A WEEKEND WITH THE RIGHT.
American politics has become the core of a vast amount of identities in America. I spent my entire weekend observing how such a polarizing concept (politics) could become the driving force of a person’s identity, personality, and existence. Turning Point USA held its student action summit in Tampa, Florida from July 22–24; which presented renowned guest speakers like former United States President Donald J. Trump, former and iconic neurosurgeon Ben Carson, and current US Senator Ted Cruz. At this summit, I heard about cancel culture, conservative-republican culture, religious culture, western culture, and even MAGA culture. I concluded that the culture of extreme cognitive dissonance was one of the cultures that weren't acknowledged (sarcasm); the one that relates to the actual theme and structure of the summit.
Charlie Kirk, the founder of TPUSA, said that SAS 2022 was a summit for patriots who love their country. He constantly emphasized the importance of freedom and liberty, while simultaneously presenting hypocritical views. For example, he presented a story where he explained the conversations he had with republican politicians about the Chinese Communist Party owning farmland in America. He stated that the Republicans were more worried about having a free market than favoring American citizens. And according to Kirk, after the conversations, all of the Republican politicians responded with an…