The West has made a massive and possibly fatal mistake in not passing along its heritage and values.
There are things going on in the Western world that are very hard to fathom:
*Locally-born youths join Muslim protesters demanding the end of their countries and the creation of a caliphate. Many young men and women in Europe convert to Islam, while gays and “trans” join those who would throw them off of tall buildings.
*Mexican rioters are joined—and funded—by Americans who participate in the violence against officers of the law and the destruction of private property.
*Courses in K-12 and universities depict the U.S. and other Western countries as slave-owning, colonial, racist states.
*Much of the Democratic platform and the views of the party’s supporters are anti-American and in favor of open borders, reparations, and weakening of core institutions like the police and border patrol.
How have Westerners become so anti-Western? How have we brought up several generations of people who hate their countries, their religion, and oftentimes themselves? The answer is love.
When we bring up our children, we have many decisions to make. Beyond what’s for dinner and whether to buy a new bunk bed, we need to decide how much we wish to pass along to our children from our own lives. Specifically, many people who came from strong religious backgrounds are hesitant to pass along to the children the religion of their fathers. They see it as outdated and a possible interfering factor in being successful. I remember my mother telling me that if I kept kosher I might miss out on a big lunch with the boss and thus lose out on a future promotion. The same is true for patriotism. Sure, we’re gung-ho on America and proud of its past. But maybe we should have our kids see a “more balanced” view that includes a focus on slavery and the racist Jim Crow south. In short, out of the love of our children, we have chosen to let them make their own decisions about religion, country, and future rather than instill in them the values which we ourselves hold dear.
And while such an approach would seem admirable, the fact remains that denying a child a strong religious upbringing does not mean that said child does not have a yearning for something beyond himself. When I see many British women who appear to have converted to Islam, I imagine that they grew up in households that did not stress the Church of England or religious life. Their longing for something of meaning may have brought them to Islam. The same is true of our American-born citizens throwing blocks at officers and setting police cars on fire. They were not brought up on the greatness of America. No, they were left to whatever the schools had to offer. And I believe that many parents only found out what their children are being taught when Covid brought the kids home where the parents could watch their lessons. I can imagine a mother stirring a cake batter walking behind her daughter as a Zoom teacher stated, “The US was built on slave labor and the theft of Indian lands….” If she did not drop the mixing bowl or throw the computer out the window, I would be surprised. Many parents chose not to give their children strong upbringings in religious and patriotic values. They left it to the schools that are often leftwing, Marxist indoctrination centers. And their motivation was not to burden the children with their own traditional values, so they left them value-free. But those children want to belong, they want something “big” of which they can be a part. So many scream “Intifada revolution” with their new Muslim friends, while others run around with Mexican flags, demanding the end of “racist” ICE operations.
Behind these activities and groups is a ton of money. There is no shortage of left-leaning millionaires and billionaires as well as foreign actors who can afford to supply riot equipment or bail offenders out of jail. Though everything—including their wealth—came for many of them by their living in America, they hate the country that has made them rich. How can they show that they are not just mere wealthy exploiters? Give to the anti-American cause and you’ll be just like us. Advertising for an upcoming anti-ICE national protest is sponsored by one of the Walton billionaires. Mayor Bass complained that the riots only started when ICE began its work in LA. Her argument is that the US has no right to remove illegal aliens from the country, because doing so can upset the harmony of America’s second largest dysfunctional city. A recent X post quoted a British “activist”: “Let all the refugees and asylum seekers in, because we caused the wars and we are to blame for it. The ruling class uses racism to divide the working class. Islamization is not real.” Marx could not have said it worse.
So what is the prescription? Donald Trump is right to federalize the LA response, as both the mayor and the governor will not come out against their best constituents—illegals and their American-born lefty allies. The root problems need to be addressed at the home and in the schools. A robust teaching of how good (but not perfect) America is along with religious values which traditionally were passed along in the home is what is needed. By loving our children and not giving them values, we simply let them pick up their values from the street or school. If you don’t actively teach them that your country is good, they may come to hate it. If you don’t actively pass on religious values of right and wrong, they will fill them with another religion or possibly a destructive ideology like Marxist intersectionality. Thus, pampered white kids at expensive schools can hold Qatar-sponsored signs supporting Hamas rapists and murderers.
As I tried to figure out how to finish this article, the NY Post provided the answer: “Twin daughters of [a] senior Los Angeles official arrested at ICE riots for allegedly assaulting police officer.” It appears that they struck the officer with a “deadly weapon.” At a rally, the father expressed pride in his children rather than disgust that a normal parent would feel for a child who tried to kill a police officer doing his job. The official in question used to be the mayor of Pasadena. He told a crowd that he was going to bail his daughters out of jail. Maybe a childhood filled with pride in the US and California would have led to a nonviolent future for his two offspring. He should be ashamed, not proud.