The “#WalkAway Campaign” held a discussion on March 21 as a part of their “College Campus Thought Revolution Tour.” The event was held at the Markee Pioneer Student Center and was sponsored by the Wisconsin Federation of College Republicans.
The “#WalkAway Campaign” is described as a grassroots movement founded by former liberal, Brandon Straka, dedicated to providing a place to share testimonials and personal journeys about “walking away from the left.”
The speakers included Straka, Gothix, Natalie Beisner and Darrell and Zakiya Cooper. They shared their personal stories and answered questions from the audience at the end of the session.
Something almost all the panelists stated was that the media had “manipulated” their beliefs to fit a more Democratic way of thinking. While it is completely true that media outlets present biased or even incorrect information, it is essential to understand that individuals have their own agency when it comes to their beliefs.
Blaming one’s opinions on media manipulation grossly oversimplifies the entire process of opinion formation. People have the ability to seek out diverse perspectives, fact-check information and engage in critical analysis to arrive at well-rounded conclusions instead of believing whatever they hear at face value.
The speakers inferred that the Democratic Party is full of false or destructive information and therefore should not be trusted. However, both Democrats and Republicans have been known to misinform or spin narratives to suit their political agendas.
According to their own argument, neither party should be trusted, but all of them stated they support the Republican party and/or Donald Trump. To fully condemn one political party and fully trust another is inherently hypocritical because they are different sides of the same coin; they both lie and mislead their audiences to get what they want.
The decision to support a political party or figure should be based on an evaluation of their policies, values and actions instead of perceived honesty or trustworthiness. Blindly following a political party without critically analyzing its positions and practices contributes to the extreme party divide and polarization of America, and therefore should be stopped immediately.
If the “#Walkaway Campaign” really cared about the state of America, they should be encouraging their followers to critically analyze both parties, not just the one they believe is evil.