Sometimes the most effective way to win a political argument is to make sure your opponent knows what’s actually happening.
Victor Joecks (Las Vegas Review Journal)
Most of us gave generously to our kids and grandchildren at Christmas – flights, gifts, entrusted funds – and zipped it when they argued for a world our family patriarchs (many of whom fought for Generation Z’s right to say stupid sh*t) would not even recognize. I am, of course, talking about cheering for Palestine, supporting gender transitions, and rushing into a world without fossil fuels.
Personally, I blame aunts and moms, who – with the best intentions – put a gag order on discouraging words that might incite a Gen Z hissy fit. Meanwhile, your head was about to explode while Sissy bemoaned those “climate denier” Republicans (right before she roared off in your gas-guzzling BMW 750 to a drinks party).
How about next year giving them the gift that keeps on giving – the truth? Because a “liberal” education is no longer grounded in intellectual honesty, and TikTok is China’s way of saying “eat our dust!” Seriously, with $34 trillion in national debt and aging fast, we’re gonna need these kids to climb out of three thinking traps.
THINKING TRAP #1 is that Israelis got their just reward for colonizing a Palestinian homeland. Give Junior a history book, because the Philistines (today’s Palestinians) came from north of Turkey to colonize Philistia (now Gaza) 600 years after the Israelites were settled on the Mediterranean coast. This is true, and Yasser Aarafat turned down Bill Clinton’s sweetheart homeland deal.
And just wait until the dramatic re-creation of October 7 streams on Netflix, because Sissy needs to understand “barbarism” is alive and kicking in Gaza and “Palestinian terror” comes with a heavy dose of unthinkable (in America) cruelty to women. Before then, I suggest you make her watch Schindler’s List and go to the Holocaust Museum – because the “bad guys” are not the Jews.
THINKING TRAP #2 is that transitioning one’s body into a new gender is a “civil right” like coming out as gay or lesbian. You know better because you saw that Ziggy Stardust was David Bowie being theatrical – not extreme – so don’t sit silent while brainwashed teens advocate for anatomical mutilation. Most European nations so regret their social experiments, they’re closing down sex-change clinics and airing “don’t do it” documentaries.
For every granddaughter dumb enough to argue for male athletes self-selecting themselves into girls sports, I recommend a highlight video of UNC’s Tyler “Psycho T” Hansbrough (especially the Duke game, where Gerald Henderson crushes Tyler’s nose to prevent a lay-up). Create a coed league, sweetie, but God made you perfect just the way you are.
THINKING TRAP #3 is fossil fuels have created the “immediate threat” of weather-related deaths worldwide. Start with the science (data). In 2020, the global death toll from “extreme weather conditions” was 14,000, a 96% decrease from 1920, when over 450,000 human deaths resulted from droughts, extreme temperatures, floods, storms, and wildfire – despite a quadrupling of the planet’s population.
As for the “electric car” solution, tell Junior how electricity is produced. In 2022, America’s electricity production was 60.4% fossil fuels, 18.2% nuclear, and 21.3% renewables (source: EIA/GOV). And, as a practical matter, the continued shift to natural gas since 1971 is responsible for 62% of America’s carbon-emission reduction (source: AGA).
Here’s an idea: give your heirs a subscription to the Wall Street Journal – or this blog (I’m cheaper). Seriously, I sat with a cousin’s 16-year-old daughter at a holiday dinner, and she reminded me of 16-year-old me in 1970 – when I wanted to march on Washington (except I had no car) and live on a commune (except I didn’t know where one was). I look back and wonder how my parents put up with me. But…
It’s harder for kids to see through the BS today. Public schools can’t teach – and private schools won’t teach – without indoctrinating. Social media keeps their emotions on spin cycle. They need you. Guess what? I connected to that 16-year-old girl by talking about our family’s history (she listened with great curiosity), which is to say there’s a real person inside that Gen Z body.