Samantha Apanasewicz
Pop Trends Columnist
“Conservatives are weak and don’t stand up for what they believe in. They give in to the left and go along with the current culture we see in America instead of standing up to the horrible things we see destroying and corrupting our nation,” said Will Witt in “How to Win Friends and Influence Enemies.”
In his introduction, Witt muses over his life from the perspective of his various political and religious beliefs, or lack thereof, and how they influenced his life over time. Growing up, his father was imprisoned, leaving his older brother to be his only role model. So, when his “omnipotent” brother taught him the ways of the “Church of Leftism,” he took it seriously to heart.
He elaborates further on his journey, telling of his transition from being a liberal, God-less college sophomore to a conservative, God-fearing college-dropout working for various conservative companies throughout the U.S. He briefly mentions his various online successes as a transition into his overarching point: the conservatives of this country are spineless.
There is a stigma with conservatives nowadays that affirms believers in their ways, immobilizing them in their comfort zones: “I can’t stand up for what I believe in because it’s too hard” or “I’ll be better off if I just keep quiet.”
When Jesus saw his father’s house being used as a market, did he keep silent, justifying it by saying, “It would be better off if I didn’t make a scene. I know how the religious authorities feel about me and my teachings”? I think we all know the Bible story.
As it has been modeled for centuries before us, there is no strength in silence.
“The same people who are worried about what the left will do to them if they speak up should be far more worried about what the left will do to them if they don’t speak up now,” Witt writes.
Silence is perceived as compliance, whether we feel like the compliance is justified or not. In cases where it is not, which, as Witt describes, is right now, we need to actively stand up for our beliefs.
“We are in a civil war for ideas in this country, and the only way to fight back is to actually fight back. In all these situations of doubt and trial, you have to stand up for what you know is right, or I guarantee everything you hold dear will be lost,” he says.
Here at Franciscan, we have been thoroughly conditioned in highly religious ways of thought, all stemming from our Catholic faith. I know we all experience different levels of culture shock after we return home from campus.
How many of us alter our lifestyles between our hometown and Franciscan? If we truly believe that every faith-filled aspect of campus is important, why don’t we carry that standard back with us home? It is because of the stares, whispers and looks we get after dispersing back out of Ohio.
Whether it’s as slight as not hugging someone in greeting or as deep as forgoing praying before meals, we subconsciously buckle under the secularized culture our world has adopted.
“It is easy to stay silent and say nothing, but I promise you that if you choose to do that, America will be lost,” Witt writes. “There is no better time to stand up and be a fighter than right now, and I fear that if we don’t, our very way of life, the traditional American values we know and need, will be gone forever.”