Vivek Ramaswamy, a former candidate for the Republican Party’s 2024 presidential nomination, strongly believes in putting America first in almost every scenario. I recently had the opportunity to attend an event here in Columbus, Ohio where Mr. Ramaswamy was the keynote speaker. It was my first time seeing him speak in person, and I was intrigued by his ideas on how to “fix” many of America’s most pressing issues. This post documents my experience at the event, and I highlight Mr. Ramaswamy’s most pronounced point: America needs to get its nationalism back.

              I am currently employed at a government consulting firm here in downtown Columbus, and I often have the unique opportunity to attend political events that many people in my age do not get to experience firsthand. My job is an extremely rewarding one, and I love every minute of it. Our office tries to get involved with many candidates for a multitude of different political offices in order to establish healthy connections with our legislators. A few weeks ago, I looked at my boss’s calendar and saw that he had an event scheduled where Vivek Ramaswamy was the keynote speaker. He had first caught my eye because we shared a unique first name, and I wanted to hear him in a setting more intimate than a CNN or Fox News interview. I asked my boss if I could tag along to this event with him, and he accepted.

              As we walked into the Huntington building, the first thing that struck me was how organized and secure the process was to get to the actual speaking venue on the top floor of the building. As I was in the elevator, I was greeted by faces familiar and new. We made our way to the top of the building where we were served light refreshments, and my boss and I mingled with some of the other political people that were also there to see Mr. Ramaswamy speak. After about 30 to 45 minutes of light chatter, the man of the hour came up the elevator and went around shaking hands with many of the guests. We then proceeded to go outside to the roof, the location of the keynote speech.

              One of the first things I noticed as Mr. Ramaswamy spoke was how passionately he spoke. He began by telling his life story and how he grew up as a first-generation American. As a native of Cincinnati, he was well-versed in Ohio politics. He spoke about how he built his business from almost nothing, becoming extremely wealthy through hard work and perseverance. It really struck me how he started from the bottom and worked his way to the top of the food chain. It was quite inspiring and struck a chord with me.

              He progressed in his speech and began speaking about what he felt was wrong in our country today. I expected him to start bashing on Democrats, but that was not at all what he did. He pinpointed what he truly believed to be one of the most pressing issues in our country today: we have lost our nationalism. He was a firm believer in the fact that many Americans are no longer proud to be American. He thought that we as Americans were too focused on outside factors and internal issues and were straying away from unifying as Americans.

              I agreed with him greatly in this point. I also believe that we’ve lost sight of how proud we should be to be Americans. I believe that this is especially true of younger people. We have seen so many issues in our country due to the mass media and social media that we have lost our sense of national pride. In a democracy like ours, national pride is extremely important. It is what holds us together and unifies us. When we can all relate to being Americans, we will be more unified than ever.

              As he finished his speech, he opened it up to questions from the audience. As questions about climate change, Trump, and the Democrats came up, he stayed focused on his central theme of national pride and approaching these topics with an open mind where free discussion can be had. I was very impressed with his approach to answering the questions, and he conducted himself in a respectful manner as he wrapped up his event. Leaving the event, I was impressed with the whole experience and felt lucky to be able to hear firsthand his thoughts on the state of the country.

              At the event, democratic erosion was a topic that was touched on quite a bit by Mr. Ramaswamy. He believed democracy was being eroded by the lost sense of nationalism in America today. He also believed that many agencies in the federal government were inefficient and corrupt, also things that contribute to democratic erosion. When our federal systems even have hints of bias or corruption, democracy is eroded. The biggest reason that he believed democratic erosion was happening was the weaponization of the justice system against former president Trump. He emphasized that the use of the justice system to degrade and attack a presidential candidate was one of the biggest signs of democratic erosion.

              Overall, I had a great experience at this event. I was lucky to be able to attend, and I was happy to be a part of the political community in Ohio. I learned quite a bit at this event, and I feel like my eyes were opened to some of the more pressing issues in America today. I’m glad that I went, and I would encourage people to attend political events like this at any opportunity.