Vivek Ramaswamy, a Republican presidential aspirant, recently delivered a speech (03) at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) where he claimed that the US is being held hostage by three secular religions: race, sex, and climate. He believes that these ideologies have created a culture of fear and have led to a crisis of national identity in the country.
Ramaswamy proposed several radical ideas, including the shutting down of the Department of Education and the FBI, and a ban on American companies conducting business with China if he wins the presidential election in 2024.
Ramaswamy expressed his admiration for former president Donald Trump's "America first" ideology and emphasized the need to identify key issues and work towards addressing them.
He also sees this as an opportunity for the Republican Party and conservative movement to step up and offer a vision of American national identity that is so deep-rooted that it renders the divisive "woke" ideology irrelevant.
In his speech, Ramaswamy said "three secular religions have America in a chokehold today".
The first of them is this "woke racial religion" that says someone's identity is based on his skin colour.
"That if you are black, you are inherently disadvantaged. That if you are white, you are inherently privileged no matter your economic background or your upbringing. That your race determines who you are and what you can achieve in life," he said.
This has created "this new culture of fear in America", combined with the "second secular religion" that says the "sex of the person you are attracted to has to be hardwired on the day you were born" but your "own biological sex is completely fluid over the course of your lifetime".
The third one is the climate religion in the US that says that "we have to fight carbon emissions at all costs in the United States while we shift those same carbon emissions to places like China," the Indian-American entrepreneur said.
Ramaswamy also believes that the US needs to declare independence from China and has proposed banning most US businesses from doing business with China until the CCP falls or radically reforms itself.
"I think it is important to be honest. If we want to declare independence from China, that means we got to be willing to ban most US businesses from doing business in China until the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) falls or until the CCP radically reforms itself. Because there is no easy way out other than taking that band-aid and ripping it right off," he said.
He also called for the shutting down of the Department of Education and the FBI, which he believes have no reason to exist and are hurting both Republicans and Democrats alike.
Overall, Ramaswamy's speech at CPAC represents his vision for America's future and his proposed solutions to the problems he sees in the country. However, his radical ideas are likely to be met with scepticism and opposition from many Americans, including those within his own party.
With inputs from PTI
Anti-Racism protesters come out in support of refugees outside the Cladhan Hotel on September 13, 2025 in Falkirk, Scotland. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
