Though some may believe political issues are a taboo subject to talk about, UNH has offered outlets for speaking out about politics. Two facilitators of these political discussions are the organizations College Republicans and Turning Point USA. On Tuesday, Feb. 21, both clubs came together and welcomed the UNH community to watch the film “America: Imagine The World Without Her” in the Memorial Union Building’s (MUB) Theater I.
In the movie, which was directed by Indian-American writer, filmmaker and political commentator Dinesh D’Souza D’Souza takes an interesting approach toward American history. He argues that for a while America has been repeatedly seen as the “bad guy” for actions such as the removal of the Indians and issues with slavery, but tries to prove the positive aspects of each.
For example, the movie provided the argument that slavery was a global concept that had never been debunked, but America had a “great war” (the Civil War) to abolish it. The movie offers many controversial ideas, but uses historical evidence and re-enactments to prove its points.
Turning Point USA decided to show this movie to an open audience. According to their president, Christopher Mignanelli, the mission of the club is, “to educate and empower students about individual liberties, free markets and limited government.”
“I believe this movie makes a strong argument for free market capitalism and America as a whole,” Mignanelli said. “We contend that America is not inherently immoral and this film does a good job framing the argument.”
A perfect example that the movie used to agree with this notion was that of New York City. The land was bought from the Native Americans for a small amount, but eventually became one of the richest places on Earth. This was not due to the land itself, but the free market that allowed for someone to create a business that was able to develop the city more.
When asked about the theme of the movie, College Republicans President Nathan Marsolais answered,“Many people, both American and non-American, believe that America has created many problems around the world and this movie attempts to defend America’s honor against these claims.”
“I will be honest, the film was aggressive and in your face the entire time,” Marsolais said. “But, in this day in age, that is not always a bad thing.”
Turning Point USA is a new club on campus that was just started last November. Currently the club is composed of 15 to 20 members, and meets on Tuesday nights in MUB 336. Anyone can join by showing up to the meetings and being an active participant. College Republicans have been around for a longer time, and currently have about 25 active members, with 60 enrolled.
