Knowles At CPAC: ‘There Is No Meeting Halfway Between Truth And Falsehood’

Following speech was modified and delivered by Michael Knowles At the Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland (CPAC), March 4, 2023. 

Many thanks! CPAC is an honour to have you back. Thanks to Matt, and the entire team. invitation. It’s a joy to be there this year as I feel like I could be the sole speaker. He isn’t actively planning on running for President in 2024. Donald Trump, evidently, is running. I’m I noticed that a lot more people are interested in the docket than me: senators and governors. businessmen … Candace. There are many people. Not me. I am too young! These are the political stakes Year for me is not very important, however the political stakes have been high for my country. higher.

This is the reason I think so many people would like to run for President. They are seeing the same thing we see. We all see: Joe Biden is failing on every front when it comes protecting America. It is not exaggerated. It isn’t an easy political joke. This is a fact.

Our country faces mounting threats on every single front: inflation at 40-year highs, illegal immigration at all-time highs, and for the first time since World War II, the outbreak of a major war in Europe — a war that we are funding to the tune of over $100 billion with no end in sight. There is one silver lining to this particular storm cloud: I believe we can now include Zelensky in our tax returns.

Our country is experiencing major life changes. Both the marriage rates and birth rates have fallen to an all-time low. Our nation has seen its life expectancy drop for the first-time in recent history. This is largely due to suicides and overdoses. Even though the nation claims to be one of the world’s most developed, its ability to protect citizens from criminals is not sufficient. Nearly three decades ago, the murder rate was at its highest.

Many conservatives feel the need to get out of their own way. These challenges are too great. Conservative optimists disagree with conservative pessimists in that they believe it can get no worse. However, conservative optimists claim, “Oh yes, they can.” These are just a few of the many things Might They don’t have to get any worse. These problems don’t have to be as difficult as people think. These problems can be solved in a few simple steps.

Ronald Reagan, the patron saint for this conference was once ridiculed because he made this comment. He said that the liberals were a joke. “say we offer simple answers to complex problems. Well, perhaps there is a simple answer — not an easy answer — but simple: If you and I have the courage to tell our elected officials that we want our national policy based on what we know in our hearts is morally right.”

President Reagan did his part. To see his wisdom, we do not need to look back at the 1980s. You don’t have to look far away if you want to see the world today. El Salvador, the country that was considered to be the most dangerous on Earth, used to have been until recently. Nowadays, El Salvador is considered one of the most safe countries in Latin America. Nayib Bukele, El Salvador’s president cut half the country’s murder rates in one year. What was his secret to success? He created a huge prison to house all the criminals. (Pretty simple!) It was very simple! Although it was not easy, it was very simple. Demoralize bad people, support the good ones, and follow a national strategy that is morally sound.

His nation’s extraordinary success is explained by President Bukele. He said his nation was turning back to God — turning back to the most important values: honor, loyalty, courage, love for our fellow man. El Salvador had lost those same values, and they’re now losing their value in America. However, it wasn’t too late. “How,” He asked. “could a nation not rise up with values such as these?”

We can make a difference in one of our weakest nations. Why shouldn’t it? It is possible, I think. But many conservatives do not. Because conservatives, though we have many virtues — we are intelligent, funny, devilishly handsome — sometimes, I am sorry to say, we lack imagination. Low expectations are a problem. Our best hope is to stop the Left where it is at, keep the status quo and not lose more ground. Sometimes it seems that conservatives only ever defend policies the liberals have fought for ten years ago.

This is evident in the fight over transgenderism. There are two sides to the debate: the liberals argue that third graders should be taught how to have sex. On the other, conservatives argue that transgenderism should not begin until fourth grade. It doesn’t make much difference to me.

Transgenderism doesn’t mean that children younger than nine should not be exposed to it. The problem with it is that transgenderism simply isn’t true. Transgenderism presents a false vision of humanity that ignores the importance and reality of sexual diversity and complementarity. It is a problem because transgenderism at all levels will lead to the total destruction of women’s toilets, women’s sports and any other rights that women are entitled to.

It is impossible to have nothing “middle way” when dealing with transgenderism. It is either all or nothing. If transgenderism is true — if men really can become women and women really can become men — then it is true for everybody of all ages. If transgenderism is false, as it is — if men and women really are different, as we are — then it is false for everybody too. It is wrong, and we shouldn’t indulge in it. This indulgence involves eradicating the rights, customs, and freedoms of so many. It is wrong, and we should remove it for the benefit of society, especially the welfare of those who are most vulnerable to the confusion. “transgenderism” from public life — at every level.

Simple. Simple as Don Corleone’s words to Johnny Fontane. “You can act like a man! What’s a matter with you?” Rights are a topic that is often discussed. These rights are crucial. But so are duties. The duty of men to behave as men is a responsibility. This is not difficult. But some people — maybe not in this room, but in the online and television audience — are probably clutching their pearls at such a clear and simple statement. Why? Transgenderism was not a politically relevant issue up until eight years ago, when Barack Obama and some North Carolina liberals proposed that this lunacy be implemented through military policy as well as bathroom ordinances. The notion that any man could have some kind of sexual preference was commonplace eight years ago. “right” You would get laughs from almost everyone if you wore stilettos to read to your child in the library.

A few left-leaning activists worked tirelessly to make this insane idea a reality. What’s most bizarre is the desire of many conservatives to be met halfway. It is impossible to find a compromise between truth, falsehood and reality. It is impossible to be neutral. Either we are gaining or losing ground. Meeting liberals halfway is going to lead us long-term down the path of perdition. This is the history of the past 50 years.

This is how it works: Liberals bring forth a crazy idea. It is briefly opposed by the conservatives. But the liberals remain firm. Then, the conservatives quit. According to the conservatives, “Okay, we’re fine with that idea — but this new idea the liberals are proposing, that’s crazy!”

In the ‘70s, when the feminists started burning their bras and claiming that women need men like fish need bicycles, the conservatives said that was crazy. Soon, however, conservatives conceded. They responded, “Okay, feminism is fine — but all this sexual revolution stuff, all those Village People over there — that’s crazy.” What happened next? They replied quickly, “Okay, most of this sexual revolution stuff is fine, but we’ll never let you liberals redefine marriage — that’s crazy!” What happened next? It was a disaster. The conservatives were able to define marriage while the liberals did not. Many of them gave up. They claimed, “Okay, this radical new definition of marriage is fine — but transgenderism is crazy!” We have now reached the point where many conservatives can accept transgenderism in adults as long as it doesn’t harm the children! Now there are some conservatives who will transgress the children. However, we must not trans the young ones.

It continues like this. Our culture is moving ever more to the left. This was always the case. From the time conservatives accepted the liberals’ premise, it has been so ever since. The moment conservatives accepted the liberals’ premise back in the ‘70s that men and women are interchangeable, it was only a matter of time before we got to transgenderism. The premise makes it all natural. Conservatives were nothing but “progressives driving the speed limit,” My friend Michael Malice will be the one to give me a quote. They “offered voters, not a choice, but only an echo,” Phyllis Schlafly to be quoted

One issue is not one on which conservatives will give in, and that’s because they haven’t given up. This issue was the subject of a historic win that we won this year. That issue is life — protecting babies in the womb from being murdered. Conservatives are not willing to compromise on this issue. Since we were able to understand the importance of this issue, it was impossible for us to compromise with them. We stood firm. Murder is wrong. We were firm and we did not give up. Roe V. Wade is over.

No coincidence, one of our most difficult issues to keep things simple on is the one for which conservatives are able not only to stand their ground but also the one that is the easiest.

It is possible for the country to decline. If we think it is, then national decline is not inevitable. We must not give up on the simple, eternal truths and accept popular and harmful fashions. Cardinal Manning said it: “There is a day to come which will reverse the confident judgments of men.” They say that they offer easy solutions for complex problems. I hope we still do. It is my hope that we will still possess the wisdom and courage to affirm the principle of men acting like men. It is time for criminals to be put in jail. That marriage — real marriage, the kind between a man and woman — is the fundamental building block of society, the basic, unchangeable political unit. That our republic was built for a moral and religious people, and so our country, founded as a shining city on a hill, should always give glory to God and relentlessly pursue what we know in our hearts is morally right — no matter the odds, no matter the consequences, and no matter the passing fashions of the day. Many thanks.

“From Knowles At CPAC: ‘There Is No Meeting Halfway Between Truth And Falsehood’“

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