Calling All Conservatives
By Olivia Jaber
Unsurprisingly, just as President Joe Biden has taken the reins at the White House, hostility towards conservatives is at an all-time high. Over the last month, the U.S. has gotten drastically more divisive, with many Democrats unable to imagine a future where they can, or even should, co-exist with conservatives. Though the treatment of conservatives was hostile with former President Donald J. Trump in office, big tech companies, universities, and corporations alike are taking calculated steps to silence conservative voices and make conservative voters feel unwelcome in their country. Whether that’s in beauty stores, corporate America, or the classroom.
Harassing, silencing, shaming, and ex-communicating conservatives from the public square edge our country closer to a political point of no return. With each attack, the very freedoms, and dialogue that made the U.S. the world’s most inspiring and successful foray into representative democracy crumble further.
In order to reclaim a stake in the public forum, in the pursuit of bridging the political divide, conservatives must be ready to create institutions independent from the “liberal omnisphere (the liberal domination of every governing societal institution).” If conservatism is to continue to exist, we cannot disappear into the shadows and allow ourselves to be silenced or shamed. We must continue to fight against the desire to exile a group of people for their beliefs while the Left charges forth. We can no longer exist under the name “silent majority.” Instead, we need to proudly convey our beliefs to our fellow neighbors while continuing to instill those very beliefs in our children.
So what do we do? We build up institutions that align with our values of protecting our families, freedoms, and faith. We build our communities by strengthening our families. And we challenge the liberal narrative at every turn by providing alternative facts and solutions. These next four years have the potential to divide us further on the grounds of culture, skin color, and political ideology, or they have the potential to bind us together. But unity will never be achieved by conservative silencing. It’s on conservatives to ensure that conservative voices get heard and stay relevant.
Building Strong Family Structures and Communities
Nothing scares the Left more than a strong family unit. Finding someone with your values, marrying them, and starting a family that values faith, freedom, and this country is our best line of defense against the radical Left. While the Left sees the family structure as outdated, unimportant, and symbolic of privilege, creating a strong family is one of the most important jobs we have as citizens. At the end of the day, the family is our most basic unit of societal organization and our most prized effort in ensuring future generational success. After the family, our communities are our second line of defense. If we seek to make amends nationally, we must first do so in our communities. We need to recognize that common ground far transcends the bind of politics, and we need to reach out and cultivate community understanding and cooperation at an apolitical level. Whether this is done through church, sports, or schools, our communities are the real battleground for our nation’s health and the place we can most strongly make an impact.
Challenging Institutions
If the media wants to lock us out of the room, we can’t just twiddle our thumbs in the hallway, hoping that they’ll eventually let us back in— we must find new rooms. While popular conservative accounts are dropping from social media platforms like flies, Democratic lawmakers across the country are turning a blind eye to the predatory cartel activities of our big tech overlords. This isn’t just about finding an alternative to Twitter or Facebook, but institutions across our lives, from higher education to banking. We can’t trust academic institutions that unabashedly support one political party and employ professors who only value one perspective. We can’t trust banks and business enterprise software that withhold their services for partisan politics. We need to challenge them, legally, as we’re doing, and create new businesses. Businesses that value freedom, political-neutrality, and who protect their customers.
Voicing Our Opinions
You might recall the Harper’s Magazine letter written by creatives that flooded the internet back in August. That letter was a cry against cancel culture because it deprives creatives of good-faith disagreements and freedom of expression. Our society is in desperate need of more collective resistance like this letter. If there’s anything that Donald Trump can teach America and conservatives at large, it’s that cancel culture is only as powerful as you let it be in your life. The Left tried to cancel Trump every day, and they never succeeded— why? Because he didn’t care. Like Ben Shapiro always says “facts don’t care about your feelings.” If conservatives want a piece of the political pie, we cannot allow ourselves to be silenced by the fear of cancellation. No doubt, it’s a daunting proposition, but this silent fear among everyone outside of the radical Left will continue to be our intellectual prison for as long as we allow it. If we want to see progress and change outside of the liberal mainstream, we must be willing to fight the Left for it.
Protecting Our Liberty
We need to actively stand up to movements and propositions that silence and discriminate against conservatives, like big tech censorship. Additionally, our lawmakers need to work harder than ever to ensure legal protection against political discrimination. Now more than ever, conservatives must show themselves and take a stand against the very real tyranny that persists today. Our livelihoods are at stake— while the Left might not want to protect our right to speak freely, they can be sure that their precedent will backfire. Over 74 million Americans voted for President Donald Trump. Yet, the Left asserts that this is a delusional and illegitimate voting bloc that requires “reeducation” into silence and submission. We need to band together like never before to ensure that our freedoms will not be infringed upon and our grievances won’t be ignored. In the wake of such a tumultuous time, we must work harder to fight for our beliefs and American values. When conservatives get knocked down, we rise up twice as strong.
Seeking the Truth
Be selective about the news you consume and the sources you trust—demand more from your media. We must pay close attention to the media’s manipulation of information and the mistreatment of conservatives. We must readily question and fight against the institutions that are forming the anti-reason liberal brigade. Just as our government relies on a system of checks and balances, American thought should as well. A media without dissent and questioning is a media with too much power over the people.
Putting Your Money Where Your Mouth Is
From the press to the universities to big corporations, the message for conservatives is to sit back, shut up, and conform, or face the brutal reality of getting ostracized (or worse) for your political beliefs. Donate to conservative causes and support small businesses. Reject corporations like Sephora and Amazon, who have hopped on the political bandwagon to exclude conservatives once more. We should seek out and commend institutions that go against the grain, rather than allowing our lives to be ruled by an out-of-touch agenda. Liberals base their shopping decisions on their politics all the time— conservatives should too. Shop locally, shop conservatively, and buy American.
The last and arguably most important point is to have faith in our cause. Do not be disheartened by the challenges conservatives currently face, get excited. There’s never been a more exciting time to be a politically engaged American, and the potential of our actions today could shape our country and political discourse for generations to come. We owe it to ourselves, our fellow conservatives, and our country to not go gentle into this fight. As President Reagan stated— “If we lose freedom here, there is no place to escape to. This is the last stand on earth.” It is up to conservatives to fight for America, our Constitution, and our way of life. To my fellow conservatives, stay strong, don’t back down, and fight for the survival of this great nation, because we only have one America.
Photo via The New York Times
