What’s at the root of the military recruitment challenge among eligible Americans? National security experts are pointing to drug use, mental health problems, wokeness – and how American history is being taught in government schools.
It’s not a new trend. Almost 10 years ago, a report by the National Assessment of Education Progress showed just 18% of American high school kids knew their way around a history book. In 2020, a CBS news story revealed that how history is taught in high schools varies greatly from state to state.
Year upon year of less emphasis on history, on how the Founding Fathers valued country above self, has come home to roost in the form of armed forces recruiting, Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin (USA-Ret.) said on Washington Watch last week.
It’s been 50 years since the government ditched the draft and opted instead for an all-volunteer force to protect the country – which was “a great idea,” said the general.
“[By going all-volunteer] you were guaranteed that the people coming in wanted to be there. That was not the case when we had the draft. We were bringing in people who did not necessarily want to be in the military,” Boykin told show host Joseph Backholm.
In 1973, veterans of World War II were in greater supply; and in America, feelings of patriotism ran much higher. But times have changed: a Statista.com poll last week found that fewer than 40% of respondents said they were “extremely” proud to be an American.
Boykin sees a link between the absence of history in schools and the present condition. “I think all the polls show that the Zen generation, especially, just does not see service in their military to support their country as imperative – and that’s a very sad thing,” he said.
Generation Z members are described as the first fully global generation – young, ethnically diverse and connected across continents by social media. Of note, they are also the largest generation in American history, comprising 27% of the U.S. population.
“In large measure we have taken history out of the public schools and out of the universities. As a result, when we talk about American history [those students] have no idea what this country is, the price that’s been paid for this country, who our Founding Fathers were, or what our military has done around the world for nations that, in some cases, we don’t even hear about,” Boykin said.
“They have been denied the right to actually be proud to be Americans,” he said, “because they don’t know what America has done for the world. We have done more for the world than any other nation in history. They are not aware of that, and that’s a very difficult thing for me to accept.”
Younger Americans’ decrease in patriotism and an interest to serve in the military did not simply happen, according to the retired general. It’s a coordinated effort, Boykin said, by socialists who are succeeding in tearing down the nation from within.
“That Marxist movement in America … it’s real, and you can’t deny it anymore. The Marxist movement has done everything they can to denigrate this nation,” he argued.. . . . .
. . . . . Elaine Donnelly, president of the Center for Military Readiness, also argues that woke policies are discouraging even pro-military families from pointing their children toward a military career.
“When [they] see military leaders actually using drag queen influencers to try to recruit people for the Navy; or when they see military women being told that if a biological male wants to use the showers and the private living areas of women, that’s okay and [just] to put up with that – why would they encourage their daughters to join? These issues trouble people,” Donnelly emphasizes. . . . (read more on American Family News)
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PHOTO: “Gas turbine system technician (mechanical) Petty Officer 1st Class (SW) Phuong Dao, assigned to Naval Recruiting Office, Pearl Ridge, speaks to students from Radford High School during the school’s 10th annual Career Fair. During the fair, Dao, along with nine other Sailors from various commands in the Pearl Harbor area, spoke with more than 200 students about various job opportunities and benefits the Navy has to offer.” (DVIDS)
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