June 4, 2019
On the 75th. anniversary of D-Day, we like to reflect on the momentous beginning of the crusade to save civilization – depicted in the old black-and-white photos of determined young men wading ashore.
But I wonder what they would think, if the heroes of D-Day – those 18- and 19-year-olds from Brooklyn and Chicago and Des Moines, who fought and died on the beaches of Normandy and during the almost year-long campaign to liberate Europe that followed – could see what's become of the country they loved and endured such hardship to preserve.
1. Patriotism is on the wane – They'd find that with each succeeding generation, fewer and fewer Americans are committed to their country. While 85% of the post-war baby boom generation say they're proud to be Americans, that sentiment is shared by only 72% of Gen Xers, 65% of Millennials and a bare majority (54%) of those still in high school. For the Silent Generation, patriotism came naturally, even though most had to go through a Great Depression to reach the sands of Normandy and Iwo Jima. For the children of affluence, raised in skepticism and cynicism, all that was done to give them the life they now enjoy is taken for granted.
2. Americans don't know much about our history – A 2018 survey found that the average American couldn't pass a citizenship test: 72% didn't know which states comprised the original 13 colonies, only 24% could correctly identify one of Ben Franklin's many achievements (37% believed it was inventing the light bulb), only 24% knew why we fought the British to gain our independence, a ridiculous 12% thought Dwight Eisenhower led troops in the Civil War (6% thought he was a Vietnam war general), and while most knew the causes of the Cold War, 2% believed it had something to do with climate change. The test was based on multiple choice questions.
3. Education equals Marxist indoctrination – While they don't learn history or geography, most high school graduates can tell you how and why America is the most racist nation on earth – how we stole the land from the Indians and built this country on the backs of slaves (they imagine we were the only ones who had them), exploited immigrants and abused Chinese railroad workers. In college, they can major in Women's Studies, Black Studies and Queer Theory. About 18% of the social scientists in America are self-identified Marxists, compared to 5% who are conservatives.
4. Since 1973, abortion on demand has been the law of the land, thanks to a deliberate misreading of the Constitution by the Supreme Court – In 2017, 892,000 babies were aborted – roughly nine times the number of Americans who died from D-Day to VE-Day (104,812). Their deaths were sanctioned in the name of freedom, equality and human rights. Worldwide, only 9 nations have higher abortion rates than the land of the free. Now, we're making the natural progression to infanticide. In February, 44 Democratic Senators voted against legislation which would have required physicians to provide medical care to babies who survived abortions.
5. Americans aren't having babies – The United States is going the way of tired-blood Europe – too exhausted to reproduce at replacement level. In 2018, our fertility rate (the number of children the average woman will have in her lifetime) sank to 1.72, with 2.1 needed to replace current population. As a result, our society is aging rapidly. A demographer with the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that by 2035 – in just 16 years – there will be more Americans 65 years of age and older than under 18. If we have another World War, our troops will need wheelchairs and walkers to go into battle.
6. Gay Marriage is an icon – We may not have children, but in 21st. century America, men can marry men and women can marry women, thanks to the same Supreme Court that mandated legalized abortion. Those who refuse to participate in or affirm these travesties are condemned as bigots and (in the case of vendors) fined huge sums. It's surprising that FDR didn't include same-sex marriage among his Four Freedoms. His party is making up for that oversight.
7. Transgenderism is venerated – The latest "civil rights" struggle is for men who think they're women to be treated as if they really are women. In many states, gender-confused men are given access to the bathrooms, shower rooms, and changing rooms of those who actually are women and girls, and allowed to compete in women's athletic events. Trans-speciesism (woof) is just around the corner. Why not a tomb to the Unknown Transgendered Soldier in Arlington Cemetery?
8. The War on God advances on every front – On the evening of June 6, 1944 President Franklin D. Roosevelt made an address to the nation that's come to be known as FDR's D-Day Prayer, where he said in part: "Almighty God: Our sons, pride of our nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity. Lead them straight and true; give strength to their arms, stoutness to their hearts, steadfastness in their faith. They will need Thy blessings." If FDR gave that speech as president today, he'd be arrested by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Thanks to the ACLU, judicial activists and Democratic politicians, God has been largely driven from public schools. Even a moment of silence is verboten. The latest secularist assault is against the World War I memorial erected in Bladensburg, MD. almost 100 years ago, known as the Peace Cross. In 2017, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that publicly funded maintenance of the monument breached the sacred wall of separation. Little did the D-Day heroes know that they were fighting and dying to protect America from the God of their fathers.
9. Popular culture has become a cesspool – Nudity and sex in the movies and on cable television, celebrities who fornicate openly and curse at the president publicly, organizations that lobby for pedophilia, "wardrobe malfunctions," porn stars who've become household names, an entertainment industry that mocks traditional morality at every opportunity and drag-queen story hours for children at public libraries – we have it all. It's estimated 40 million Americans regularly visit porn sites, while 35% of all internet downloads are related to pornography. We've come a long way from movies with married couples sleeping in twin beds and "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a <snip>."
10. 100,000 illegal aliens are streaming across our southern border every month, bringing disease, drugs and gang violence with them. – Across the United States, major cities have forbidden police from cooperating with immigration officials in apprehending these illegals (the so-called sanctuary city movement). The California State Assembly overwhelmingly passed legislation to give illegals public health care benefits, while veterans get substandard medical care due to lack of funding. The Democratic Party does everything humanly possible to block the construction of a border wall, in effect declaring that everyone in the world has a right to be here and live off the taxpayers.
Thankfully, there was no crystal ball on the beaches of Normandy on that fateful day in 1944 which would have enabled our fighting men to see what would become of America. Even then, most would have continued fighting, but it certainly would have taken the fight out of them.
Don Feder is a former Boston Herald writer who is now a political/communications consultant. He also maintains a Facebook page.