Hate America ?
Seems like we hear this self-centered, brain-fog foolishness more each day of late. Whether referring to our history, our flag, our anthem, the Constitution, or the Rule of Law, America’s new self-anointed, and mass-rubber-stamped, “victims,” or perhaps even liberty ‘captives’ (white & non-white), can no longer seem to find anything positive to say about the country that has provided all citizens (and non, as well) with endless opportunity and, seemingly, no end of free stuff, while the cry and expectation now goes up among some for even more. Spoken by the, thankfully, relatively few, but incessantly picked up by the liberal-embarrassing national media, and then bellowed to the point where we normal, loyal Americans would begin to assume that we were now a diminishing few (their objective, by the way). Regrettably, and disgustingly, the ‘Hate American’ bandwagon has become all too real, and it appears to be on a roll, boisterously parading through every corner of our nation.
Well. after that downer of an opening paragraph, there is some very positive and mentally-relieving news. And it’s this: According to a very recent national poll (July 2021/1,400 respondents), overall, 73% of Whites and 56% of Blacks/Hispanics are either “extremely or very proud to be an American!” The age demographics, too, are revealing. Among the 65+ respondents polled, 86% are either extremely or very proud to be an American. Within the 45-64 age group, the figure is 75%. Heading on down to the 25-44 age bracket, the extremely/very proud percentage does fall to 59%. Within these age classifications, and especially noteworthy within the last one, there is a fair percentage of people who say they are “only somewhat or not at all proud to be an American” (e.g., that’s 41% within the 25-44 age range). And, by the way, 24% of liberals, overall, apparently fall within that not so proud to be an American cluster. By contrast, 81% of conservatives are mighty proud to be Americans!
The real problem, if, unfortunately, there has to be one, when it comes to American pride, falls within the youngest polled age group: 18-24. Here, just 36% were extremely or very proud to be an American. Also disturbing, an almost equal percentage (35%) were only slightly or not at all proud to be an American citizen. This would be the college student/recent college graduate/career-starting group.
Now, interestingly, among college graduates, overall, a full 75% expressed extreme or great pride in being an American. That must mean that the not-so-grateful-to-be-an-American group is most likely to be composed of those still in college or the freshly-minted college grads who may or may not be experiencing success finding a suitable job, or being satisfied with that first step into the real world of work. The real world, that is, of personal responsibility!
With the prophetic words of former President Ronald Reagan in mind, this group’s prevailing outright negative or ambivalent-to-unsatisfied attitude, about what the rest of us see as the true blessing of being here in America, could pose not only a current, but a growing problem of citizen discontent, if it spreads and grows further. As our great former President Reagan reminded us: “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on to our children to do the same.” Paraphrasing, then, as he went on to warn, ‘or we may well end up telling future generations what it was once like in the United States when men and women were free.’
So, what then could be going on with today’s young people, where love of, and appreciation for, our bountiful, endless-opportunity-providing country seems to be in serious question? The answer may well be within a suggested two words: spoiled and indoctrinated.
Ours is a land of plenty. Other than the legitimately resource-poor among us, today’s youth, for the most part (there are, of course, exceptions), seem to have few basic needs. No question, children raised within a financially-challenged single-parent household, and within a lower-income neighborhood, may well not have access to an abundance of financial support and adult guidance to both make good decisions about behavior and take the fullest advantage of their free education. However, those who are encouraged to either commit full-time to excel in the classroom, or, if less so, find part-time work while in school, by doing either may well develop lasting personal responsibility and a firmer, more realistic view of their hoped-for future. Echoing Dr. King’s constant reminder, 84-year-old Air Force veteran, and distinguished, positive community activist, who among other pro-America endeavors, launched the “1776 Unites organization to counter the historically-factually-false “1619 Project,” Robert Woodson provides us with sage core advice: “We are in charge of our attitude. In other words, it is character that moves people from poverty to prosperity.”
But it is those young people, males especially, blessed to be a part of middle-to-upper income families, economically spoiled or pampered, who, unless, receiving firm guidance at home, or through youth organizations (e.g., BSA), given their lack of financial worries while growing up, may be slow to develop those key character traits (as Woodson referenced) necessary to appreciate what they’ve been given and, in turn, what is expected of them as mature adults. First and foremost, the eventual need to provide for themselves and to realize, with pride and thankfulness, the magnificent nation they’ve been blessed to live in, and within which they’ve been given the opportunity to be, not a sustaining member, but a pro-actively contributing one.
The second word of concern, and perhaps the biggest negative driver about attitude toward America today, is indoctrination. Primarily, indoctrination in schools at all levels, as we hear constantly, concerning especially this issue called Critical Race Theory. And indoctrinator that has, apparently, now spread throughout industry, government, and of huge concern, even our military! Real serious concern overall, but especially within our military, because of the critical need for military member unity (unit cohesion), and the essential focus on how to best, most effectively defend our country and decisively win any necessary wars, rather than devoting any time at all to dividing the races (white “oppressors” and non-white “victims).” And across the board, within schools and well beyond, it appears, dredging up admittedly very wrong American racial transgressions from two-centuries ago (slavery), and the blame now imposed for any and all wrong-doing, ever since, on all white citizens, the so-called and abundantly false charge of “white supremacy”!
Distracting and diminishing the investment of public and private school tuition, classroom instructors, it appears now in the lower grades, as well as the universities, due to that regrettable racial history, from long-ago-ages, are, to varying degrees, said to be labeling America as a flawed, evil, and/or bad nation, with far too much time, attention, and intent it seems has been shifted from education to indoctrination. And that appears to be how some younger Americans are learning to disrespect, even hate, their own birth country. Love for, and positive feeling about, our great country are being purposely and vigorously sand-blasted out of the heads of students, eroding nation-support, especially among our younger ones, something that has never happened to this degree before, or at least has never had such a receptive media to cover and spread widely the emerging discord.
Shame on the naïve, distorting-the-truth, leftist teachers and, especially the university professors, who take it upon themselves to turn nation-loving, or at least nation-accepting, young Americans, too many of whom may not have an effective loyalty counter-balance at home, into a generation who either dislike, or outright hate America. Using up valuable learning time to, instead, introduce socially-disruptive separation of the races talk and, with it, the degradation of ‘oppressive’ white children/young adults, encouraging them, all races, to both distrust each other and to discredit their best-in-the-world country. Given everything else negative happening around us now (open border/bankrupting the treasury/First Amendment clamp-down/faith discouraged/ever-expanding central government/Socialist-Marxist influence, etc.), the very last thing we need are men and women in their teens and 20’s either sort of, or totally, disliking their country, and perhaps even acting out in public accordingly. In some higher-ed schools, extra credit can actually be earned for protest involvement by students!
By the way, isn’t it just amazing how when the white and black race-baiters, and their media pals, stop ponding on racial issues, just how well white and non-white neighbors, work colleagues, family members, and other friends get along! You see it every day in normal society. But cooperation and caring rarely get promoted in our nation today. Unless there’s discord, and charges of “racism,” media cameras are rarely ever there. The good stuff of our society most often goes un-promoted. Sadly, today, there’s seems to no longer be any media sizzle for harmony!
Just like most all of us in the older demographics, on any given day, the younger generation takes electricity, clean water & air, room/board, clothing, fuel, transportation, jobs, faith worship, capitalism, democracy, national sovereignty/security, and freedom (and most everything else in life) pretty much for granted. That is until something like what happened in Texas this past winter occurs, when their wind generators froze-up and the power went out for several days. Such an event instantly slams you back into deep appreciation for basic necessities. People you emigrate here legally often have a far greater appreciation for things we native born take for granted. Like, those very basic necessities. When an individual escaped from the poor country of Haiti, he was asked why he loved the U.S. His response: “toilets!” You see, he had grown up without one. His family home did not have electricity at all until he was a teenager.
Many fault our education system today for, it is said, “teaching fewer historical facts, and more political narratives,” the very thing we just covered above. Emphasizing “feelings” rather than “facts.” As an example, a Woodrow Wilson Foundation study determined that only 19% of Americans under the age of 45 could pass a citizenship exam, while 74% of those over 65 could. Those are disappointing numbers, especially for the “younger” age groups. More education, and less indoctrination. More desire to really learn about the factual realities of American history and, with it, the related responsibilities of American citizenship. Wrote Ryan Fazio in the New York Post for our recent Independence Day: “As Americans, we are heirs to a great inheritance. Few people on this earth have it as good as almost all of us. And few across history could ever have imagined it this good. And so, on July 4th, and every day, a little gratitude is in order for those who got us here.” And from the last century to the present in particular, a whole heck of a lot of gratitude is due those members of our great military and security services, past and present, who have given so much, including the ultimate sacrifice, to preserve our great country and our precious freedoms. So, please be ever grateful for these amazing United States of America where, thankfully, freedom continues to ring.
(Proud to be an American polling/Reagan quote via newsmax.com, Charlie McCarthy, 7-5-21; Robert Woodson quote via foxnews.com, Yael Halon, 7-11-21; Citizenship test study figures, immigrant memory of American toilets, & NY Post quote via nypost.com, Ryan Fazio, 7-3-21).