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Glenn's Show Prep

Is Scott Turner the man to lead the GOP into a new era?

December 08, 2014
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The Glenn Beck Program

This morning on radio, Glenn was joined by Scott Turner. Turner is a former NFL player for the Redskins, the Broncos and the Chargers and is currently a Texas state representative, running for Speaker of the House against Joe Strauss.

Glenn strongly believes that Turner could be the man to lead the GOP to a new era. Glenn described Turner as "a good Christian man who really truly is, I think the leader for the future. And would be tremendous to have as our Speaker of the House."

When discussing why Turner considers it so important to be on the record promising to be accountable for all his promises he said:

"We go to our constituents when we're trying to be elected and telling our constituents who we are, what we're about, and our conservative values and principles. And so I think that when you vote on — I know when you vote, you have an opportunity to say, hey, this is who I am. This is — I'm going to do it what I said I'm gonna do and I'm gonna vote. I'm going to put my name on it and be accountable for everything I do in this House as your elected representative and your servant leader. So I think it's vitally important that myself and all 150 of our members take that vote."

Watch to see Glenn and Turner tackle some hard hitting topics such as the ongoing protests, homeschooling and the progressive movement.

GLENN: We have to have Scott Turner on. He was in the NFL. He played for the Redskins. What a racist. Played for the Redskins, the Broncos, the Chargers. His name is Scott Turner. He's a Texas state representative and he's actually now running for Speaker of the House against Joe Strauss, who Joe Strauss is a complete and total fraud. He is a rhino, entirely a rhino. And I think Scott Turner is the guy to lead the state and the GOP into just a new unbelievable era. And that election happens on January 13th. But Scott is here. Hi, Scott, how are you?

TURNER: Hi, Glenn, how are you doing, brother? Thanks for having me.

GLENN: You bet. Can I take you to the NFL and tell me what you thought about "I can't breathe" —

PAT: "Hands Up Don't Shoot" demonstrations and all this stuff.

GLENN: All these things happening in the NFL?

TURNER: Yeah, you know, and obviously these guys are — you know, demonstrating their right to express themselves. But you know, as you were saying before, it would be great to be informed on really what happened and really what's going on, because an informed people is a more powerful people. And as far as these guys raising their hands and all these slogans and that that and the other, I'm not in agreement with it. I wouldn't do it. Obviously they have the right to do it. But I think that as an NFL player, the stakes for us are higher to be role models and examples and also to be educated and informed in order so we can educate and inform other people. And I think that Ben watson, the tight end for the New Orleans Saints, if you saw what he wrote in his description on Facebook, I think was a great illustration or a great example of yes, you could be confused, you can be frustrated, and you can be embarrassed, but also he brought it down to say, you know what, it's not a skin problem. It's a sin problem. And the gospel is the answer. And it deals directly with the character of our society and the walls of our society. That's what we really need to be concentrating on.

GLENN: So let's talk about the state of the union and the state of our state.

TURNER: Yes.

GLENN: We're in real trouble.

TURNER: We are.

GLENN: And the — I for one, Scott, I mean, you know, obviously people notice when people are black and white, et cetera, et cetera, but for the most part, I think my generation, I'm 50. I think my generation doesn't really see color and I know the 30-something and 20-somethings definitely don't see color. Yet we're going in the opposite direction as a nation.

TURNER: Right.

GLENN: How do we fix this, Scott?

TURNER: Well, you know, again, I think — and that's a great question. But I think people that have been given a platform such as yourself and me and others that we have to come out and be bold in our convictions and encourage society and encourage people in our sphere of influence to educate themselves, to get to know people who don't look like you, and also not to believe everything that you read or see in the media, because the media's job is to make stuff the same as it is not.

You know, perception is everything. And it's the cruelest form of reality. But people need to continue to not only educate themselves but deal with people that don't look like

them. If you're a white guy, go talk to a black guy and vice-versa. Whatever your culture or skin color may be. But I think guys like you and I and others who have these tremendous platforms we need to step out and be the greatest examples of what we can. It doesn't matter what your skin color is. It's the content of your character. And also being careful of believing everything that the media says because the media has a huge part in spinning this and making the hype of what it really is not.

GLENN: Talking to Scott Turner, a former player for the Redskins, Broncos, Chargers, now state Texas representative. And running for Speaker of the House. And Tea Party favorite. He's 42 years old. The Dallas County GOP just endorsed him for speaker of the House, among other Republican groups, which I think is phenomenal. Here we are looking at Texas, becoming another California. And they are working in the mountain west, Idaho, Montana is under attack, Colorado is — is another California. And they're trying to do this here in Texas. How serious — I don't see Texans really understanding how bad this is. Can you explain how bad this is in Texas?

TURNER: Yeah, you're talking about the proving movement in Texas. The Progressive movement —

GLENN: Yeah.

TURNER: You know what, Glenn, it's kind of a blessing and a curse in Texas that we're very fortunate and we're doing good here in job, economically, job creation. And a lot of times, you know, people can become complacent and say, that will never happen here, that will never happen to me. But the reality of it is is there is a great movement, you know, to turn Texas, not just blue but to make Texas like other states in our country. And that's why I've been shouting from the rooftops and I know you have and others, that listen, the reality of it is that we're doing fine right now but we are under attack from people who don't believe like us, that want to turn Texas into a liberal, Progressive state. And so I would implore people to pay attention. To get active and to get activated in their communities and making sure that Texas remains not just the most conservative and red state, but the Lone Star State that doesn't look like California or Oregon or some of these other states.

GLENN: I have to tell you, we — you know, we went out to vote and Pat and I both had to vote against a Republican who was running for school board. She doesn't believe in school choice. She doesn't believe in home-schooling. She doesn't believe in vouchers. I mean, you know, she was —

PAT: A citizen of the world type.

GLENN: Right.

TURNER: Is she from Texas?

GLENN: Yeah, she's from Texas.

PAT: Yeah.

GLENN: I mean, and she's a Republican.

TURNER: Right.

GLENN: People don't understand that the Republicans in some -- in some places and in some cases are just as bad.

TURNER: Right.

GLENN: And they're hiding in our system.

TURNER: Yeah, and you know what, Glenn, there's a lot of smoke and mirrors going on. If you guys recall back about 10 years ago when Washington had — the Republicans had the house, the Senate, and the presidency, and there was really no monumental legislation that was passed for the betterment of our country to speak of. Well, Texas, if we can, paints the same picture. We're kind of in a similar situation, where we have a new governor a new lieutenant governor, a new AG, new comptroller, AG commissioner, a 98-member majority, Republican majority in the House and eight new conservative members in the Senate. So we're primed, you know, to do monumental things and have monumental legislation here in Texas but there is an establishment guard of the Republican party that doesn't want to rock the boat. They want everything to be complacent and they think the status quo is good enough and that's like guys like me running for speaker, being in the house, are challenging the status quo and challenging the complacency.

GLENN: Why is it important for you to be speaker?

TURNER: As I was saying, Glenn, legislation, like school choice, to give kids — we got 300,000 kids in Texas that are in school districts that are underperforming but we're more concerned with the institution of education than we are with the children. But we talk about a skilled and qualified workforce. Well, school choice legislation dies in committee and dies in calendar under our unity leader or our current leadership. You've got stuff like comprehensive border security taking away the magnets for people to come here illegally, like implementing e-verifying, getting rid of sanctuary cities. When those things die in calendar, they don't come to the floor. So you have to have leadership that's bold and courageous to make those decisions and make this type of legislation to the floor for debate and the vote because Texans are calling for it. Those are the things that are going to secure our state, for the posterity of our state and prosperity of our state. But you have to have leadership that's willing to go against the political fray and bring things to the floor.

GLENN: That was part of the floor, Joe Strauss, with Common Core. He was not allowing certain things to be brought to the floor that would have stopped some of the things that were going on.

TURNER: Right.

PAT: Tell us —

TURNER: I'm sorry.

PAT: Tell us some of the other differences between you and Joe Strauss, Scott.

TURNER: Okay. Well, one, obviously is, you know, and if you look at my voting record and you look at what I've been able to do in the House, you know, I believe that I'm a true conservative leader and a leader, a servant leader that has the heart and the ear of the people in the forefront. And you know, I came into the House to make a difference, not just in my district, but in our state. And the way you make that difference is by standing on your principles and your convictions and not being one who can be bought or sold out, you know, to the special interests or to the lobby or what have you. And I think that separates the speaker and I, you know what, I'm conservative. You know, I don't just talk about it but I have a record of being conservative. And I have a servant's heart as far as leadership, whereby it's not about one man, it's not about the speaker, but it's about the team of people, you know. There's a lot of talent and skill in the House that can be utilized to decentralize the power whereby we can serve our constituents and our state better. So I think those are some of the most notable differences that we have. And to, you know -- I like to come from a business approach and not from a political approach. And running the House efficiently going forward.

GLENN: Scott, would you be the first black Speaker of the House in Texas?

TURNER: Yes, sir, I believe so.

GLENN: A conservative, a Tea Party conservative.

PAT: Uh-huh.

GLENN: I mean, again, and — I don't know anybody who knows Scott, who looks at him and says, he's a black man, maybe we should — he's not. He's a good Christian man who really truly is I think the leader for the future. And would be tremendous to have as our Speaker of the House. I'm going to give you the audience a number here. I want you to call your state rep if you live in Texas at 512-463-0063. 512-463-0063. Dan Patrick running the Senate and you tell your — you tell your state rep that you think Scott Turner should be the next Speaker of the House. 512-463-0063. What are the odds, Scott? How does this work here?

TURNER: Well, you know, we'll vote on January the 13th. That's the first day of session. And myself and other members are calling for a record vote on the House floor. And that will be the first vote that we take where you vote on the rules and then you vote on how you will vote for the speaker. And then we take the vote for who's going to be the next leader of the House. And I think that's very important, Glenn, because to me, it's liberation. You know, there's no more hiding. There's no more smoke and mirrors. They're accountability for every member. We have to vote anyway. That's what we do. We vote on legislation. We take input from our constituents so this is the same.

GLENN: Why is it important that it's on the record for you?

TURNER: I think it's important because one, it's accountability. You know, and you know, we go to our constituents when we're trying to be elected and telling our constituents who we are, what we're about, and our conservative values and principles. And so I think that when you vote on — I know when you vote, you have an opportunity to say, hey, this is who I am. This is — I'm going to do it what I said I'm gonna do and I'm gonna vote. I'm going to put my name on it and be accountable for everything I do in this House as your elected representative and your servant leader. So I think it's vitally important that myself and all 150 of our members take that vote.

GLENN: Great." Scott Turner. Thank you very much. Good luck.

TURNER: I appreciate that.

GLENN: You bet. Bye-bye. I think this guy is exceptional and if you live in Texas, please call your state rep and tell them to vote for Scott Turner at 972-224-6795. And tell everybody you know. I have met with him several times off the air over the last year and a half. And I think he is truly exceptional. David Barton introduced me to him. He is a -- his soul is in really good shape. He is unafraid. He's young. He has no secret baggage. He doesn't care. He doesn't care. He's exactly what Texas needs as Speaker of the House. Scott Turner, 512-463-0063.

A nation unravels when its shared culture is the first thing to go

Spencer Platt / Staff | Getty Images

Texas now hosts Quran-first academies, Sharia-compliant housing schemes, and rapidly multiplying mosques — all part of a movement building a self-contained society apart from the country around it.

It is time to talk honestly about what is happening inside America’s rapidly growing Muslim communities. In city after city, large pockets of newcomers are choosing to build insulated enclaves rather than enter the broader American culture.

That trend is accelerating, and the longer we ignore it, the harder it becomes to address.

As Texas goes, so goes America. And as America goes, so goes the free world.

America has always welcomed people of every faith and people from every corner of the world, but the deal has never changed: You come here and you join the American family. You are free to honor your traditions, keep your faith, but you must embrace the Constitution as the supreme law of the land. You melt into the shared culture that allows all of us to live side by side.

Across the country, this bargain is being rejected by Islamist communities that insist on building a parallel society with its own rules, its own boundaries, and its own vision for how life should be lived.

Texas illustrates the trend. The state now has roughly 330 mosques. At least 48 of them were built in just the last 24 months. The Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex alone has around 200 Islamic centers. Houston has another hundred or so. Many of these communities have no interest in blending into American life.

This is not the same as past waves of immigration. Irish, Italian, Korean, Mexican, and every other group arrived with pride in their heritage. Still, they also raised American flags and wanted their children to be part of the country’s future. They became doctors, small-business owners, teachers, and soldiers. They wanted to be Americans.

What we are watching now is not the melting pot. It is isolation by design.

Parallel societies do not end well

More than 300 fundamentalist Islamic schools now operate full-time across the country. Many use Quran-first curricula that require students to spend hours memorizing religious texts before they ever reach math or science. In Dallas, Brighter Horizons Academy enrolls more than 1,700 students and draws federal support while operating on a social model that keeps children culturally isolated.

Then there is the Epic City project in Collin and Hunt counties — 402 acres originally designated only for Muslim buyers, with Sharia-compliant financing and a mega-mosque at the center. After public outcry and state investigations, the developers renamed it “The Meadows,” but a new sign does not erase the original intent. It is not a neighborhood. It is a parallel society.

Americans should not hesitate to say that parallel societies are dangerous. Europe tried this experiment, and the results could not be clearer. In Germany, France, and the United Kingdom, entire neighborhoods now operate under their own cultural rules, some openly hostile to Western norms. When citizens speak up, they are branded bigots for asserting a basic right: the ability to live safely in their own communities.

A crisis of confidence

While this separation widens, another crisis is unfolding at home. A recent Gallup survey shows that about 40% of American women ages 18 to 39 would leave the country permanently if given the chance. Nearly half of a rising generation — daughters, sisters, soon-to-be mothers — no longer believe this nation is worth building a future in.

And who shapes the worldview of young boys? Their mothers. If a mother no longer believes America is home, why would her child grow up ready to defend it?

As Texas goes, so goes America. And as America goes, so goes the free world. If we lose confidence in our own national identity at the same time that we allow separatist enclaves to spread unchecked, the outcome is predictable. Europe is already showing us what comes next: cultural fracture, political radicalization, and the slow death of national unity.

Brandon Bell / Staff | Getty Images

Stand up and tell the truth

America welcomes Muslims. America defends their right to worship freely. A Muslim who loves the Constitution, respects the rule of law, and wants to raise a family in peace is more than welcome in America.

But an Islamist movement that rejects assimilation, builds enclaves governed by its own religious framework, and treats American law as optional is not simply another participant in our melting pot. It is a direct challenge to it. If we refuse to call this problem out out of fear of being called names, we will bear the consequences.

Europe is already feeling those consequences — rising conflict and a political class too paralyzed to admit the obvious. When people feel their culture, safety, and freedoms slipping away, they will follow anyone who promises to defend them. History has shown that over and over again.

Stand up. Speak plainly. Be unafraid. You can practice any faith in this country, but the supremacy of the Constitution and the Judeo-Christian moral framework that shaped it is non-negotiable. It is what guarantees your freedom in the first place.

If you come here and honor that foundation, welcome. If you come here to undermine it, you do not belong here.

Wake up to what is unfolding before the consequences arrive. Because when a nation refuses to say what is true, the truth eventually forces its way in — and by then, it is always too late.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Shocking: AI-written country song tops charts, sparks soul debate

VCG / Contributor | Getty Images

A machine can imitate heartbreak well enough to top the charts, but it cannot carry grief, choose courage, or hear the whisper that calls human beings to something higher.

The No. 1 country song in America right now was not written in Nashville or Texas or even L.A. It came from code. “Walk My Walk,” the AI-generated single by the AI artist Breaking Rust, hit the top spot on Billboard’s Country Digital Song Sales chart, and if you listen to it without knowing that fact, you would swear a real singer lived the pain he is describing.

Except there is no “he.” There is no lived experience. There is no soul behind the voice dominating the country music charts.

If a machine can imitate the soul, then what is the soul?

I will admit it: I enjoy some AI music. Some of it is very good. And that leaves us with a question that is no longer science fiction. If a machine can fake being human this well, what does it mean to be human?

A new world of artificial experience

This is not just about one song. We are walking straight into a technological moment that will reshape everyday life.

Elon Musk said recently that we may not even have phones in five years. Instead, we will carry a small device that listens, anticipates, and creates — a personal AI agent that knows what we want to hear before we ask. It will make the music, the news, the podcasts, the stories. We already live in digital bubbles. Soon, those bubbles might become our own private worlds.

If an algorithm can write a hit country song about hardship and perseverance without a shred of actual experience, then the deeper question becomes unavoidable: If a machine can imitate the soul, then what is the soul?

What machines can never do

A machine can produce, and soon it may produce better than we can. It can calculate faster than any human mind. It can rearrange the notes and words of a thousand human songs into something that sounds real enough to fool millions.

But it cannot care. It cannot love. It cannot choose right and wrong. It cannot forgive because it cannot be hurt. It cannot stand between a child and danger. It cannot walk through sorrow.

A machine can imitate the sound of suffering. It cannot suffer.

The difference is the soul. The divine spark. The thing God breathed into man that no code will ever have. Only humans can take pain and let it grow into compassion. Only humans can take fear and turn it into courage. Only humans can rebuild their lives after losing everything. Only humans hear the whisper inside, the divine voice that says, “Live for something greater.”

We are building artificial minds. We are not building artificial life.

Questions that define us

And as these artificial minds grow sharper, as their tools become more convincing, the right response is not panic. It is to ask the oldest and most important questions.

Who am I? Why am I here? What is the meaning of freedom? What is worth defending? What is worth sacrificing for?

That answer is not found in a lab or a server rack. It is found in that mysterious place inside each of us where reason meets faith, where suffering becomes wisdom, where God reminds us we are more than flesh and more than thought. We are not accidents. We are not circuits. We are not replaceable.

Europa Press News / Contributor | Getty Images

The miracle machines can never copy

Being human is not about what we can produce. Machines will outproduce us. That is not the question. Being human is about what we can choose. We can choose to love even when it costs us something. We can choose to sacrifice when it is not easy. We can choose to tell the truth when the world rewards lies. We can choose to stand when everyone else bows. We can create because something inside us will not rest until we do.

An AI content generator can borrow our melodies, echo our stories, and dress itself up like a human soul, but it cannot carry grief across a lifetime. It cannot forgive an enemy. It cannot experience wonder. It cannot look at a broken world and say, “I am going to build again.”

The age of machines is rising. And if we do not know who we are, we will shrink. But if we use this moment to remember what makes us human, it will help us to become better, because the one thing no algorithm will ever recreate is the miracle that we exist at all — the miracle of the human soul.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Is Socialism seducing a lost generation?

Jeremy Weine / Stringer | Getty Images

A generation that’s lost faith in capitalism is turning to the oldest lie on earth: equality through control.

Something is breaking in America’s young people. You can feel it in every headline, every grocery bill, every young voice quietly asking if the American dream still means anything at all.

For many, the promise of America — work hard, build something that lasts, and give the next generation a better start — feels like it no longer exists. Home ownership and stability have become luxuries for a fortunate few.

Capitalism is not a perfect system. It is flawed because people are flawed, but it remains the only system that rewards creativity and effort rather than punishing them.

In that vacuum of hope, a new promise has begun to rise — one that sounds compassionate, equal, and fair. The promise of socialism.

The appeal of a broken dream

When the American dream becomes a checklist of things few can afford — a home, a car, two children, even a little peace — disappointment quickly turns to resentment. The average first-time homebuyer is now 40 years old. Debt lasts longer than marriages. The cost of living rises faster than opportunity.

For a generation that has never seen the system truly work, capitalism feels like a rigged game built to protect those already at the top.

That is where socialism finds its audience. It presents itself as fairness for the forgotten and justice for the disillusioned. It speaks softly at first, offering equality, compassion, and control disguised as care.

We are seeing that illusion play out now in New York City, where Zohran Mamdani — an open socialist — has won a major political victory. The same ideology that once hid behind euphemisms now campaigns openly throughout America’s once-great cities. And for many who feel left behind, it sounds like salvation.

But what socialism calls fairness is submission dressed as virtue. What it calls order is obedience. Once the system begins to replace personal responsibility with collective dependence, the erosion of liberty is only a matter of time.

The bridge that never ends

Socialism is not a destination; it is a bridge. Karl Marx described it as the necessary transition to communism — the scaffolding that builds the total state. Under socialism, people are taught to obey. Under communism, they forget that any other options exist.

History tells the story clearly. Russia, China, Cambodia, Cuba — each promised equality and delivered misery. One hundred million lives were lost, not because socialism failed, but because it succeeded at what it was designed to do: make the state supreme and the individual expendable.

Today’s advocates insist their version will be different — democratic, modern, and kind. They often cite Sweden as an example, but Sweden’s prosperity was never born of socialism. It grew out of capitalism, self-reliance, and a shared moral culture. Now that system is cracking under the weight of bureaucracy and division.

ANGELA WEISS / Contributor | Getty Images

The real issue is not economic but moral. Socialism begins with a lie about human nature — that people exist for the collective and that the collective knows better than the individual.

This lie is contrary to the truths on which America was founded — that rights come not from government’s authority, but from God’s. Once government replaces that authority, compassion becomes control, and freedom becomes permission.

What young America deserves

Young Americans have many reasons to be frustrated. They were told to study, work hard, and follow the rules — and many did, only to find the goalposts moved again and again. But tearing down the entire house does not make it fairer; it only leaves everyone standing in the rubble.

Capitalism is not a perfect system. It is flawed because people are flawed, but it remains the only system that rewards creativity and effort rather than punishing them. The answer is not revolution but renewal — moral, cultural, and spiritual.

It means restoring honesty to markets, integrity to government, and faith to the heart of our nation. A people who forsake God will always turn to government for salvation, and that road always ends in dependency and decay.

Freedom demands something of us. It requires faith, discipline, and courage. It expects citizens to govern themselves before others govern them. That is the truth this generation deserves to hear again — that liberty is not a gift from the state but a calling from God.

Socialism always begins with promises and ends with permission. It tells you what to drive, what to say, what to believe, all in the name of fairness. But real fairness is not everyone sharing the same chains — it is everyone having the same chance.

The American dream was never about guarantees. It was about the right to try, to fail, and try again. That freedom built the most prosperous nation in history, and it can do so again if we remember that liberty is not a handout but a duty.

Socialism does not offer salvation. It requires subservience.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.

Rage isn’t conservatism — THIS is what true patriots stand for

Gary Hershorn / Contributor | Getty Images

Conservatism is not about rage or nostalgia. It’s about moral clarity, national renewal, and guarding the principles that built America’s freedom.

Our movement is at a crossroads, and the question before us is simple: What does it mean to be a conservative in America today?

For years, we have been told what we are against — against the left, against wokeism, against decline. But opposition alone does not define a movement, and it certainly does not define a moral vision.

We are not here to cling to the past or wallow in grievance. We are not the movement of rage. We are the movement of reason and hope.

The media, as usual, are eager to supply their own answer. The New York Times recently suggested that Nick Fuentes represents the “future” of conservatism. That’s nonsense — a distortion of both truth and tradition. Fuentes and those like him do not represent American conservatism. They represent its counterfeit.

Real conservatism is not rage. It is reverence. It does not treat the past as a museum, but as a teacher. America’s founders asked us to preserve their principles and improve upon their practice. That means understanding what we are conserving — a living covenant, not a relic.

Conservatism as stewardship

In 2025, conservatism means stewardship — of a nation, a culture, and a moral inheritance too precious to abandon. To conserve is not to freeze history. It is to stand guard over what is essential. We are custodians of an experiment in liberty that rests on the belief that rights come not from kings or Congress, but from the Creator.

That belief built this country. It will be what saves it. The Constitution is a covenant between generations. Conservatism is the duty to keep that covenant alive — to preserve what works, correct what fails, and pass on both wisdom and freedom to those who come next.

Economics, culture, and morality are inseparable. Debt is not only fiscal; it is moral. Spending what belongs to the unborn is theft. Dependence is not compassion; it is weakness parading as virtue. A society that trades responsibility for comfort teaches citizens how to live as slaves.

Freedom without virtue is not freedom; it is chaos. A culture that mocks faith cannot defend liberty, and a nation that rejects truth cannot sustain justice. Conservatism must again become the moral compass of a disoriented people, reminding America that liberty survives only when anchored to virtue.

Rebuilding what is broken

We cannot define ourselves by what we oppose. We must build families, communities, and institutions that endure. Government is broken because education is broken, and education is broken because we abandoned the formation of the mind and the soul. The work ahead is competence, not cynicism.

Conservatives should embrace innovation and technology while rejecting the chaos of Silicon Valley. Progress must not come at the expense of principle. Technology must strengthen people, not replace them. Artificial intelligence should remain a servant, never a master. The true strength of a nation is not measured by data or bureaucracy, but by the quiet webs of family, faith, and service that hold communities together. When Washington falters — and it will — those neighborhoods must stand.

Eric Lee / Stringer | Getty Images

This is the real work of conservatism: to conserve what is good and true and to reform what has decayed. It is not about slogans; it is about stewardship — the patient labor of building a civilization that remembers what it stands for.

A creed for the rising generation

We are not here to cling to the past or wallow in grievance. We are not the movement of rage. We are the movement of reason and hope.

For the rising generation, conservatism cannot be nostalgia. It must be more than a memory of 9/11 or admiration for a Reagan era they never lived through. Many young Americans did not experience those moments — and they should not have to in order to grasp the lessons they taught and the truths they embodied. The next chapter is not about preserving relics but renewing purpose. It must speak to conviction, not cynicism; to moral clarity, not despair.

Young people are searching for meaning in a culture that mocks truth and empties life of purpose. Conservatism should be the moral compass that reminds them freedom is responsibility and that faith, family, and moral courage remain the surest rebellions against hopelessness.

To be a conservative in 2025 is to defend the enduring principles of American liberty while stewarding the culture, the economy, and the spirit of a free people. It is to stand for truth when truth is unfashionable and to guard moral order when the world celebrates chaos.

We are not merely holding the torch. We are relighting it.

This article originally appeared on TheBlaze.com.