(National Interest)
One afternoon during my sophomore year at the University of Virginia, I had to attend a presentation from the college’s residential artist for an art class that I was taking.
As I sat down in the auditorium, I listened intently to the artist, hoping to gain some insight into his creativity.
Instead, the situation quickly became political.
The artist asked any “secret conservatives” in the room to raise their hands. Not simply “conservatives,” mind you. He simply assumed that any conservative sitting there would be ashamed of their beliefs, hence the word “secret.”
I had nothing to hide about my conservative views, so I put up my hand up and claimed my beliefs. I thought I would then learn something relevant to the class .
Instead, I got an earful about the failures of conservatives, ranging from immigration to our “homophobic” president and why traditional values were wrong.
When I left the room, I was angry. All I could think about was the impossible situation he had just put me in. Read more