Shaping American Minds

Faith. Freedom. Fearless advocacy.

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My name is Sofia Manina and i am a college student originally from Washington but now in Oregon for school. I am very passionate about politics and hope to inspire others to learn more and get involved.

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  • Called to Love, Not to Please

    October 1, 2025

    Photo by Martin Joos on Unsplash

    By Sofia Manina

    In today’s culture, love is often confused with agreement. If you don’t affirm someone’s choices, you’re labeled hateful. As a Christian, I believe you should love everyone regardless of what they do, but I think some Christians confuse that with loving the sin along with the person. When it comes to the LGBTQ Community, I believe you should be kind and loving towards them as Christ showed his love to others. But just because you love the individual doesn’t mean you should agree with their lifestyle and support it. People today are so afraid to disagree with each other when it comes to the LGBTQ Community, because if you do, you get labeled a fascist, homophobic, a terrorist, a bigot, and a dangerous, hateful person, and that’s only a few examples of different names we are called. I seriously cannot understand how we’ve gotten to this as a society; we can no longer have a difference of opinion without it turning into hateful and crude behavior towards each other. It’s so sad to me that I have even lost friendships over this. Growing up in a public school, you are around LGBTQ people a lot, and I did form friendships with them, which did cause me to lose some of my Christian friends because I was being nice to them. This genuinely shocked me because, as a Christian, we are supposed to embody Christ’s values, and Jesus himself ate with sinners. “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (Luke Ch. 5, Verse. 31-32). I think we as Christians forget about this and tend to judge the sinners instead of befriending them and leading them towards God. Which is why I think we need to love the LGBTQ Community more rather than hate them. The hard thing about that, though, is that we can’t be silent on our opinion towards the sin. Love without truth isn’t love at all. If we claim to care about someone’s soul, we can no longer stay silent when our culture is trying to redefine sin as an identity and praising them for their sin. Jesus never strayed away from the hard discussions but rather sat down with them, talked it out with them, and showed them nothing but kindness. That is the type of person we should strive to be as Christians, one who sees the person, speaks truth, and walks with them toward healing. We were never promised popularity in this world; in fact, it’s the opposite. This world is supposed to hate us and be against us. We shouldn’t try to please this world and be silent on what’s important; if anything, we should be loud in our beliefs and shout it from the rooftops. We need to remember that the goal isn’t to win arguments—it’s to win hearts. That starts with humility. We don’t have all the answers, but we do have the truth of God’s Word, and that truth is meant to heal, not harm. Loving someone doesn’t mean staying silent while they walk toward destruction. It means walking beside them, even when they reject you, even when it costs you friendships, popularity, or comfort. That’s the kind of love Jesus modeled—and it’s the kind of love we’re called to live out.  So yes, I will continue to love my LGBTQ friends. I will continue to speak truth, even when it’s unpopular. And I will continue to believe that God’s design for identity, sexuality, and redemption is not just right—it’s good. I hope that more Christians will rise up with bold compassion, refusing to be bullied into silence or bitterness. We don’t need more outrage. We need more courage. More clarity. More Christ.

  • What Is a Woman? Why the Question Shouldn’t Be Controversial

    September 23, 2025

    By Sofia Manina

    You know society has failed when the first search result for what a woman is is “An adult human being who identifies as female.” How has our society come to this? We can no longer go off basic facts anymore, but it’s now just how we feel. We as a society need to come back to facts and science, and not define things by how we are feeling on a certain day. If we continue down this path, it’ll lead to more confusion and pressure on the younger generation to think that something is wrong with them when, in reality, there isn’t. Asking what a woman is shouldn’t be a debate; if you are born a woman with XX chromosomes, you’re a woman, simple as that, no feelings involved, just basic biology. This isn’t a political statement; it’s a biological reality that’s been recognized across science, history, and medicine. While there are rare intersex conditions that have been considered medical anomalies, this is not a reason to redefine womanhood. If you erase those lines in the name of inclusivity, we are taking a step back in the fight we’ve had for women’s rights and all the progress we have made so far. People need to realize biology isn’t hateful; it’s our foundation of truth.  And truth, even when it’s uncomfortable, is the first step to healing our world. Postmodernism has taught us that our identity is self-defined and that we can be “anything we want to be”. So if that’s the case, and a woman can be anything, it now means nothing. Womanhood is not a feeling, a costume, or a social role—it is a biological and existential reality. I am so tired of tiptoeing around this topic when it’s brought up in conversation because something like this shouldn’t even be up for debate. Throughout history, women have held specific roles, whether in the church or their own home, and in society itself. Being a woman is such a beautiful thing, but now the category of women is being destroyed for the sake of “progress.” Feminism used to fight for the rights and equality of women, but now that movement is being taken from us. Tell me how Dylan Mulvaney, a biological male, can win Woman of the Year, and Lia Thompson, another biological male, can win the NCAA Division I Women’s 500-yard freestyle championship when the win should have gone to Riley Gaines, and that’s just a few examples. This is taking a step backward in the feminist movement; we are allowing men to play dress up and win awards and events that are designated for women, which is taking away opportunities for women, causing us to go backwards in the movement for equality. We are living in a time where truth is treated as offensive and biology as optional. But womanhood is not up for debate—it is a reality rooted in science, history, and lived experience. If we care about protecting women, empowering girls, and honoring the generations who fought for equality, then we must be willing to speak plainly. The future of feminism depends not on how loudly we cheer for inclusivity, but on how courageously we defend truth. I refuse to stay silent while the definition of woman is erased. It’s time to stop apologizing for clarity and start rebuilding a culture that honors what is real. Womanhood is beautiful, powerful, and worth protecting—and I will not stand by while it’s redefined out of existence.

  • Objective Morality in a Culture of Chaos

    By Sofia Manina

    September 18, 2025

    We live in a world that celebrates personal truth but forgets universal truth. In one of my classes, we talked about whether murder is still considered a universal moral. But now in today’s society, we seem to justify murder for a bunch of different circumstances, to name a few examples, the assassination of Charlie Kirk, Brian Thompson, and the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump. From the majority of people on the left they seem to change their moral standings on murder when it comes to each person. While I know some of the people on the left can agree that you should never kill someone for their beliefs or what they do, that’s not the case for most. They decided Luigi Mangione was a saint for murdering the CEO of United Healthcare, that the alleged killer of Charlie Kirk was a hero, and that Thomas Mathew Crooks shouldn’t have missed when it came to the attempt on Trump’s life. But when it comes to George Floyd’s death, they were rioting in the streets as a reaction to the way he was killed, it makes you wonder why this specific death would inspire global outrage and mass protests, but not the other figures. These examples are not only disturbing, but they are also revealing, as they show that people are justifying murder based on their political alignment. This isn’t just hypocrisy at this point; it is a collapse of moral reasoning. So what does that say about the values we claim to uphold? I have heard that the left is the party of peace, love, and acceptance, but that doesn’t sound like any of that to me. When we celebrate violence against our opponents and mourn it for our allies, we’ve abandoned the very idea of objective morality. Which is why, as a society, we need to all come back together as human beings and put politics aside when it comes to our morality. If morality shifts based on who’s involved, it’s no longer morality, it’s tribalism. And tribalism doesn’t build justice. It builds division, vengeance, and chaos. Our human dignity should not be determined by our political party; how has it come to this as a society? This is why we need objective morality, because without it, we are not disagreeing, we are unraveling. We’re being conditioned to overlook the evil of murder when it doesn’t fit the preferred political storyline—and that should disturb all of us. I am not writing this to attack anyone, but to show that a change needs to be made. As a young person, I don’t want to inherit a world that is full of hate for each other just because of a difference in beliefs. As a student, a believer, and someone who wants to lead with integrity. I refuse to play the game of selective outrage.  I believe murder is wrong, but I also believe justice must carry weight. That is why I do support the death penalty in cases where due process is honored and the crime demands it. Not because I celebrate death, but because I believe in accountability. What I reject is the glorification of murder based on political convenience. When we excuse violence because it targets someone we disagree with, we’ve lost our moral compass. Justice isn’t about who we like—it’s about what’s right. And if we want to rebuild a culture of dignity, we have to stop bending morality to fit our politics. Let’s be the ones who lead with love, not tribalism. Because morality isn’t a trend. It’s a foundation. And it’s time we rebuild.

  • Faith, Politics, and Finding My Voice

    By Sofia Manina

    September 18, 2025

    I used to think politics was just for old people in suits. Now I know it’s for anyone with a voice and a vision. My name is Sofia Manina, and I am originally from Washington, but I am now in Oregon. The purpose of this blog is to speak bravely and boldly about politics. I am currently a college student who was going to be majoring in nursing, but I have now decided to make the change to a major in history with a political concentration. You may be wondering how and why I came to this decision. Well, let me tell you, it was not an easy one to make. I have spent many countless nights praying and trying to figure out if this was the right switch for me. But everything changed when Charlie Kirk was assassinated during a campus event in Utah. That moment shook me. It wasn’t just tragic—it was a wake-up call. I realized that silence is no longer an option. If we don’t speak up now, we risk losing the very freedoms that allow us to. The reason that advocacy matters to me so much right now is that we are living in a time where clarity is rare and courage is costly, but that’s exactly why it is needed. We’ve seen what happens when people are punished for having a different opinion. That’s not democracy—it’s decay. Well, the change starts with us; we will never accomplish anything if we are too scared to stand up for what we believe. Now is the time to stand up for our beliefs. This blog isn’t just about me-it’s about us. About asking the hard questions and continuing the legacy of Charlie Kirk. This blog is a continuation of a legacy—a voice that refused to be silenced, a mission that challenged cultural confusion, and a movement that called young Americans to stand for truth. Inspired by Charlie Kirk’s unwavering commitment to faith, free speech, and constitutional values, I’m here to carry that torch forward. Expect commentary that doesn’t flinch. Expect reflections that blend biblical conviction with political clarity. Expect questions that disrupt comfort zones and call for courage. I’ll write about the issues that matter—from life and liberty to leadership and legacy—and I’ll do it with the same boldness Charlie modeled. This space is for those who believe that truth is worth defending, that faith belongs in the public square, and that young voices can shape the future of this nation. Whether you’re here to listen, debate, or lead—I’m glad you’re here. Let’s build something that lasts.