If America ever falls, it will be an inside job.
Paul Harvey
Conservatives, like Speaker McCarthy and Justice Thomas, are rightly fighting to preserve rugged individualism, that most American of ideals that created great change agents (Henry Ford) and defenders (General Patton) alike. If they win before the nanny state turns ignominious detractors (The Squad) and dependents (public unions) into a voting majority, this will be an American century. If not, China is licking its chops.
Americans under-age-29 are the Soft Generation; the most depressed and gender-disphoric generation in US history (source: AECF). That’s why 70% see more government as the best way to solve their problems, and 66% think whites oppress blacks (source: Pew Research). That’s why 49% like socialism (source: TAI). That’s why 20.1M follow Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s social gripes on Instagram and Twitter.
AOC is a figment of a status-obsessed nation. YouGov found she is known to 88% of America, despite her 21 House bills receiving no action in committee or a floor vote (source: CFEL). Sadly, 97% of Generation Z is on social media daily, where AOC whines non-stop about America’s sins, feeding their habit of crippling indoctrination. Do the math: Gen Z has the most (57%) college grads of any generation, and 71% of college faculty are liberal (source: AEI).
Numerous studies found Generation Z the most likely to live as adults with their parents, jump from job to job, never get married, and have no children. It is absurd to expect they’ll ever reach the maturity of earlier generations when mom and dad manage the household, work mentors can’t teach accountability, marriages don’t teach sharing and caring, and dependents don’t teach self-sacrifice. All they have is status, when America’s future needs stature.
The great “liberal” lie is that self-aware generations (60s civil rights activists) created American exceptionalism and economic dynamism. Not true, because the self-survival skills of colonial-era pioneers, and cultural-and-economic assimilation by later immigrants, made America the largest economy and most-sought refuge for immigrants by 1890. What social awareness did was “lift all boats” to make the US more equal and its economy more fair.
Social awareness movements that once made Baby Boomers feel better about America now make Gen Z feel bitter. If they despise their country, vote for socialism, and lack the will to defend their homeland, the USA is doomed and, by 2042, they will have the votes to elect AOC president. Choosing status (lots of followers) over stature (trusted by most) is how we got Obama, Trump, and at each other’s throats.
Compare today’s Harvard freshmen to Plymouth Rock Pilgrims (1620), black students at HBCU Cheyney University (1837), or my dad’s veteran class at W&L (1946), and you’ll find gratitude and clear vision are missing. Pilgrims were “thankful” to survive the first winter. Cheyney’s first students were grateful for the opportunity to go to college. W&L’s vets had seen too much inhumanity to compare Washington or Lee to Hirohito and Hitler.
Gen Z can’t see past its touch screen because it lives a delusion, with no appreciation of self-survival and stature. Self-survival is what endowed Thurgood Marshall with the courage and persistence to beat Jim Crow. Stature is what made him the first black justice on the Supreme Court. Marshall was aware of inequality, but it took stature to solve the problem. This need for stature is why McCarthy and Thomas must save Generation Z from itself.
To save Generation Z from insurmountable debt, McCarthy adroitly passed the Fiscal Responsibility Act. Biden’s spending spree crushed any hope young Americans had in the future (they’re depressed, not stupid). McCarthy also passed a bill in Congress to stop Biden’s $400 billion college-loan forgiveness program, which you can bet six conservative justices will rule unconstitutional. If the US is to be tough, it must first exercise fiscal restraint.
A tough populace sees dignity in a job and pride in paying its way. The Fiscal Responsibility Act forces able-bodied persons to work to receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) payments. Holding college-loan recipients to their promise tells taxpayers “we got your back” and tuition borrowers “college is not a right.” Snowflakes need to learn college didn’t make them more “elite” than those who went straight from high school into the workforce or military.
Competition makes everyone stronger. Merit-based entry creates competitive companies and schools that foster innovation and progress. When the 6-3 court rules against Harvard/UNC’s race-based admissions, America wins. Every race needs to emulate the good-parenting and hard work of Asians (our fastest-growing racial group). True liberals need to put black kids before teacher unions, and re-imagine affirmative action as educational vouchers to go to better (parochial and private) schools, where poor kids can study and test their way into top-tier colleges. Winning on merit begets confidence.
Trump promised in 2016 to make America great again. Biden said in 2021 America is back. False claims, because the US is more divided today than ever (source: Vanderbilt Unity Index). Unity happens when citizenship comes with strings attached; like a law requiring one year of national service before teens enter the workforce or college. This, of course, corrects the current shortfall in military recruits, but the real goal is sending clear-eyed and grateful patriots into adulthood.
It is better for future voters to see E Pluribus Unum while giving back to their country – be it guarding the border, serving soup to the homeless, or playing cards with the elderly – with fellow citizens of every race and religion from every class and region before they get to college. After six months guarding the Mexican border, a young man has the real-world experience to stand up to that far-left bully Harvard hired to teach political science. Game on!
The simple truth is we Americans must be tougher to maintain our liberal ideals. Want American exceptionalism? Better promote opportunity over equality. Want economic dynamism? Better promote merit over diversity. Want a safety net after you retire? Better expect less free stuff today. It’s called the real world – and China’s licking its chops.