A new national poll by Quinnipiac University is out this week that holds the mirror up to America — and it’s not pretty. Americans were asked what they would do if we were invaded by Russia. Stay and fight, or run?
Among Republicans, 68 percent say they’d stay and fight, 25 percent say they’d run. Among Independents, it's 57 percent stay, 36 percent run. Among Democrats, it’s 52 percent stay, 40 percent run.
But it’s in the age breakdown that this gets depressing. Among the 18-34 demographic, only 45 percent say they’d stay and fight, 48 percent say they’d run. Uh, that is pathetic. And that’s also our prime fighting age demographic.
Honestly, why would you tell a pollster that if enemy soldiers invaded your homeland, you would rather run than defend it? Seems safe to assume that those who said they’d run simply do not believe the United States is worth defending.
One clue as to how we’ve sunk this low is in one of the later poll questions, which asked:
Would you compare Putin’s actions against Ukraine to Hitler’s actions against Austria and Czechoslovakia before the outbreak of World War II, or do you think that is too strong a comparison or do you not know enough about that history?
Among the 18-34 year-olds, 40 percent say that’s too strong a comparison, and a full 25 percent say they don’t know enough about that history.
Understanding history is highly underrated as a national virtue. Being clueless about history really is a factor in dissolving nations. Yesterday, President Biden requested $2.6 BILLION from Congress to fund global gender equity programs. Yet, on his very first day in office Biden canceled the 1776 Commission which had been started to promote “patriotic education.”
That’s where we are — diversity, equity and inclusion over patriotic education every time.
In Ronald Reagan’s farewell address, he warned about an “eradication of the American memory and erosion of the American spirit.” He urged America to strive for an “informed patriotism.” And he was saying that at the end of a decade that produced Red Dawn, Rambo, and Top Gun.
If Red Dawn was remade today, it would be about a diverse, equitable and inclusive group of young Tik Tok influencers and their struggle to escape into Canada.
Land of the free and home of the brave? I really hope so. But it’s getting harder and harder to tell.