Tag: opinion

By Maggie Stalnecker

Throughout the past week, we have seen the shutdown of several large banks and their subsequent takeover by the federal government. At the time this article was written, both Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank have been taken over by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and this has created a troublesome outlook for the near future of both the stock and banking markets. Before the shutdown, SVB was the sixteenth largest bank in the United States, and Signature held nearly $110.36 billion in assets and $88.59 billion in deposits. This has created the second and third-largest bank failures in US history, respectively, and sent the financial markets into a tailspin. 

As the fallout from this situation continues, criticism has arisen on both sides of the political aisle. Liberal politicians blamed the actions of former President Donald Trump, claiming that his deregulatory policies, especially his repeal of certain provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act, set the stage for this collapse. Meanwhile, conservative politicians and commentators have already pointed fingers at the supposedly “woke” bank boards they claim have become more focused on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investing and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies, rather than maintaining a capable board of directors. 

The Wall Street Journal recently published an opinion by Andy Hessler headlined “Who Killed Silicon Valley Bank?” Mr. Hessler argued that one of the many reasons for the SVB failure was that its board has been too focused on DEI initiatives. Meanwhile, the extremely popular conservative Instagram personality Rogan O’Handley, who goes by “DC Draino,” flooded his page last Sunday and Monday with calls to “just let the woke banks fail”. At the same time, Fox News commentators like Tucker Carlson doubled down on the same argument, blaming wokeness and woke policies for the bank failures. 

This was a big misstep in messaging from the right during a time when conservatives could have offered solutions, stepped in with leadership alternatives, or allowed the actions of the left to speak for itself. Instead, prominent figureheads on the right, including 2024 presidential hopefuls like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Mr. Trump, chose to use this as an opportunity to point fingers and approach the situation with a smug attitude.

While it is true that the increasing focus on both ESG and DEI policies are unwise and inefficient ways to conduct business, and the actions of the banks, the government, and President Joe Biden should certainly not be praised or glorified, either, what ultimately led to the bank collapses was actually the result of gross mismanagement, complicated financial situations, and an incredible lack of risk management, combined with the current tumultuous state of the US economy. The insistence from conservatives to blame only “wokeness” for this disaster is highly embarrassing and insensitive, especially when the facts prove several other factors are primarily to blame.

As an accounting major, I believe that a primary focus on ESG investing is not only ignorant but is one of the factors leading us toward the social credit score system. I also believe that government bailouts should not be considered and that liberal politicians are too quick to offer government assistance when a crisis arises. 

However, Republican leadership should have done a much better job managing its response to this crisis. Instead, the GOP did what is too often done in politics: pointed fingers and said “I told you so” when something happened while the “other side” was in charge. This could have been a major opportunity to rise above, take action, offer solutions, and be the party providing  Americans–many confused and fearful–clear direction in a tumultuous time.

Something has to change in politics if we want our country to improve. We are a great nation that is currently caught in a downward spiral of name-calling and accusations. Conservatives have an opportunity to set themselves apart and have a chance at gaining power again in the next election cycle. But in order to do that, we have to be different and be the people standing up and acknowledging that there is a mess, while laying out a clear, feasible plan for success. 

The conservative response to this situation was a missed opportunity to rise above and show what real leadership looks like in the face of a disastrous economic failure. Now is the time to take the lead and offer helpful solutions and goals, rather than lambast the left and the president every chance we get.

Ms. Stalnecker is a senior at Chapman University. She is majoring in accounting.

By Ethan Oppenheim

Antisemitism is once again on the rise in the United States. Since it began tracking incidents of hostility toward Jewish people in 1979, the Anti-Defamation League reported that 2021 saw the highest number of incidents on record. This includes 853 counts of vandalism (a 14% increase from 2020), 1,776 instances of harassment (a 43% increase from 2020), and 88 instances of violent assault (a 167% increase from 2020), making up a total of 2,717 incidents and an overall 34% increase. These numbers are part of a larger trend of a five-year upswing in antisemitism.

Antisemitic incidents have also become especially prominent on college campuses. Instances of vandalism, threats, and slurs directed at Jewish students increased more than threefold from 2014 to 2021. A survey sponsored by the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, in 2021 over a four-month period, found that 16 U.S. college students reported being spat on due to their Jewish identity. Further, an increasing number of campus groups and organizations have begun disallowing students who support Israel from speaking or joining their organizations. Many Jewish students have even hesitated from publicly displaying their faith, religious identity, and political beliefs out of fear of harassment from their peers.

The unprecedented rise in hateful and destructive rhetoric, as it pertains to Jews, is the result of dangerous ideas stemming from both ideological extremes within the United States. For example, the American far-right has long espoused Neo-Nazi, white supremacist and ultranationalist sentiments, expressing disdain for Jewish people as “faux white people” and embracing the idea that America should be a white majoritarian and Christian nationalist country. Part of this ultranationalism is opposition to United States support for the state of Israel, and the far-right’s attacks on Israel often incorporate Jewish stereotypes and perpetuate antisemitic conspiracy theories. For example, some antisemites have claimed falsely that Israel conspired against former president Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election.

The far-right also further identifies Jews as the center of a conspiracy theory known as the “Great Replacement Theory,” which perpetuates a racist narrative that the “globalist establishment elites”-whom the far-right commonly associates with Jewish people—are promoting mass immigration and interracial marriage to replace white Americans, take their jobs, and extinguish the white Christian majority population. Hence why the terms “elite” and “globalist” are often levied by those on the far-right, including most notably Steve Bannon, as slurs directed at Jewish people.

The far-left is also guilty of promoting antisemitism. Left-wing antisemitism often arises from Anti-Zionist sentiments and disdain for the state of Israel, perpetuating the misguided and defamatory narrative that Israel is an apartheid state that oppresses the Palestinian population in the region. Numerous studies have concluded that there is a strong relationship between anti-Zionism and antisemitism, which explains why anti-Zionists often assign blame to all Jewish people for what they perceive as injustice and oppression in Israel and take it as an excuse to express hostility toward American Jews. Further, those on the far-left, who tend to despise capitalism, often depict Jews as “greedy capitalists” and blame them for what they perceive as economic injustice. 

Similarly, antisemitism also stems from those on the left who embrace racial/identity politics, including some proponents of Black Lives Matter, a movement which a Tel Aviv University study identifies as complicit in spreading antisemitism in the United States. Proponents often tie their bigoted conception of Jews as “greedy capitalists” to the issue of systemic racism to argue that Jewish people perpetuate an unjust system that keeps black Americans impoverished. Finally, while not necessarily on the political left, some prominent black celebrities such as Kanye “Ye” West, Kyrie Irving, and Nick Cannon have also garnered attention for claiming falsely that blacks are the real Hebrews and that Jewish people robbed them of their identity; an antisemitic movement of extremists known as Black Hebrew Israelites.

Each time politicians on both sides of the aisle, including Congresswomen Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, Ilhan Omar, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, along with celebrities such as Whoopi Goldberg, Mr. West, Kyrie Irving, and Nick Cannon make derogatory comments towards Jews, it greatly reinforces the antisemitic beliefs and biases that many individuals retain, and it legitimizes the harmful conspiracy theories and stereotypes that target Jewish people. Public figures hold great societal influence, and comments such as these generate a toxic culture that facilitates the spread of misinformation and contributes further to this increase in violence against Jews.

As a society, it is imperative that we learn from the mistakes of our past and immediately condemn the violence-inducing antisemitism coming from public figures and politicians on the ideological extremes. Without doing so, we risk antisemitism becoming a norm, making it even more difficult to erase its harmful effects.

Mr. Oppenheim is a junior at Chapman University. He is majoring in political science and philosophy and minoring in film music and history. He is also Jewish.

By Maggie Stalnecker

The political “Red Wave” the country expected ahead of the midterm elections last week turned out to be nothing more than a small tide, even with the highest inflation rates the country has seen in nearly 40 years, unscientific Covid lockdowns, and skyrocketing crime. It turns out that many of the major, pre-election polling outlets, such as CNN and FiveThirtyEight, determined that the economy was sure to be a top issue among voters, and the solution seemed to be to elect Republican candidates to the available House and Senate seats. However, it now seems that other issues and priorities took precedence for voters in many swing states. In fact, Democrats retained control of the Senate, and many Republican candidates who were favored to win their races, such as Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake and Pennsylvania Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz, lost. If last week’s election results confirmed one thing, it’s that Americans have decided that emotionally-charged topics like climate change, abortion, and gun control hold more importance than whether they can afford gas or groceries.   

For example, the states that had abortion propositions on the ballot (California, Kentucky, Vermont, Michigan, and Montana) all saw their respective measures passed in favor of legal abortion procedures. Montana’s ballot measure, which would have simply mandated that a baby born alive after a failed abortion be afforded the medical care of a legal person, was even rejected. While these ballot measures are constitutionally correct in reserving the abortion vote to the states, it is still a sad statement on where our country has decided to place its value. It’s discouraging and disheartening, to say the least, to see unity in this specific area during an election that was otherwise lacking.

Despite the fact that these election results did not come close to meeting expectations for Republicans, all is not lost for conservatives. They recently took over control of the House of Representatives, ending Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s disastrous reign as Speaker of the House. Because of this, Republicans will have more sway in the Legislative branch, dividing government and impeding the Democrats’ agenda. This is not nearly the “Red Wave” that was predicted before the election, but it does signal a political swing among the American people. Candidates like Stacey Abrams and Beto O’Rourke, who have been running for office for several election cycles, were again defeated, showing that those in their respective states still will not be persuaded by condescension and pandering. This is an indication that some voters, at least, are ready for a change and willing to take the necessary action to move toward electing officials with the policies to make that happen.

It will be interesting to see what these results mean for the elections in 2024. With former President Donald Trump announcing his campaign to run for president once again, we are sure to see another election cycle full of emotion, division, and political excitement. As the economy will likely continue on its current path and a probable Supreme Court vacancy will occur over the next few years, it will be up to the American people, yet again, to make a decision about what is important to them in the leaders that we elect. 

In the meantime, Republicans need to take a hard look at who they are putting support behind, which candidates actually have the ability to win over the American people, and how they can unify, rather than divide their own party. Supporting a greater number of candidates that are younger, represent their constituencies well, and can provide viable, practical solutions to the very real problems that Americans are facing is needed and will ultimately win elections. As a country, we must stay informed, know the issues, and study how they will affect us so that we can finally see change happen for the better.

Ms. Stalnecker is a senior at Chapman University. She is majoring in accounting.

By Charlie Sisk

To any young conservative, it should come as no surprise that there is a larger push from the political left to switch America’s economic system to that of a “democratic socialist” one. This mentality was almost unheard of a few decades ago, even when there was a prominence of communists living within the United States. However, widespread support for socialist policies and a shift away from capitalism didn’t happen until Generation Z, comprised of those born between the late ‘90s and 2012, came of age.

The largest factor in this newfound interest in socialism is the lack of knowledge about socialist policies. Many, if not all, individuals in Gen Z grew up with their parents talking about their childhoods during the Cold War and their grandparents sharing stories of the USSR and other socialist countries that sought to destroy the United States. So, why is the new generation so upset with the capitalist system? A strong appeal to the uneducated masses, lack of historical knowledge, the rise of woke-ness, and idealism are just some of the many reasons America is seeing an uptick of young socialists.

“It wasn’t real socialism/communism” is an expression many are familiar with as the main talking point for any socialist; however it was real socialism. In fact, the past has shown us that the socialist USSR reaped the consequences, which included the death of millions, economic ruin, and starving citizens. While socialism might seem good in theory compared to capitalism, the latter has helped millions of people out of poverty, created jobs, aided scientific and medical research, and preserved the rights and freedoms of the individual. As Forbes explains it, socialism is a “three-act ‘people’s romance.’” 

The first act points to socialism’s short run success in the past and how it might function in an economy like Finland, Denmark, or Sweden. In fact, Sweden has begun to roll back much of its historically socialist practices, citing economic ruin. The second act pertains to excuses. Socialists try to find reasons to justify why certain factors, such as how acts of god are the sole reason for widespread food shortages and economic ruin that led to the downfall of a particular socialist system. The third and final act is the aforementioned phrase: “it wasn’t real socialism”.

The left’s incorporation of woke-ness into its political theory is also a leading cause of socialism rising in the new generation. It comes under the guise of “equity” and “progressivism,” both of which originated as leftist social movements but quickly devolved into calls to “get rid of the system” simply because proponents disagree with it. Socialism’s history, however, will clearly show the opposite is true. If equity and equality means that top government officials get bountiful amounts of food and housing while the rest of the country is starving and homeless, then socialism is exactly what the left wants. But why would the American left, which is a self described “party of change” (and has consistently advocated for more and more government control), want to subjugate the American population to socialism? If they truly want to help the American people, they should focus less on trying to get rid of capitalism and more on real solutions to current issues facing the nation.

Is our country in danger? Arguably, yes. The majority of lies propagated by radical leftists stems from decades of misinformation and fallacies. A simple, elementary understanding of history will prove that socialism has not worked, and it never will. Until we can collaborate to combat these dangerous lies, more misinformed young people will continue to gravitate towards these baseless ideas.

For anyone looking for some reading material about this topic, I found a great 2019 book about the rise of socialism in the United Kingdom by Dr. Kristian Niemietz. It can be downloaded for free here.

Mr. Sisk is a freshman at Chapman University. He is majoring in political science.

By Ethan Oppenheim

President Joe Biden’s incompetence is obvious. While some of his daily slip-ups and missteps might be funny, they’re also embarrassing and a sign of weakness, lack of awareness, and ineptitude. They demonstrate Mr. Biden’s inability to lead not just the United States, but the entire free world. Below are just some instances of his disastrous foregin policy thus far:

The Afghanistan withdrawal

In Aug. 2021, the Biden administration coordinated a withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan, and the radical Islamic military and political group known as the Taliban quickly took power, leading to severe instability in the region. The group has since rolled back years of reforms related to democracy, women’s rights, and equality that persisted during United States occupation. In addition to the suffering of millions of Afghani citizens, including but not limited to the Taliban sexually enslaving women and girls, thousands of Americans were left behind, leading to a haphazard rescue effort in which 13 US service members were killed. 

Russo-Ukraine war

In April, 2021, Russia began deploying thousands of troops, as well as weaponry and military equipment, along Ukraine’s border. Mr. Biden’s Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, even acknowledged this was extremely problematic. “We’re now seeing the largest concentration of Russian forces on Ukraine’s borders since 2014,” said Mr. Blinken, when the buildup first began to take place. “That is a deep concern not only to Ukraine, but to the United States.”

Clearly, the Biden administration knew that Russia intended to act maliciously in deploying troops and weaponry along Ukraine’s border. However, the president refused to act until it was too late. He did not send a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin that this kind of reckless behavior would not be tolerated. Mr. Biden’s negotiations on the issue of Ukraine failed at the June 2021 Russia-United States Summit in Geneva, Switzerland. Additionally, Mr. Biden failed to coordinate with our NATO allies to amass protection for Ukraine, which is the least he could have done.

The administration had over 10 months to deter, or at least prepare for, Russia’s impending invasion of Ukraine. Instead, they chose the passive route, refusing to act decisively and allowing Mr. Putin to act maliciously. And unfortunately, this culminated in Russia’s abhorrent, illegal, and destructive invasion of Ukraine.

Mr. Putin’s invasion has caused massive devastation to Ukraine and its people, with several cities being destroyed and millions of civilians being displaced. According to the United Nations, at least 12 million people have fled their homes in Ukraine. Over the course of the war, more evidence of serious war crimes committed by Russia has been uncovered.

While Mr. Biden should be commended for his success in rallying NATO and uniting the Western world behind supporting Ukraine (which should be expected from the leader of the free world), he has backed down from taking decisive action in numerous cases that could have otherwise prevented needless deaths.

After Russia shifted its strategy entirely toward the East, Mr. Biden had the opportunity to persuade NATO to enforce no-fly zones over the Western and Northern regions of Ukraine, especially Kyiv. Not doing so has allowed Russia to target civilians in Kyiv and over 40 other major cities in retaliation for Ukraine striking a major supply line crucial to Russia’s war effort. In addition, the Biden administration has been reluctant to supply Ukraine with longer-range missiles in what is another pathetic example of letting Mr. Putin dictate the terms of the ongoing conflict. 

Mr. Biden’s failure to prevent OPEC+ from cutting oil production

Over the summer, Mr. Biden met with the Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman. One of Mr. Biden’s primary goals was to encourage Saudi Arabia to increase oil production. However, it appears that Mr. Biden knew Saudi Arabia was planning to slash oil production, and the Saudi Foreign Affairs Ministry suggested in a statement that the Biden administration asked them to postpone its decision until after the midterm elections in November.

While Mr. Biden has threatened retaliatory measures against Saudi Arabia, he has yet to follow through on his promise or even explain his plan to punish the Saudis. Mr. Biden’s failure to dissuade Saudi Arabia from tightening the global oil supply will have a devastating impact on American families at the pump. It could have been avoided simply by asserting American strength and influence to deter Saudi Arabia rather than letting a corrupt dictator determine what Americans pay for gas.

Since the start of his presidency, Mr. Biden’s foreign policy strategy has been one of passivity, allowing foreign leaders who show a lack of regard for international law and human rights to dictate international relations. If Mr. Biden’s goal is to maintain world peace and preserve human rights, equality, democracy, and liberal values, clearly his strategy has not worked out thus far.

Mr. Oppenheim is a junior at Chapman University. He is majoring in political science and philosophy and minoring in film music and history.

On Oct. 3, The Hesperian published an abysmal op-ed titled “Martha’s Vineyard Deserved It,” by Jordan Rosenberg, which perfectly characterizes the cognitive and philosophical decline of the political right. There are a myriad of interesting quotes in Mr. Rosenberg’s article. First, he credits illegal immigration as a root cause of “drug overdoses, rape, and murder.” He also blames coastal elites for immigration: “it is about time that East Coast elitists, who live in their privileged bubble, wake up to the problem of illegal immigration.” 

The Republican Party has seemed to follow the mental deterioration of their beloved President Donald Trump, a man who some may describe as a corrupt plutocrat with a bad wig. Statistics show that from 2007 to 2017, the number of undocumented Mexicans living in the US dropped from 6.9 million to 4.8 million; from 2010 to 2019, there was also an overall decline from 11.7 million to 10.3 million illegals in the country. Furthermore, the amount of unauthorized immigrant crossings has been on a steady decline for the last 10 years. In addition, over the past decade, the amount of immigrants living in immigration hotspots like California has decreased by millions. 

Therefore, the Martha’s Vineyard fiasco is a convenient talking point for the right and a distraction from real progress, away from the reactionist “Trump Right” towards centrist moderation. “Moderate” may not be a popular word in 2022, but moderates will continue to be proved correct as the Republican Party disintegrates before our very eyes, and Mr. Rosenberg’s article is a perfect example of this terminal decline. Well, guess what? Mexicans have just as much a right to be in Martha’s Vineyard as wealthy conservatives from Newport Coast do to vacation in Cabo. So why are conservatives so angry about Mexicans visiting Martha’s Vineyard, one of America’s most luxurious places? This indicates a more significant issue with the Republican Party: they claim to represent down-to-Earth, middle America, while pulling funding from billionaires, corporate lobbyists, and the elite. While climate change destroys crops, these same elites drive gas-guzzling monstrosities (think your typical Jeep Cherokee or Cadillac Escalade) while decrying electric vehicles.   

It’s convenient to cherry-pick anecdotal evidence and generalize it to seem part of a more significant trend. Real Republicans are more concerned about pressing issues such as energy prices and America’s stagnating economy than race-baiting. And let’s face it, that’s what this is. Govs. Ron DeSantis and Greg Abbot worry more about political points than real issues, like a child who didn’t get the gift he wanted for Christmas. 

-A Concerned Republican