Hillsdale College Hosts National Leadership Seminar in Kansas City
Speakers discussed democracy in Europe, economic challenges, the media, and more.
HILLSDALE, Mich. — Hillsdale College hosted a National Leadership Seminar in Kansas City, Missouri, from April 24-25. Topics included democracy in Europe, economic challenges, and the media. National Leadership Seminars gather America’s business, education, and community leaders to promote limited government, free-market economics, individual liberty, personal responsibility, and a strong national defense.
“If you start back at the beginning, you can have a better chance of sorting these things out as they unfold in real time.”
Stephen K. Bannon, host of War Room, spoke on “MAGA and the Fight for America.” Bannon argued that war abroad, attempts to thwart deportations, and an unsustainable financial model are creating a situation that will require drastic budget cuts and difficult decisions.
“We can’t let the political class off the hook of thinking that some fairy godmother’s going to come in here and wave a magic wand,” Bannon said. “Every easy decision, every easy decision is a long time ago. We only have tough decisions now, and only hard and tough people can make it and stick to it, because these crises are converging. You’re going to have to cut defense, and you’re going to have to cut Medicaid, and you’re going to have to cut social programs, and all these cuts are not going to be easy.”
David Malpass, former undersecretary of the Treasury for international affairs, spoke on “Top Economic and Financial Challenges.” Malpass said that breaking out of the harmful financial status quo, at both a national and a global level, will require upheaval and a downsizing of government, as those who benefit from the current system do not want change.
“If you think about our freedom of speech, we feel we have strong protection. Freedom of religion — we can fight about it, we can have arguments, but we have strong protection,” Malpass said. “As you come to the size of government, there’s a gap. The Constitution didn’t say that the government couldn’t employ a hundred percent of the people in the country, and there are people in Washington that really think that the government is just as efficient as the private sector and we should just let it grow and grow and grow.”
College President Larry P. Arnn spoke on “Defending the American Way of Life.” Arnn argued that in addressing problems like judicial resistance to deportations, we must take care to uphold the rule of law.
“C.S. Lewis says, ‘you don’t find out how strong something is till you push against it,’ and we’re finding out how strong it is. We’ve been finding out since 2016,” Arnn said. “It’s very strong, and it’s got a million ways and millions of people to help it, but it’s also very confusing. That’s why I want you to read the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. If you start back at the beginning, you can have a better chance of sorting these things out as they unfold in real time and on social media all the time.”
Christopher Caldwell of the Claremont Institute spoke on the question “Was JD Vance Right About Europe?” and Sean Davis of The Federalist spoke on “The Role of a Free Press and the Irresponsibility of the Legacy Media.”