Back Print Commentary By Tim Constantine - - Friday, May 19, 2023 OPINION: CPAC was founded in 1974 by the
American Conservative Union and Young Americans for Freedom as a small gathering of dedicated conservatives. Ronald Reagan gave the inaugural keynote speech that year. In the nearly 50 years since, CPAC has cemented itself as the premiere gathering of conservative voices in America. During the 1980s, there were heady times as conservatives controlled the American agenda. More recently however, it has often served as the voice of the opposition, sometimes feeling like a gathering of like-minded folks otherwise shouting from the wilderness. The nation of Hungary sometimes feels similar. A rare conservative, traditional voice on the European political landscape, Hungary is frequently criticized and vilified by a left leaning European press. They are criticized for being openly Christian. They are criticized for upholding the traditional belief that a marriage is between one man and one woman. Hungary is subjected to sharp negative claims by many who live outside its borders. Two years ago, Hungary became the first European nation to host a CPAC convention and recently hosted its third such gathering. Miklós Szánthó is the Director General of CPAC Hungary, spearheading the effort to organize and gather conservatives from Hungary and from around the globe. I recently sat down with Szantho and asked why CPAC Hungary is so important and why it is essential for conservatives worldwide to work together. His remarkably candid, and sometimes sharply critical answers are below. Why is it so important that the traditional conservative in America align with traditional conservatives in Hungary and around the globe? The motto we picked as organizers of this year’s CPAC Hungary: “United We Stand!”, which was held on May 4th-5th, encapsulates the answer to this crucial question. A true and impactful alignment between the American, European and other branches of conservatism will bring about the liberals’ nightmare: the international convergence of national forces. The task that our present troubled age imposes upon all men of good will and common sense is to finally defeat the liberal left: to “seek and find allies to prevent the liberal plot against our future”. Hungary has shown that the progressive mainstream can be conquered. Look at what the progressives have wrought: Western culture has been corrupted by neo-Marxist, woke dogma, societies are fragmented by identity politics, open borders have led to uncontrolled illegal mass migration. They are so emotion-driven, that some leaders have no clear understanding of realpolitik. Partly because of this the global security situation has deteriorated to the point where we face the dangers of an escalating war – caused by brutal
Russian aggression primarily, of course – fought with ever more dangerous weapons of immense destructive power. Let me emphasize this: the war will end sooner or later, one way or another. However, our problems will remain with us afterwards, and the answers to them will determine the political reality in the much longer term. So, make kids, not war! And keep in mind: the deconstruction of Western greatness from within has happened under the watch of, and in most cases as a result of the policies pursued by the liberal globalist elites. The way out of this mess is for common sense conservative leaders to return to power in the West. We must continue to broaden and deepen the network we have built from the Danube to the Potomac in recent years. This year’s CPAC Hungary was a brilliant forum for doing just that, where a central political force against the globalists has been established on an international level. The Hungarian Right has become a hub and a powerhouse of the conservative renaissance: yes, Hungary is no country for woke men. As Prime Minister Orbán put it in his speech: “No migration, no gender, no war”. What are the greatest challenges a Christian nation faces with the European Union? a.) with other nations and Europe, the cradle of Western civilization and once a champion of Jewish-Christian culture, its values and ethics, has turned away from its own past and heritage. When a civilization – pressured by cancel culture insanity – refuses its own history, it is doomed to relive it. It is evident now, that our age is the ‘end of the end of history’, the war in
Ukraine clearly shows this. And as political correctness did not allow us to take our past seriously, the West became culturally confused, and thus we were unprepared to handle the crisis. I explained at CPAC: “We must not throw away the history books, but continue to republish them; we must not tear down the statues of our founding fathers, but strengthen their pedestals”. Unfortunately, most progressive Western leaders became prey to ‘historical amnesia’ and they no longer understand geopolitical reality and thus, they are unable to represent the interest of their people. The deep state of
Brussels today is as if the inmates had taken over the asylum. For it is insane to continue to harass a country - as the EU institutions and, unfortunately, some leftist member state governments are doing with Hungary or Poland - and to be outraged when they encounter resistance. It is madness to break treaties, to go against their word, to turn their backs on signed agreements, as the Eurocrats do with increasing regularity, and to expect Hungary to take new promises seriously. It is indeed lunacy to expect Hungarians to give up on border-control, or parents to surrender their right to raise their children to sexualized, Marxist activists. And to imagine that in this atmosphere we could possibly give up our states’ rights to the federalizing ambitions of the deep state of Brussels is the craziest of all. On the contrary, Hungary – and CPAC Hungary – stands for God, Homeland and the Family. b.) with European media? European mainstream media has become unrecognizable over the past decade. The roles have been reversed: the media and global networks, like the Open Society, dictates the political agenda for political decisionmakers, and not the other way around. There is an ever-tightening dogma that sets the parameters of what can be written and discussed – for instance, the EU launched a so-called ‘rule of law’ procedure against Hungary , because our constitution stipulates that marriage is a union of one man and one woman. Truth and reality must bend the knee to progressive articles of faith. It is indeed a shocking sight to behold, but for us Hungarians it is not an unprecedented totalitarian spectacle. We smell dictatorship whenever we hear that only “liberal democracy” is real democracy, because just a few decades ago the same was said - almost by the very same people - about “people’s socialist democracy” It seems much of Europe is very liberal, very left. Is this an accurate perception and is it possible or likely that a more conservative wave will wash over Europe in the near future? These are not your grandfather’s socialists. Marxist-Leninist materialism has morphed into the Church of Woke. Faux pacifism has turned into a bloodlust for ever more war, and forced industrialization into Green Jihad. But at CPAC Hungary, a cross-continental coalition in support of the triune values of God, Homeland and Family has emerged across continents and actual party lines. Hungarian conservatives have organized an event where a central political field of power has been created, an alliance of sovereignists against the globalist networks. Explain why or why not and what, if any, role America can/should play in this. It is in our paramount interest that America – hopefully with the
Republicans in power from 2024 – lead us in the right direction, not down a path that leads off a cliff, as does the Biden-administration. We hope that Americans will soon realize that the progressive Left has taken leave of their senses and remove them from power. This places a great burden on the shoulders of the American conservatives, but they have shown that they can carry it. It is vital that we harmonize our interests in geopolitics with our mission to stand up for common sense and the order of creation. The Left launched an assault on our most cherished values, on our way of life globally – and we are organizing ourselves as a reaction to that. They see this and they are trying to play on some of our differences – but we must not accept their interpretation of us, we must not do them this favor. Instead, let us focus on what unites us. If Americans elevate true conservative leaders who respect the reality that surrounds us all, and then support them through the necessary institutional reforms, it would be a much-needed turning point in the development of the West. The task we’re facing is by no means a minor one. We must make sovereignty our reality while building global cooperation This age demands cooperation instead of blocs, connectivity instead of decoupling, and peace instead of war. Thus, the voters who are still in control in the
USA must be empowered to make the changes they increasingly realize are vital to the survival of our ancient civilization. It would also be a strong signal to Europe. The current Eurocratic elites would be shellshocked and might even refuse to follow, but the people would. Much depends on Americans. Copyright © 2023 The
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