EARLY-BIRD DISCOUNTS CONSERVATIVEAVAILABLE SUMMIT FOR 2018 WESTERN 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. Please join the Centennial Institute today. As a Centennial donor, you can help us restore America’s moral core and prepare tomorrow’s leaders. Your gift is tax-deductible. Please use the envelope provided. Thank you for your support. - Jeff Hunt, Director Scan this code with your smartphone to read this and previous issues online. 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.