Christian University Event Highlights Concerns Over Communism and Socialism in America

Cornerstone University, a Christian institution in Grand Rapids, Michigan, is hosting an anti-communism event that brings together scholars and survivors of oppressive regimes to discuss the perceived rise of socialist and communist ideologies in the United States.

The event, titled "Why Not Communism? A Wisdom Conversation on Freedom, Faith and the Future of America," is scheduled for October 1. According to university President Dr. Gerson Moreno-Riaño, the theme was chosen months ago due to concerns about public opinion shifting toward communism and socialism.

"Frankly, we became alarmed and concerned because the history of communism, socialism is a dark one," Moreno-Riaño stated in an interview with Fox News Digital. "We thought we need to step up as a university committed to educating men and women for our country and really inform the community, educate the community and our students and the country at large about the moral bankruptcy of communism and socialism."

The lineup of speakers includes Yeonmi Park, a North Korean defector; Xi Van Fleet, a survivor of Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution in China; Dr. Gary Saul Morson, a scholar of Soviet communism; and Seth Dillon, CEO of The Babylon Bee.

Moreno-Riaño emphasized the importance of hearing firsthand accounts from those who have experienced such systems. "Yeonmi Park's story is incredible, as a defector of North Korea. Xi Van Fleet, her time in a labor camp in China. And what they saw, what they experienced, what they witnessed is absolutely essential, because there are certain similarities between what happened in North Korea and is happening there now, what happened in China during Mao Zedong and thereafter, similarities between what happens there in those revolutions and what's happening here has been happening here for several years."

Yeonmi Park, who detailed her escape from North Korea and subsequent experiences with human trafficking, expressed alarm at how communism and socialism are perceived by some students in the U.S. "I had to live through [a] real socialist government every day until I escaped from North Korea," Park told Fox News Digital. "And I know it is not nice when it is actually enforced [in] real life. Many people think it's [an] amazing thing as a theory, and they have no idea if we do bring this policy in our government, what that's going to [do to] our local population."

Park, who experienced severe poverty and political persecution in North Korea before escaping with her mother and seeking asylum in South Korea, also noted that many students she encounters in the U.S. do not fully grasp the realities of oppression. "Most people are not free right now in the world. More than 70% of humanity right now live under authoritarian governments," she said, referencing data on global autocracies.

She warned about the potential consequences if the U.S. were to lose its freedom. "For me, I was fortunate that I had a country to escape to from North Korea to America, but if we lose this country, we are all going to die, actually."

Moreno-Riaño connected the university's commitment to discussing these topics with its Christian identity, citing the biblical concept of liberty and the belief that humans are created in God's image, which necessitates freedom for flourishing. He hopes the event will encourage students and the wider community to become engaged citizens.

"As people of faith, Christians here at Cornerstone University, we want our students to be involved to be great citizens, modeling their faith and modeling what it means to be a great citizen of our great country," he said.