Most can agree that America’s future rests in the hands of the generations who will eventually be leading it. Unfortunately, a recent Gallup poll suggests that America’s future looks pretty bleak as the majority of the youngest generation of voters polled has little pride in their country. There are some who tout that freedom-loving Americans are “winning,” but from the results of this poll and the growing radical leftist activism of youth across America today, one is left wondering what it is exactly that these celebratory groups think they are winning.
The most recent Gallup poll, reported by Axios, revealed that only 18% of those aged 18-34 said that they were “extremely proud” of America. Axios noted that this result showed an extreme drop in the number of this age group’s response since 2013 when 85% of those polled responded affirmatively that they were “extremely” or “very” proud to be an American.
With American pride appearing to be at its lowest, many are pondering the reason, and many can pinpoint part of the problem correctly. Far leftist educators, far left teaching organizations, and far left curricula have become dominant in America’s classrooms over the course of several decades, making them the most prevalent voice America’s youth has been hearing. (This is aside from the celebrities who also publicly and proudly boast anti-American sentiment.)
What some may not recognize is that the other part of the problem is the lack of effective organizations trying to fight the exclusive influence the left has had and continues to have on America’s youth. Unfortunately, conservative think tanks have nothing to show after decades of existence even with raking in millions upon millions of dollars. With the amount of support they have received, they should have been able to disrupt the takeover of the radical left by now, but they have failed, and will continue to fail if they don’t change their strategy. While some claim to have made achievements, talking to a politician at a conference or conservative college students who are already in agreement has changed nothing, and producing unusable classroom resources has left exceptional conservative teachers empty-handed.
With all of the money these organizations have received, America has seen the growth of the radical leftist agenda including Critical Race Theory (CRT), “social justice” standards, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), and the 1619 Project, which all began entering the classroom well before 2020. Radical leftist organizations have been destroying classrooms across America with high quality lessons comprised of far left content including the Zinn Education Project, Learning for Justice, Facing History and Ourselves, and EmbraceRace among others. The far left knew that in order to be effective in taking over the education system they would need one key group of people to be successful: teachers. By recognizing the power teachers have in classrooms across America, they were able to influence the people who speak directly to kids and determine what they learn and how they perceive all topics they cover.
Unfortunately, the right continues to belittle teachers and ignore their presence and influence in education while wrongly focusing exclusively on unions, the Board of Education, or parents. Ignoring the power of the teacher has been the right’s greatest weakness.
Although many may agree on the problem, the solution is far more complicated and a point of contention among those looking to curb the current trend of anti-American sentiment in schools and curricula. The Locke Society knows that instilling American pride in America’s youth will take a lot of time and a lot of money. While American history has dark moments that should not be ignored, the good that America has done should be recognized.
By pledging their “Lives, Fortunes, and sacred Honor,” our Founding Fathers and patriots risked everything for the establishment of the greatest nation on earth; a nation with the strongest foundation for the security of liberty and natural rights to ever exist. As Sean Hannity often quotes, Barry Farber said, “There’s never been a country on the face of the Earth that has accumulated more power and abused it less and used it more for the good than this country.” But many of these leading leftist organizations and educators fail to point out the good America has done after assuming a vast amount of power.
Unfortunately, some of the leading educational organizations that teachers rely on for materials, like the Zinn Education Project and Facing History, emphasize the dark moments with a significant disregard for America’s progress. Without these lessons, America’s youth will never know the good that our nation has done since its inception nor the virtuous foundations on which America was built.
The solution is not simply making a patriotic movie or singing a patriotic song; it is integrating American pride in the material that youth across America interact with and think about on a daily basis. Lessons created by teachers are carefully crafted to have a lasting impact on students, and their recall of the lessons they have learned shapes their worldview, and the view of their country. With lessons like those that teach the U.S. liberation of Nazi concentration camps, the foundations and values of a free market economy, the efforts of emancipation, the Civil Rights Movement, and the leaders that have helped America grow as a nation that values freedom and promotes “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” for all, America’s youth will easily find the pride they have for their country. In comparison, lessons revealing the truth about communism, including life under the cruel dictatorships of Mao, Castro, and Stalin, will help youth have a better appreciation for living in America and being American.
America and the American dream are facing an extinction level threat. If this poll is even partially accurate, America, as we know it, will not last much longer. The future of our nation is in the hands of our youth, and unless we begin to educate all youth across America on the many reasons they should be extremely proud of their country, they and the world will suffer the consequences of believing, and possibly only knowing, the falsities of the radical left that portray America as a country plagued by darkness, despair, and hypocrisy.
