terrorism,” because that is is what is going on in that they consider themselves to be a microaggression. our colleges. physically unsafe. That’s right: speech is The next is trigger warning. A trigger now considered to be a form of assault warning is when you give advanced on a college campus. When George notice to a student on a college campus Will went to Harvard University, they before you say certain words, phrases, sentences, or thoughts. had to create a safe space with crayons, play dough, milk and For example, the teacher says, “Trigger warning: I’m about to cookies, and teddy bears for students that needed to rehabilitate talk about The Great Gatsby, and within The Great Gatsby after hearing about why free market principles are the greatest there is wide income inequality, so this might offend some of for all people. That’s so offensive for the Harvard students, they the poor students in class.” Soft is what I always say—these needed to seek refuge. You can’t make this up. people are very soft. At Notre Dame, Vice President Pence came to give the Free speech zones—anyone ever encountered those? A free commencement address. Instead of the Leftist students sitting speech zone is something no bigger than a parking space on a quietly and enjoying what should have been the best day of college campus where, only within that zone, between the hours their lives, a hundred students and their parents, mind you, of ten and two, and with prior approval of the administration, stood up in protest in the middle of the speech and left

CENTENNIAL REVIEW is published monthly by the Centennial Institute at Colorado Christian University. The authors’ views are not necessarily those of CCU. Designer, Justin Jones. Illustrator, Benjamin Hummel. Subscriptions free upon request. Write to: Centennial Institute, 8787 W. Alameda Ave., Lakewood, CO 80226. Call 800.44.FAITH. Or visit us online at centennial.ccu.edu.

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Centennial Review ▪ February 2018 ▪ 2 the commencement because they found his ideas to be so streets, bankrupt, dependent on capitalist countries to support dangerous and so terribly threatening to society. Imagine that! them. Tell me what’s great about that?” “Oh, they have free Imagine, on your graduation day, you stand up and walk out education.” “Oh, free education, you mean 70% tax rates to on the Vice President of the United States, who used to be the pay for your free education. Must be nice to have someone else governor of the state, who also happens to be Catholic. And pay for your livelihood.” what does the university administration say? “What heroic, When we debate these socialists on campus, we ask this courageous students!” Can you imagine what would happen if question. You can do this, too, and in ten seconds you can conservative students did that when Vice President Joe Biden smash a socialist’s worldview. Here is the question, “Do you came and spoke at Notre Dame? They would have had their trust the government?” They will inevitably say no. So we ask, diplomas revoked! “Then why do you want to make it bigger?” That’s it! Because Harvard now has a black-only graduation ceremony because if they don’t trust the government, they don’t trust politicians, they “want to highlight the oppression against the African- why give them more of your money? American community.” If you are a black student at Harvard, I asked a socialist the other day, “Do you think the VA and the you’re not oppressed. You’re quite lucky, actually. postal service are well run?” They say “no,” I ask them, “And What we have found is that the Left wants to create a culture of you want these people in charge of our healthcare? You want victims. When you have a culture of victims, it is easy to sell a the post office workers in charge of our healthcare?” When you Bernie Sanders who sells a victimhood, entitlement mentality. think of organizations that run well, you think of Amazon and With victims, it’s always someone else’s fault—the billionaires, Facebook and Google. But everything government touches is the millionaires, the evil corporations. That or they say we inefficient, bloated, and burns through money. The free market are a colonial, racist, divided country that would do better is much more efficient and solves problems a lot better. Why is under socialism. the Left so afraid to talk about that? It’s easy to celebrate the political gains of 2016. I was right I’ve never been more optimistic about the future of this there celebrating with you. But when a socialist like Bernie country. We made great gains politically in the last few years, Sanders gets over 15 and here is good news. The generation after millennials, million votes in the Generation Z, is the most conservative/libertarian generation Democratic primary, ever. They don’t like government, they don’t trust people in actually won the power, and they respect free enterprise. Our organization, Microaggressions, Democratic primary Turning Point USA, is going to bring the fight to where trigger warnings, and had it stolen by it matters most: the college and high school campuses, Hillary Clinton— where we will fight against socialism to win minds and win free speech zones and a majority of hearts. We are going to win, and they are going to lose. n and safe spaces. his votes came from people under the age Charlie Kirk is the Founder of 30, that should and Executive Director horrify you. Because of Turning Point USA, a there’s a generation national student movement that is now voluntarily and willingly wanting to embrace the dedicated to identifying, most dangerous ideology of the last 100 years, an ideology organizing, and empowering that has killed over 100 million people, an ideology that we as young people to promote the principles of free markets, Americans fought and won against in the 1980s, and now he and limited government. wants to voluntarily bring back socialism to these shores. Not on our watch, folks, not on our watch! Since the inception of Turning Point USA on June 5, 2012, Charlie has grown Turning Point USA to having representation We are the most vocal opponents of socialism. Socialism is the on over 1,200 high school and college campuses nationwide and most dangerous ideology ever tried by man. It creates human over 150 full time staff. At 24 years old, he has appeared on Fox mediocrity, lowers potential, and makes societies more secular. News, CNBC, and FOX Business News over 200 times. He is It abolishes private philanthropy and charity and destroys also a best-selling author, was the youngest speaker at the 2016 Republican National Convention, and a proud eagle scout. humanity at its core. Look at Western Europe. Those are more mild versions of socialism, but every country is bankrupt. Kirk is the co-author of Time For a Turning Point: Setting a They take the entire month of August off and have little to Course Toward Free Markets and Limited Government for Future Generations, published by Simon and Schuster in 2016. no ambition. I debated a socialist the other day. He said, In the book, Kirk shares a vision for America’s future embracing “Socialism is wonderful.” I said, “Really? Like Cuba, Venezuela, first principles, free markets, and small government. He provides Argentina, Brazil, North Korea, and Indonesia? Exactly which a roadmap on how to return to a free America, with an emphasis socialist example do you think is great?” He said “Oh, Spain.” on reaching our youth and engaging them in the process. I said, “Oh, Spain! Great! 40% unemployment, rioting in the

Centennial Review ▪ February 2018 ▪ 3 WESTERN VALUES AND government. Even if it is like House of Cards, we still live in CONSERVATIVE BELIEFS the greatest country on earth, and every day we are proud to be Americans, whether we live in Colorado or in Washington Katie Pavlich, WCS17 D.C. or wherever else we might be from. The realities and pressures of Washington make coming back to principle more important. There are a few things that Washington can learn from Western values, which easily couple with Conservative beliefs. To start, it’s the Wild West. You better buckle up and bring your boots because there’s going to be a lot of you-know-what to walk through. I wear my cowgirl boots around Washington, D.C. not just because I’m from the West but because I’m dodging the proverbial scorpions, cactus, and snakes that tend to dwell in the swamps. Another Western value that would benefit Washington, D.C. is getting the hard work done early. Anyone who’s ever worked on a ranch knows that’s true. The trail can be long with unexpected storms along the way. By putting the hard work in first, without taking shortcuts, gets to a better end result. Another value is keeping your word. If you don’t deliver on a promise, people will remember, and trust is a difficult thing Katie Pavlich, speaking at the 2017 Western Conservative Summit. to regain once it is lost. I hope our members of Congress are listening because I remember lots of promises during I left Arizona and moved to Washington D.C. to pursue the campaign. And yet, we haven’t seen as much progress as my dream of working in conservative media. Working in we should. D.C. is everything people tell you about. It’s dirty, hot, and humid. The metro is usually broken. It is a city full of A little humility goes a long way. Standing in the middle of pressure and, of course, lots of politics. I always joke that Rocky Mountain National Park helps us find our humility. working in the nation’s capital is like dog years; one year feels The wilderness is big, vast, and makes you feel humble. Now, like seven because you pack so much into a day. As someone I know when it comes to politicians, this is a lot to ask, but who is new to the White House press corps, no day is taking a step back to listen and consider new ideas and policy the same, and we certainly don’t suffer from boredom. proposals in a humble way paves a path for true and much- needed government reform. There are, of course, perks to the joband moments that give me a daily reminder The realities Here are a few more. How about of gratitude. There are little things I personal responsibility? Personal notice when I go to the White House and pressures of responsibility is crucial to long-term like the marine standing guard where Washington make survival and to pursuing a fulfilled life. President Trump comes out to greet his Making decisions for yourself, being foreign guests, the protesters who are coming back to your own personal leader, is a much outside on a daily basis with one cause or better way to live than having someone another, and the secret service dogs and principle more else making decisions for you— their agent handlers working to keep especially government bureaucrats in a the place safe. There is the rumbling important. city far away. of Marine One landing on the South Be a good neighbor, but mind your own Lawn that can’t be heard anywhere else in the world. Being business. Remember that freedom should be the foundation able to attend Rose Garden press conferences with the world’s on which we govern: less is certainly more. And finally, as the most respected—and some not so respected—leaders is pretty old saying goes, don’t be all hat and no cowboy, and don’t be amazing. And even when their motorcades shut down traffic, an empty suit either. there’s still a sense of pride about them visiting America. It’s important to remember the positive in this country far Are you familiar with the TV show House of Cards? I often outweighs the negative. We get caught up in the things that get the question, is House of Cards an accurate portrayal of are wrong when a lot of things are actually going right. Every the way Washington works? I get the impression the people Katie Pavlich is a conservative commentator and political reporter who asking me want me to say no. But, honestly, if you think House serves as news editor of Townhall.com. of Cards is bad, you have no idea. But, that’s the nature of

Centennial Review ▪ February 2018 ▪ 4 Katie Pavlich, news editor with Townhall.com, a contributing editor to Townhall Magazine, and the award-winning author of the New York Times best seller Fast and Furious: Barack Obama’s Bloodiest Scandal and Its Shameless Cover-Up at the 2017 Western Conservative Summit. day is a battle against Leftism and forces who want to limit our because you’ve lived it, your children live it, your neighbors freedoms, but it’s a battle we fight and a battle we’re actually live it, your friends live it. I certainly believe in the American winning. Across the country, conservative principles are Dream, because I’m living it right now in so many different winning at the ballot box, whether it’s school choice, second ways. The American Dream can mean different things to amendment, labor union reform, business regulations, and so different people, and that’s the beauty of it. It means having much more. options and defining your own future, but requires a person to This is because we reject the idea that if you surround yourself be responsible for their own path and the decisions that they with a safe space, you’ll be successful in life. We promote make along the way. true tolerance by being open to ideas As we move away from years of economic opposed to our own so we know what The positive devastation and into a positive and we stand for and what we believe in. We booming economic future under a new understand that the free exchange of ideas in this country administration, the American Dream has a without fear of consequence is a core bright road ahead for anybody who chooses American value—so important that it is far outweighs to pursue it. Conservative principles have enshrined in the Constitution and has led this country through good times and been broadly reaffirmed by the Supreme the negative. bad, and will continue to do so as long as we Court for decades. We believe that the next fight for them and stress their importance. generations deserve a future without burdensome debt and To quote Teddy Roosevelt since we are in the West, “We limited career choices. We believe that anyone, regardless of have fallen heirs to the most glorious heritage a people will race, background or circumstances has the ability to pursue the ever receive, and each one of us must do his part if we wish American dream, so long as they are able and allowed to pursue to show that this nation is worthy of its good fortune.” That their own freedom and opportunities. is absolutely true. The conservative future and the future of When you Google search “the American Dream,” you will find: America are bright because of every person in this room. It’s not “The American Dream is a national ethos of the United States, government that makes it great but the people and individuals a set of ideals in which freedom includes the opportunity for who live here make it great. That’s because, after all, we’re all prosperity and success, and an upward social mobility for the “endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights. That family and children, achieved through hard work, and a society among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”— with few barriers.” I know you believe in the American Dream whether you live in the West or in the East. n

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A National Review Washington Fellow, Katie Pavlich has appeared numerous times as a television commentator, notably on the Fox News Channel program The Five. Pavlich has also appeared on CNN, MSNBS, CNBS and Fox Business, in addition to numerous national and local radio shows. She is a regular speaker on college campuses across the country. She was named Blogger of the Year at CPAC 2013 for her coverage of the ATF gun-walking scandal, commonly referred to as the Fast and Furious scandal. She co-authored Fast and Furious: Barack Obama's Bloodiest Scandal and Its Shameless Cover-Up (2012) and Assault & Flattery: The Truth About the Left and Their War on Women (2014). She was awarded Woman of the Year in 2014 and a 2013 Conservative Leadership Award from the Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute. Katie graduated from the University of Arizona in 2010. She serves on the board for many non-profit organizations, including the Network of Enlightened Women, the National Journalism Center and the Association for Croatian- American Professionals. Fortifying Freedom YOU ARE INVITED!

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