From the Archive: Charlie's Why — From His 2018 CLS Speech

**Charlie Kirk** (0:03)
My name is Charlie Kirk. I run the largest pro-American student organization in the country fighting for the future of our republic. My call is to fight evil and to proclaim truth. If the most important thing for you is just feeling good, you're going to end up miserable. But if the most important thing is doing good, you will end up purposeful. College is a scam, everybody. You got to stop sending your kids to college. You should get married as young as possible and have as many kids as possible. Go start a Turning Point USA college chapter. Go start a Turning Point USA high school chapter. Go find out how your church can get involved. Sign up and become an activist. I gave my life to the Lord in fifth grade. Most important decision I ever made in my life, and I encourage you to do the same. Here I am, Lord, use me.
Buckle up, everybody. Here we go. Here we go. Here we go.
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You know, when I first started this, I was 18, no idea what I was doing, no connections, no money, but unlimited energy, enthusiasm, and I actually thought this was possible, which was kind of crazy if you think about it. But I'll tell you, I was in Europe a couple months ago. I was trying to explain what Turning Point USA is and what we do and how we operate to a group of Europeans. Do not recommend that, okay? I was trying to say, you know, we talk about freedom, we talk about American exceptionalism, we talk about the Constitution, and these Italians very snobbishly, you know, exactly, right? Where's Alana, by the way? Where's Alana? Is Alana here? Of course not. I could bash the Italians nonstop. Alana Mastrologial, you think she's Italian? Her parents like invented the country anyway. So, I'm trying to explain to them all this, and they say, well, wait, so people voluntarily, I was just bashing Italy. That's okay. So, she's like, yeah, it's okay. People voluntarily give money to Turning Point USA? Like, what do they get out of it? Like, equity? Are they like shareholders? Like, no, no, no. We're a non-profit, we're a charity, and we have 30,000 donors all across the country, a growing budget, you know, people that believe in us. Wait, people will give money without getting something in return just to advance ideas and all this. I say, yeah, but they get nothing in return. It's not a business investment. They don't understand philanthropy in Europe. They don't understand individuals helping individuals. They couldn't wrap their head around the idea that an 18 or 19-year-old would not go as they call it, university is what they call it over there, that wouldn't go to university, would start something to actually try to save the country, and it would be successful. And so, everything that I believe, and the speech I'm going to give today is an unusual one, but it's one that all of you will enjoy, why I believe what I believe and why I started this, and the foundational principles at the very level, very foundational level, and then we'll open up for questions.
What I believe that America is the greatest country ever to exist, period bar none, is the greatest country ever to exist, right?
You're looking at a living example of that. If I was an enthusiastic 18-year-old from France that really thought that France need to be turned around, which it does, by the way, it's a total disaster. Or if I was a really enthusiastic Brit, but was that place a mess or what? Unbelievable. I'm glad we did the first Brexit way back when. I'm glad we did. We defected from that madness. But if I really believed in that, I couldn't have done this. I would have been looked by European snobbish elites. I'll go to college and just go do that. This is a waste of time. Or we don't give our money to anything unless it's a business investment. By the way, the amazing Brown family, I love them. Unbelievably great. From Colorado State University. Your sister did amazing work. Anyway, she does amazing work. This wouldn't have been possible anywhere else. So only in America, when an 18-year-old with no idea what he was doing, literally no idea, be able to walk the halls of the Republican National Convention, give out business cards to every human being that you could possibly see, that I made on a little topographical printer, say, we are losing our country, young people are the answer, we need to do more in college campuses. Bit by bit and piece by piece, people said, oh yeah, I might believe in you a little bit, I'll pitch in $500. So the first year, it raised $20,000, which at the time was unbelievable amount of money.