The Oblivious Generation
How Young Americans Forgot They Have Enemies
Let me paint you a picture: a generation so coddled, so swaddled in the soft blanket of modern American comfort that they can't even fathom the idea that our country has enemies.
No, I'm not talking about the dangers of accidentally misgendering someone at Starbucks or which books we allow into elementary schools, I'm talking about real, flesh-and-blood enemies of the state. The type who would cheer at US-bound rocket fire the way that Taylor Swift fans cheered at the Super Bowl. In case you forgot, those people still exist by the hundreds of thousands, across the globe.
For decades, young Americans have been sheltered from the cold, harsh realities of the world. They’'ve been spoon-fed tales of progress and unity, while simultaneously shaming them about our own sins (racism, sexism, homophobia) so much that they cannot comprehend the idea of enemies beyond our borders. Ask the average college kid about threats from China, and they'll see it through the lens of anti-Asian hate, dismissing any critical discussion as bigotry. They don't see China as a strategic rival; but as a virtuous victim who most likely did nothing wrong except oppose western imperialism.
And then there's the mind-boggling phenomenon of Osama bin Laden going viral on TikTok in November. Yes, the man behind the worst terrorist attack on American soil was widely-quoted by young American minds like he was just some edgy, misunderstood philosopher with good ideas worth hearing.
It would be laughable if it weren't all so terrifying.
White, college-aged cheerleaders across the country (and even LGBT youth) shared and celebrated his video with a straight face, and then went back to their coddled lives of Frappuccinos and Acai bowls without even the slightest acknowledgement of the gaping hole that Osama bin Laden left in downtown Manhattan, or the thousands of innocent lives lost.
The takeaway of young Americans was “we deserved it.” That we, as a country, deserve whatever death that Islamic extremists want for us. How is that possible? It's like we're living in a surrealist nightmare where our kids look at an American flag and an ISIS flag, and can’t tell which one wishes them harm.
How did we get here? Simple. We insulated ourselves to the point of ignorance. Social media, our ever-present oracle, feeds us the illusion that we're both safe and enlightened. In reality, it's a free-for-all battleground for foreign influence. The CCP, Russia, and Islamic radical groups are all in the mix, playing the long game, manipulating narratives, and turning our youth into unwitting pawns. They plant seeds of doubt, leading kids to the conclusion that maybe, just maybe, America is the real enemy.
This soft worldview isn't a recent phenomenon. It stretches back to the aftermath of the Vietnam War, a conflict that swung much of America so far-left (and so anti-war) that much of a generation lost the capability to discern real threats. The Vietnam War wasn't just a military debacle; it was a cultural shift that made skepticism of any American military action the default stance. Decades later, this skepticism has evolved into a pervasive reluctance to acknowledge that threats even exist, lest we be seen as warmongers or even worse… politically incorrect!
You can't blame the kids entirely, though. They're the products of a system that values free speech to a fault, leaving the doors wide open for every Tom, Dick, and Vladimir to whisper sweet nothings of disinformation into their ears. These young minds think they're forming their own opinions, blissfully unaware that an idea dancing around in their mind may have come from a grander scheme, generations in the making.
So, what's the play here? How do we put out this dumpster fire of ignorance before it consumes us all? It’s gonna take a concerted effort, folks. This isn't just an issue of misguided youth; it's a full-blown information war, and America is losing. Our enemies are playing 4D chess while we're doom-scrolling Instagram and learning about foreign policy as a side-note during AOC’s makeup tutorials. If this is how young people’s minds are shaped regarding important issues like national security, what are the chances this story ends well?
Wake up, America. The threats are real, and they don't care about your feelings. It's time we fight back with truth, education, and a little bit of good old-fashioned skepticism… before it’s too late.