Unpatriotic Youth
America’s biggest problem may be Zoomer leftism
A new poll shows patriotism in dramatic decline. The WSJ-NORC poll found that only 38 percent say patriotism is very important (down from 70 percent in 1998 and 61 percent in 2019). It also found that 39 percent say religion is very important (down from 62 percent in 1998 and 48 percent in 2019),and 30 percent say having kids is very important (down from 59 percent in 1998 and 43 percent in 2019). The number of Americans saying community involvement is very important has plummeted from 62 percent to 27 percent in just four years. The only thing more Americans are saying is very important is money, which rose to 43 percent from the 2019 figure of 41 percent.
These figures look grim, but a closer look reveals they’re not as bad as they appear. When combined with the option of saying these things are “somewhat important,” a majority of Americans still say patriotism, religion, and having kids is important. A majority is just no longer saying they’re “very” important. That may reassure some, but those figures don’t change the downward trends among the youth. For Americans under 30, 23 percent say patriotism is very important, 31 percent say religion is very important, and 23 percent say having kids is important. Other surveys find similar results. A January Morning Consult poll found that just 16 percent of Zoomers say they’re proud to live in America. Among millennials, it stands at 36 percent.The lack of patriotism is also evident in the military recruiting crisis. Young people don’t seem to want to serve their country.
Why are young Americans not proud of their country?
The Wall Street Journal interviewed a variety of people to see what they think. Some gave interesting answers. A Trump-supporting black veteran said he believes patriotism is in decline, in the WSJ’s telling, “in tandem with rising individualism, a sense of entitlement among many people and a decline in community involvement, possibly because of people focusing on their own racial or cultural backgrounds rather than what Americans have in common.” A pollster who oversaw the survey attributed the decline to the sour economic outlook. A math teacher attributed the decline to low educational performance and Americans’ lack of vacation time. A former Pentecostal minister offered a reason why liberals are no longer patriotic: “For me, patriotism has turned into right-wing nationalism.”
The veteran and the minister gave the best explanations for the decline. The same poll provides strong evidence for the vet’s claims, showing Americans place more importance on money than community. Many people, particularly on the Left, openly show their disdain for America. Patriotism is certainly in decline when mainstream media talking heads reel from the sight of the Stars and Stripes.
It’s easy to dismiss left-wing commentators going down the path of anti-patriotism. But it is a major problem if it’s shared by a large percentage of young Americans.
Some on the Right believe the decline in patriotism and military recruitment is due to wokeness repelling sensible Americans from our institutions. People are supposedly waking up to the menace of the Globalist American Empire and wanting an exit. But the truth is the opposite.
These figures and developments reflect the belief among Zoomers, particularly non-white Zoomers, that America isn’t woke enough. They do not feel proud of this racist, sexist, and transphobic country, rather than not being proud of it for being too diverse and too degenerate. Our people still tell pollsters they’re proud to be Americans. A lot of young white Americans still want to join the military. The youth who don’t want to join are more likely to be “New Americans.”
Zoomers were taught that the nation’s history is filled with slavery, genocide, and white supremacy. They’re not going to be proud of that. The growing number of non-whites don’t see themselves in the Founding Fathers or the other men who made this country great. They don’t see themselves in the flag or the national anthem. They don’t want to fight and die for a country they view as nothing more than a place to make money. This is why they gravitate to the 1619 Project conception of America rather than the patriotic alternatives.
What do the youth care about if not the country they live in? Their own individual desires, their purported identities, and the latest social justice cause. This gives the Left a zealous army to call on to serve its cause. Last week, youth stormed the state capitols of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Texas to demand gun control and more “trans rights.” It’s hard to think of an issue where the Right could mobilize a similar number of Gen Zers to protest. Most right-wing demonstrations are middle-aged affairs and polls show the most conservative people tend to be older. That’s not to say there are no young right-wingers, but there is a noticeable age difference between the two sides.
It is a serious problem that a sizable portion of young Americans are very woke and ready to act on those beliefs. The majority of young people are probably apolitical and they could become conservative as they age. But right now, it’s not looking good.
The upcoming divide in America will be between those who are patriotic and those who see this country as fundamentally racist. Even though the nation will be more in accordance with the anti-America crowd than the patriots, the former will still hate it. Patriots will still fly the flag and stand for the national anthem while the country transforms itself into something they don’t recognize. It’s an odd dynamic, to say the least.
The youth are the future. How to reach them is the major challenge for the Right. There won’t be much of a future if our next generation of leaders looks like the kids who stormed the Texas capitol.
To be fair, right-wing protests like Charlottesville had a large youth presence, and it brought those people nothing but misery. Leftist zoomers will never experience doxxing, while many young conservatives have much to lose while nothing to gain from attending protests. It's not good, but that's the world we live in, unfortunately.
Breaking this issue into some component parts.
As we all know, one problem is that progressives control messaging institutions (media, entertainment, schools, etc.).
Another problem is that non-progressives often don't have a strong message.
"Control more media companies" is probably a pretty obvious statement, but one topic that doesn't get enough play on our side is encouraging non-progressives to work in media and entertainment. Too many non-progressives pretend it's impossible to work in Hollywood when what's really impossible is for them to stop playing video games long enough to get a real job. If random Indians can work in Hollywood, you can too. That would help.
I'm less sure about how best to address the second issue, but one thing we could do is to stop promoting delusional ideas that harm the people that follow them. Young people just want to get ahead and have a good time, because they start with nothing by default and, as they say, you're only young once.
Progressives pitch young people on how to advance their careers (i.e. eventually make money) and how to enjoy themselves. Non-progressives have a tendency to pitch "how to waste your youth making boomers slightly better off", "how to continue to buy into and contribute to systems that no longer work", "how to kill your career by offending people that control powerful institutions", etc.
At the very least, we can jump all over our own side any time they are still doing one of those.