America's values and societal competence has been declining for the last two decades or so, but especially in the last ten years. Less kids are becoming literate, less kids are doing well in school, and more of them than ever are embroiled in their self-esteem depending on social media. We are a far-removed nation from the times of 'the greatest generation' of the 1940s and 1950s.
In addition to the decline in mental competence among the youth has been a sharp drop-off in military enrollment numbers. Most branches of services are seeing enrollment deficits in the thousands, or in the case of the Air Force, over 20 thousand. The Army in 2023 is seeing a deficit of around 10 thousand.
People are just not serving their country anymore, and The Federalist's Joshua Claybourn says this mirrors our downfall as a society.
"It really reflects a change in what we see in sense of duty, sacrifice, and our societal values as a whole," he says.
We will discuss the sense of duty momentarily. But back to the social media aspect of things first.
Gen-Z service members have taken to that old foe Tik Tok to voice their displeasures with military services, and have created a mutiny of sorts on the app. That alone adds to the recruitment decline.
"Campaigns erupting on there also raises other questions as to how much foreign enemies are influencing that," he says. "It is an app run by Chinese nationals...that raises a whole host of concerning issues."
Concerning it is, especially since China's main goal to destroy the United States from within itself begins by turning the youth against their country.
Now back to the sense of duty aspect. Americans simply do not feel a sense to protect the country, which Claybourn says is a result of becoming complacent.
"No real conflict, or real risk to the United States, has played a part...you get lazy when you are not required to be on edge, and stay on the defensive," he says.
The other part of that equation is the American involvement in what plenty of people describe as 'unjust wars.'
"Vietnam...some issues with the Iraq War...that is not a universal sentiment, but a significant portion view it that way," he says. "That has undermined some sense of duty...why sign up to fight a war you do not believe in?"
So, is there a way to fix this backwards slide? A look at better incentives, according to Claybourn, would be at least a start. But the real fixing of the issue begins right here at home.
"We need to foster a sense of shared purpose. Some of that begins in schools...federal institutions. But...most of that begins at home. It requires every family to take on that responsibility," he says.
But until that happens, we will continue riding the slow ride to national decay.
Photo: AFP