Turning Point USA should be taken seriously

In fall 2020, I remember walking past tables and bulletin boards littered with Turning Point USA materials — some boldly proclaimed “socialism sucks,” others, the evils of “Big Government.” 

I didn’t know much about the organization other than its association with the dumber, sloganeering impulses of the American right. In high school, I made a meme featuring my friend and the Turning Point logo, captioned: “If you’re homeless, literally just buy a house.” 

When I heard the Augustana Turning Point chapter was being revived, my reaction was to roll my eyes and make a few snide comments. But as I continued to think about what the group represents, this dismissive response felt increasingly unsatisfying. Dismissing or scoffing at the presence of Turning Point on our campus would be a mistake. In fact, we should take it quite seriously. 

For one, TPUSA espouses political ideas that have serious consequences. 

The abhorrent positions taken by Turning Point and its founder, Charlie Kirk, are well documented, from flirtation with “race realism” to undermining the legitimacy of the 2020 election to openly embracing Christian nationalism; moreover, TPUSA couches these views in a militant, chronically-online pretense. 

Whatever their beliefs, our local chapter’s leaders should recognize they have chosen to align themselves with a national organization uniquely dedicated to promoting the terminally-online, dehumanizing rhetoric that is making good-faith civic engagement untenable. 

This approach to politics is encapsulated in “What Is a Woman?,” the movie screened on campus for our local TPUSA chapter’s first event. The movie features Matt Walsh, a right-wing pundit who identifies as a “journalist” but seems more inspired by Sacha Baron Cohen and “The Colbert Report” than “PBS NewsHour.” 

Throughout the film, Walsh struggles to mask his clear disdain for his interviewees, often openly sneering at them. The film’s goal is not challenging, empathetic engagement with complex subjects but catharsis for the faithful. Its main thesis is that people with progressive views of gender are deranged freaks who must be ridiculed. 

Supporters of the local TPUSA chapter may say they simply hope to promote “free market values” at Augustana; however, they have not chosen to start an Augie Adam Smith Club — they’ve chosen to represent TPUSA: a national organization dedicated to funding and promoting efforts “...to play offense with a sense of urgency to win America’s culture war.” 

While TPUSA professes a libertarian ethic and the dangers of “big government,” it is deeply concerned with declining personal morality and policing social mores. The particulars of what Turning Point wants for our country matters. Laughing off their outlandish claims fails to clarify anything. 

We should also take Turning Point seriously because it thrives on thoughtless, angry reactions. 

TPUSA operates as a network of right-wing activists for the pro-Trump era, specifically intended to counter “leftist indoctrination” on college campuses. Its goal is to instill  a narrative within young conservatives about how liberals will treat them. Left-leaning peers who choose to ridicule, straw-man or ostracize them simply reinforce these narratives.

We should highlight the distance between the national Turning Point organization’s rhetoric and the reality on Augustana’s campus, where politics usually manifest as mild New York Times-esque liberalism and gestures towards “diversity.” Where are the militant socialists on Augustana’s campus? Where are the social justice warriors seeking to restructure the university? A handful of students with these views exist, but there is a wide spectrum of views on our campus overall. An organization preaching “woke censorship on college campuses” cannot survive if the main response is polite disagreement or thoughtful disavowal of ideas. 

In one form or another, the Turning Point model of politics is likely to continue manifesting on our campus. While David Brooks may continue to champion buttoned-up, respectable conservatism, he is increasingly shouting into the void. 

How to respond to groups like Turning Point is one of the greatest political challenges facing liberal democracy. We should take seriously both what Turning Point seeks to accomplish and what it means for the people in our community who see it as a viable option.