Gladen Pappin - CPAC FL 2022

Gladen Pappin returns to the 1990s when the United States stood at a fork in the road. Technological advancements revolutionized work and recreation. Work was suddenly easier, less strenuous, and recreation was far more accessible. Americans were offered a choice to pursue a path of capitalist prosperity or a path of communist misery. 1996 epitomizes the dichotomy of the entire decade. In this year, both the Communications Decency Act and the Defense of Marriage Act were passed. The Defense of Marriage Act defined marriage as only between a man and women while the Communications Decency Act facilitated the growth of the Internet and virtual life. Americans ultimately chose their digital freedom over families and children. They chose the instant gratification that the advancements of the ‘90s afforded, and thus, the 1990s acted as a formative time for the America we live in today. Hungary, however, chose differently, and now serves as an example for living out conservative values in the modern world.