Hey folks,
I went on NewsNation to talk about Lindsey Graham’s claim that America is a “force for good in the world.” I want that to be true. I really do. But if you’re asking young Americans to believe in that idea—let alone sacrifice for it—you have to actually give them something to believe in first.
Right now, many of the loudest voices pushing for another war are people who will never fight it, and whose families won’t either. Meanwhile, the generation that would be asked to serve is still waiting on the basic promises they were told this country would deliver: good jobs, the ability to buy a home, the chance to start a family.
When leaders break those promises and then ask for sacrifice anyway, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that skepticism follows. Patriotism isn’t blind loyalty—it’s believing your country is worth investing in, and that it’s investing in you, too.
That’s the conversation we should be having.
—Mike
