Awake Not Woke: My Takeaways From CPAC

This past weekend I had the immense pleasure of joining fellow staff members from the Liberty Champion for a long weekend in Orlando, Florida, attending the Conservative Political Action Conference.

Here are my takeaways from this weekend:  

I have attended one political conference before this. CPAC showed me the importance of questioning and truly understanding my political beliefs. 

At the conference, I heard a variety of speakers, some more popular – like former President Donald Trump and Candace Owens – and others whose names you may not think twice about. However, each speaker presented a question or thought I’d never considered before. 

While studying politics, it is easy to get bogged down and enter a cycle of repeated arguments and overused lines. I felt pretty stagnate in my political growth. I felt the same arguments were being copied and pasted – I was missing the “new” factor. 

However, while at CPAC, I began asking questions I’d never asked myself before and found myself thinking more critically. Things like, if the 2020 election was rigged, how will we ever win another election? Or what good does switching to conservative social media (such as Truth Social) do if we are allowing the left to hijack anything they want? 

Questions are jumping-off points to build and grow your beliefs. I didn’t necessarily find answers to these questions, but I’ve been given an opportunity to grow in my field. 

At CPAC, I watched and conducted interviews. Admittedly, I am not as familiar with the digital side of things as I’d like to be, and CPAC was a wonderful way for me to learn while doing.   

When preparing for a career in journalism, it’s important to have as much hands-on experience as possible, and my time at CPAC allowed me to play journalist for the weekend. I felt what it was like to seek out interviewees, write questions and record the interviews. As predominantly an opinion writer, this provided more depth to my knowledge as someone seeking a career in journalism. 

Whether it be my political beliefs or practice within my field, opportunities will present themselves for me to grow. 

You pour out what is being poured into you. If you are never around like-minded individuals, how do you expect to be refreshed? 

I am not saying CPAC was a place with multiple Peyton-type thinkers walking around. Quite the opposite – I hardly felt like I could relate with a lot of the attendees. However, that is the beauty of this conference.

CPAC reinstalled the beauty of conservatism. Conservatives strive to conserve the Constitution and the morals of the Founding Fathers. However, Conservatives may disagree with the role the government should play in
preserving morals.

Not all Conservatives are the same. 

I may disagree with one speaker but absolutely love the next. Regardless, I was at a conference where admitting I supported Trump would not leave me running from an angry crowd. I met and worked closely with individuals who share the same burning passion for the Constitution as I do. 

At CPAC, I could be me.

It built a bridge among the stereotypical Conservatives. The idea that Conservatives are white, straight men, who are also racists and bigots when, on the stage and in the crowd, you saw individuals across the racial, religious and in some cases political spectrum. 

Name another conference where both former President Trump and Democratic congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard speak and both feel equally welcome. 

Whether Democrats should be allowed to speak at conservative conferences is a topic for another day, but this does not take away from the beauty that community provides. While former President Trump spoke, I did not agree with every word he said. However, I had the greatest honor even being in the same room as a former president. 

The biggest critique I had for the CPAC weekend was the fine line individuals rode for the inclusion of church
and state.

It is important to note that religion belongs in politics, but politics is not a religion. 

Some attendees wore clothing with the saying, “Trump save America.” Even speakers verged on advocating for a man-made savior. As Christians, we acknowledge the only savior we have is Christ. 

No political ideology can save us from our sin. 

Trump cannot save America. At the end of the day, only Christ can save America. He can, and I believe has in the past, used presidents and other politicians to carry out his will. However, he should be the one getting all the glory. 

It can be very easy to get caught up in political ideology and lose sight of the bigger picture. However, we must keep Christ as the center of our life and allow him to work through us for his glory – not a politician’s. 

“Our freedom comes from God, not from any other person, not from anyone in the government,” said Tulsi Gabard at the CPAC conference.

Mackenzie is the opinion editor. Follow her on Twitter