Why do so many young people think America is a bad place?

July 12, 2022

One of the things that bothers many of the seasoned citizens among us is the high degree of discontentment that many in the younger generations feel about their country. Many of us were born and raised in a time when we learned at home, in school, and in church about our country. We learned to appreciate America for the freedoms it provided us that were unmatched anywhere on the planet.

And while we see and know that America is not perfect, and that not all members of those younger generations view their country as a bad place, it is still disturbing to see how many of them think that America is a bad place, and what they imagine would make America better.

They are cheered on and led by older folks, who ought to know better but, sadly, do not.

And then, magically, to make us feel better about this situation, a video by a member of a younger generation appears in an email.

The video is the senior speech by Julie Hartman, delivered in Harvard’s Memorial Chapel on May 3, 2022. 

Her speech begins, “Last Spring Break I went on a trip with a hundred other Harvard graduates to Israel. It was one of the most extraordinary experiences of my life. And I will always be grateful to Harvard for that.

“I recall the trip with awe and joy. But a certain moment rattled me” at a dinner her group attended at a Tel Aviv synagogue. “The Rabbi proclaimed, ‘Welcome to Israel. You are all here from America, the best country in the world.’ He paused. But not a single person clapped. The Israelis stared in disbelief.”

Like those of us who really know and understand our country, the Israelis were surprised at the lack of appreciation these youngsters showed.

Harvard grad Hartman then listed some of the things that have occurred that criticized America, and should have received pushback, but didn’t.

* “The New York Times won a Pulitzer Prize for reporting that the sole purpose of the American Revolution was to preserve slavery. And we remained silent.”

* “The Oregon Department of Education observed that showing your work and finding the right answer in math is white supremacist. And we remained silent.”

* “The American Medical Association has stated that the U.S. should remove gender from birth certificates. And we remained silent.”

* “Howard Zinn, author of the most widely read history text in American public schools, said that America has done “more bad than good.” And we remained silent.”

* “A huge percentage of the donations to the national Black Lives Matter organization have been spent on compensation and benefits, including several extravagant real estate purchases, and questionable consulting contracts. And we remained silent.”

* “On this campus we often hear how oppressive America is. Just outside of this church, there was a sign for Israeli Apartheid Week, of an upside-down faded America flag with painted bullet holes in it. And we remained silent.”

“We must not lie to ourselves, or to one another,” she said, “by denying that a large reason that we remain silent is that we see personal and professional advantages in doing so. We are ashamed to be American? The shame should be on us.”

“The people who excoriate religion live in a society where their freedoms are based on the Bible,” she said. “Many who say that the nuclear family is antiquated grew up in two-parent households. Those who condemn the police as oppressive still summon them when they are in danger. And too many use their right to free speech to advocate suspending it for all who disagree with them.” 

Reiterating that Americans are the freest, most privileged people on Earth, she said: “Yet many of us are ashamed to show any, even the tiniest trace of national pride. Why?”

 And then she explained: “Because we Americans of recent generations have been swaddled in prosperity and security, and in consequence have become ungrateful for the blessings we enjoy. It requires vigorous, athletic imagination for most of us to consider the basic brutal reality that much of the world experiences daily. Even worse, we have consumed a cultural diet that reduces America to its ugliest moments, and dismisses its noble ideals and accomplishments as jingoism.”

“What a litany of dishonesty. We are using our privilege to undermine the very system that has given us that privilege.”

In closing, she noted that despite its problems, America stands alone in its level of individual freedom, and it is therefore the last stronghold of individual freedom. 

“We must speak up against this now or our civilization will face a somber reckoning. As President Reagan said, ‘If not us, who? If not now, when?’” 

How refreshing to hear this message from one of those in the disturbed and oppositional generations. Especially one who attended and graduated from one of the most liberal and anti-American biased institutions in America.