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Last week the Manhattan Institute’s City Journal honored Ben Shapiro with its 2026 City Journal Award — a deserved recognition for a man who has spent years standing squarely for free speech, common sense, and the American experiment. This isn’t a ceremonial pat on the back; it’s an acknowledgment from a serious conservative institution that someone in the media is actually fighting back against the cultural pessimism that has infected our elites.
Shapiro used his remarks to remind Americans that optimism, not despair, built this country, calling the American dream a timeless commitment to liberty, virtue, and individual determination — the very values the left tries to demolish with cynical narratives. His blunt prescription for restoring American confidence resonates because it’s true: when people are free to create, innovate, and speak, the results are unmatched in human history.
City Journal’s decision to honor a media figure shows conservatives are finally winning the intellectual fight where it matters — ideas and culture. The award explicitly recognizes those who push back against destructive ideologies and who inspire efforts to protect liberty and unleash Americans’ potential, and Shapiro has done exactly that by refusing to play by the left’s rules.
Let’s not pretend this was an easy road. Building an independent platform that speaks plainly to millions while the mainstream media cheers on censorship and conformity is a heroic act in today’s environment. The Daily Wire and voices like Shapiro’s have become lifelines for patriots who want principled reporting and unapologetic patriotism instead of platitudes and virtue-signaling.
For too long, our cultural elites taught Americans to be ashamed of success and afraid of pride; awarding truth-tellers signals that conservatives won’t cede the narrative any longer. Honest, unapologetic conservatism — the kind that defends free markets, secure borders, and the Constitution — is what turns despair into possibility and weakness into strength.
If you love this country, now is the time to stand up and support those who defend it. Celebrate wins like this award, spread the message of optimism and accountability, and keep fighting for the freedoms that made America the greatest nation on earth.
