Ernesto Antunez/Contributing Writer
Eighteen-year-old Kyle Kashuv was a friendly and articulate young man singing all the right political tunes. A victim of the infamous Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting, he was afterwards catapulted into a position of prominence among the Right as a well known conservative activist.
Unfortunately, youth giveth and youth taketh away.
Recently, Kashuv had his admission unceremoniously rescinded from Harvard by its admission committee, which acted both under its own weight and under pressure from concerned citizens (read: political enemies from both the Left and the Right).
This was the climax of an incident which began when highly inflammatory comments made during Kashuv’s high school days were unearthed.
Kashuv had already, for some time before this, been taking damage from his fellow conservatives, in particular from fellow right-wing wunderkind CJ Pearson, and Harvard took it upon themselves to deliver the final blow.
It is obvious that this was the result of certain political machinations. Harvard, along with all other institutions of higher learning, are eager to take part in the great societal struggle against conservatism, especially up-and-coming young influential conservatives. Although Kashuv does not have highly developed racial sensitivities, the case whether he was or is a racist or just a renegade “edgelord” is unclear.
What is clear, though, is that if Kashuv had been a political cleanskin, there is no doubt his impressive academic credentials – a 1550 SAT score and a weighted GPA of 3.9 that earned him the second highest ranking in his class – would have been enough to enter Harvard’s pearly white gates.
But the “incident” itself along with passing judgement on Kashuv’s actions are not what particularly interests me. Instead, it’s the illuminating lessons which can be extracted from this situation and help to sharpen the strategic mind of the conservative movement.
First, “don’t trust anyone under 30,” a maxim which is antithetical to the rallying call of the heroes and heroines of many a young adult novel nowadays. Kashuv’s case is exhibit A.
The Right’s excuse that Kashuv is or was “just a kid” is the exact reason why he should not have been elevated to this position. Such a promising but unseasoned young man would have had to participate in political battles that would challenge even veteran politicos. If these repellent adolescent scribblings had come out a decade or so from now, the whole affair would have had a more satisfying conclusion.
Unfortunately, the political equivalent of robbing cradles has become the norm among the Right. Contrary to the usual conservative inclination towards life experience, a lot of fresh young faces (“under 30s”) are being picked from the garden before they are ripe. Young conservative men and women should be allowed to roam free and sow their wild political oats before being thrust or attempting to thrust their way into positions of responsibility.
The second lesson to take from this situation is that “edginess” and “trolling” are tools, not pastimes.
Unless these things are part of a political strategy, they accomplish nothing except leaving one wide open to social and political denunciations. It is extremely tempting to gratify such short-term rhetorical pleasures, but a serious mind recognizes this as foolishness. Unfortunately, this comes more naturally to those of age than to teenagers in or fresh out of high school.
The youth wing of the conservative movement – including Kashuv – has some growing up to do. That isn’t necessarily bad; after all, good things come to those who wait.
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Featured photo by Atilin on Wikicommons.
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