Letter: ISU College Republicans show lack of awareness
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April 18, 2018
The Iowa State College Republicans as their last action of the 2017-18 school year demonstrated a disappointing lack of awareness in a questionable display on April 18. Their investment in this misleading display shows a complete lack of awareness of current politics and real issues Americans face every day.
Their demonstration consisted of mainly Chinese flags in a small six foot by six foot square outside of Parks Library as a dedication to “victims of Communism” from around the world. The only information explaining the point of the display were three wet signs citing statistics from a discredited book attributing millions of deaths in foreign nations to the economic system.
Politically involved students should advocate instead for issues that are actually hurting our state, country and world today. In our country, 45,000 people die every year from a lack of healthcare or health insurance yet the Iowa State Republicans support the president’s calls to repeal the Affordable Care Act. In our country, 34,000 people die every year from gun violence, so will the Iowa State Republicans join the April 20 walk out and support common sense gun reform? Additionally, 500,000 people have died in the Syrian Civil War, which President Trump and the Republican administration seem intent to exacerbate.
This demonstration could have been meaningful if the Iowa State College Republicans hadn’t chosen to ignore the authoritarian nature of Communist regimes across the world that was at the root of their hostility. Political scientists from Harvard have identified four warning signs that indicate if someone poses a dangerous authoritarian risk to a nation, and Donald Trump meets the criteria in all four.
The four markers are:
- Rejecting or showing weak commitment to democratic rules.
- Denying the legitimacy of political opponents.
- Encouraging or tolerating violence.
- A readiness to stifle or limit civil liberties of opponents,including media.
The Iowa State College Republicans ought to do some soul searching, and Iowa State students should look elsewhere if they’re politically motivated.
