“Character Is Destiny. So, What Is the National Character of the U.S.?” with CoC

This is a joint event with the College of Complexes, a weekly free speech forum on social issues and current events. At this event, the topic of the feature presentation is “What is the National Character of the U.S.?” by Eric Mao.

From the Declaration of Independence to Manifest Destiny, the Monroe Doctrine, and the "Trump Doctrine"; from slavery to Critical Race Theory; from "give me your tired, your poor..." to the Chinese Exclusion Act, and the H1B visa controversy, and the mass deportations—who is the United States of America? If character is destiny—what is America's destiny?

The presentation will be followed by questions from the audience, and then a rebuttal/remarks period in which all in attendance can speak for 5 minutes at the podium.

SPEAKER
Hailing from Taiwan, China, Eric takes comfort in the unearned privilege of "going back to where you came from." He also goes by Eric 'Shepherd' Mao---because (he explains) sheepdogs, not sheep, are the coolest. With a master's in computer science and MBA in finance and marketing, Eric has a career in fintech. However, he is now in transition to being a writer and commentator in geopolitics. He founded the Geopolitical Forum for bi-weekly meetings with international relations enthusiasts and thinkers in Chicagoland. Eric has slaved on Substack under @ericsheperdmao and has a presence on X as @ShepherdMao. He finished writing "Diversity the Modern Fetish and Equality in the Guise of Ideal" in 2018 while he
was still a libertarian. Now he considers himself to be a pragmatist.