The Wake

With an oxymoronic slogan like “exposing the intolerant left,” the U’s First Annual Conservative Awareness Week focused more on attacking the right’s ideological opposition than proving that they have anything to offer to students. Remembering, of course, that this was only a week after the GOP’s embarrassing defeat in the midterm Congressional elections—this abortion was probably the best response they could come up with. To make matters worse, the creators of the week decided to soullessly insult the GLBT community, through suggesting the asinine idea that somehow, conservatives are more frequently victimized than gays.

CFACT, the Campus Conservative Cultural Program, The Minnesota Republic and Students for a Conservative Voice, the creators of the weeklong tribute to conservatism, claim that conservatives on campus feel unsafe, unwelcome and fear academic retribution from liberal professors. It’s remotely understandable that conservatives feel that way. Few would argue that they’re a majority at the U. But it seems more like immature whining than a genuine complaint, entirely because of the way they’ve decided to portray themselves. When was the last time a conservative was fired or discharged because of their political beliefs?

Conservative students aren’t a forlorn minority with nowhere to turn, overwhelmed from suffering under the liberal machine. In fact, there isn’t a single registered student organization devoted primarily to furthering the liberal agenda. Sure, there are groups that focus on causes that would fall under the umbrella of progressive politics, but those are groups advocating for healthy discussion or an increase in awareness of a particular issue. In contrast CFACT, which stands for “Collegians for a Constructive Tomorrow” doesn’t have a specific issue to push, preferring to instead make uninformed, blanket statements about their opposition. And let’s talk about that cute little acronym they’ve conveniently chosen. It’s got that word “fact” in it, which makes them appear reputable, but the last time I checked, “for” and “a” didn’t constitute letters in an abbreviation. “CCT” sounds a bit more accurate, but then they’d lose the fair and balanced rhetoric of their demigods.

The week’s Facebook event tagline says that “the GLBT’s feel more comfortable at the U than [conservatives] do.” How so, I’d like to ask conservatives. Conservatives are allowed to marry other conservatives, conservatives are rarely disowned by their families for being conservative, conservatives are allowed to adopt children, conservatives cannot be fired without just cause, conservatives are not discriminated against on a regular basis just for being themselves and the list goes on. Gay people, on the other hand, have very limited rights. They cannot marry, or adopt, or live happily ever after in our society. If being gay today was as apparent as being black was 50 years ago (before the Voting Rights Act was passed in 1965), would our government allow gay people to vote?

The comparison is ludicrous and offensive. The U may not be oppressive and intolerant enough for conservatives to feel comfortable, but that’s a good thing. I don’t want to impose my values or beliefs on others. I don’t expect that gay people, or racial minorities, or even conservatives, should have to live how I do. It’s called the Bill of Rights. But many conservatives are religious and base their political ideology on their religious beliefs, which almost inevitably leads to intolerance.

Republicans spent the last 12 years in control of Congress and had the presidency the last 6, and in their reign of power, little was done in the way of improving our country. We’re trillions of dollars in debt, fighting a futile war going no where and civil liberties are being retracted or infringed upon wherever you look. Why the hell would anyone want to celebrate conservatism?

But that’s just how Laura Gatz, the interim president of CFACT, explained the idea behind the week. She called it a “selfish” week for conservatives to unite and spread their message. “It’s about education,” she said. But of the literature being passed out at their events, little was said in the way of political information. No arguments for conservative ideals were made in their brochures, just CFACT’s extreme stances. The group “maintains that much scientific uncertainty remains over the theory of global warming.” Well, welcome to the 21st century, in which the majority of scientists and rational thinkers believe that climate change is a real phenomenon that threatens the planet, its ecosystems and creatures, humankind included. Maybe conservatives forgot to tell the rest of us that they inherently understand the environment and the Earth’s limits better than well-educated, peer-reviewed scientists do. Or maybe, CFACT and its members have a shaky grasp on reality because CFACT refuses to listen to scientists or experts of different persuasions. The group employs their own research teams and apparently doesn’t take into account the consensus of the scientific community. That certainly seems like a group that is “on the cutting edge of today’s environmental debate,” as asserted in their literature.

CFACT’s environmental ignorance explains why the day they devoted to “Free Market Environmentalism” didn’t discuss any environmental issues- just a ban on “dihydrogen monoxide,” better known as water. The attempt to highlight the general public’s scientific ignorance was surprisingly humorous, but doesn’t fall under the category of environmentalism, to which the group is supposedly dedicated. I agree that students shouldn’t sign petitions supporting a cause they aren’t informed of. But, why is CFACT prioritizing uninformed petition signing when there is a slew of more important environmental issues that could be addressed?

It seems that instead of concentrating on real, threatening problems, CFACT wants to further the right-wing, only-business-matters agenda. It’s disappointing to see students buy into a prejudiced agenda. But perhaps Conservative Awareness Week backfired. Hopefully students can see through a group that can soberly compare themselves and the GLBT community and realize that conservatives aren’t trying to improve society, but actually confine wealth and privilege to themselves.