America’s Weak Links – What Must Be Done to Protect Our Families?
Our vulnerabilities are glaring right now.
Under misguided leadership from the very top, as a nation, we’ve taken our eye off the ball.
We’ve prioritized equity, inclusion, climate, protests, and pronouns; meanwhile, our security, energy, and self-sufficiency crumble – seemingly by design.
Before getting into this – a note of hope. Calling out things is essential. It helps us refocus and recommit to protecting our freedoms, foundations, and nation’s future. We hope that by looking at some of the tangible vulnerabilities and the more intangible societal shifts that have weakened us, we can join our families and communities to strategize a grassroots resurgence of ingenuity and sanity to usher in a great American comeback.
Infrastructure Insanity
Our leaders have put Americans in harm’s way – and most of us have been blissfully unaware. Well, maybe not blissful, but many of us haven’t seen the scope of the danger to our infrastructure.
What would happen if we lost electricity for a few days, weeks, or months? I don’t mean a late afternoon brownout or a day-long outage; we’re talking about your entire city plunged into darkness for days or weeks. There’s no way to charge your phone, keep your fridge running, power a CPAP machine, heat or cool your home, or fuel your car. It could even affect our ability to access clean drinking water and other necessities for survival.
Apparently, there are multiple ways our grid can be brought down by enemy nations, terrorists, and even through natural occurrences caused by the power of the sun.
These threats extend to our energy pipelines, water, and technology. What happens if we lose our internet access indefinitely? At first blush, you might think of it as a needed break for a social media-addicted culture, but it goes much further. In our technologically advanced society, we rely on the internet to manage our power plants, medical care – and even our pipelines. We would all be shocked to discover the ripple effect of that sort of outage and just how dependent we have become on modern life.
What Can You Do?
Many have begun preparing for such a catastrophe by purchasing emergency food supplies, water purification, and solar-powered generators. Some characterize “preppers” as crazy and out of touch – however, in an emergency of this sort, they look pretty smart from where we sit.
The breadth of these dangers and potential solutions are portrayed in a fascinating and important documentary, Grid Down, Power Up, narrated by Dennis Quaid and produced by David Tice.1 Their recommendations include an urgent call to harden and protect our infrastructure. This can be accomplished by the strategic action of legislators and energy companies at the national and local levels. We talked with David about the crucial challenges before us on this week’s podcast.
Social & Moral Infrastructure Meltdown
While concrete things can be done to create safeguards and protections for these vulnerabilities in our infrastructure, we must also examine our culture’s social and moral devolution. As moms, we can make a difference in this decline for the next generation – and we must.
Relationship Ruin
As a people, we’ve shifted from our community-focused society to largely going it alone. With rampant smartphone dependence, over half of U.S. citizens check their phones almost 160 times daily. It’s no wonder things have gotten weird with our relationships.
I remember hearing a youth pastor share about inviting a group of kids to “hang out” in his basement rec room one day. Phones were banned, and the kids spent those hours eating pizza, playing games, talking, and laughing together. He recalled that one of the teens raved that it had been the best thing they’d ever done as a group and asked if they could do it again sometime. For that kid, the idea of unplugged time with friends was revolutionary. For many of us, hanging out in someone’s basement is what we did every weekend when we were their age in the 70s and 80s. But that was before smartphones. It’s how we made friends and got to know each other better. It’s not that complicated – yet in today’s hyper-connected society, it is.
This disconnection from face-to-face socializing has played out in dating as well. A poll from the Survey Center on American Life revealed that only about half of Gen Z men had a romantic relationship during their teens; meanwhile, more than 75% of Baby Boomers and Gen X dated as teens. We won’t quibble about what age is right to date – that’s a question each family must answer for themselves. Still, the point is that there is a trending disconnection among our teens and young adults.
It may seem trivial at first blush, but the decline in dating seems to have led to a decrease in marriage as well. Less are marrying, and fewer are having children. We know that the American family is a vital strength in our culture. The family’s decline could have highly detrimental effects in years to come.
What Can You Do?
Model Healthy Marriage (if you’re married). Work to keep your marriage healthy and strong so your kids will hope for a family when they grow up. Tell stories about your life so they understand the beauty of our values, celebrations, and rich traditions.
Unplug – Model healthy habits through phone-free relational fun for your kids. Think hikes, board games, dinner together, and all kinds of activity. Teach your teens to look someone in the eye, carry on an undistracted conversation, and enjoy reading, listening to music, and engaging in creativity.
Connect – Make time for conversation where you listen to your kids, share the day’s issues with them, and discuss different viewpoints and ideas cordially. Let them learn to discern by modeling logic and compassion with the latest controversy. Make sure no topic is off limits, and you’ll soon tackle questions your kids face in their increasingly complicated world.
Party – You provide the pizza, movie, games, and the basement and invite the friend group to your place. Require phones to be left upstairs and watch the fun unfold and relationships deepen.
Education Erosion
We’ve repeatedly shared about the chaos and breakdown in America’s schools. Test scores tank as funding focuses on gender, DEI, and CRT. While schools try to hide these cancers, there has been undeniable evidence of these new priorities.
Meanwhile, parents are dropping $50K or more per year for university students who have pitched tents on campuses shouting slogans in favor of Palestine, raging about an issue they don’t even understand. How many interviews have you seen with these keffiyeh-clad students who are asked almost any question about their protest, and they don’t even know the barest details of what’s happening in the Middle East or what the disgusting slogan, “from the river to the sea,” even means. This misinformation, anti-semitism, and intentional ignorance has been imposed on our young by Marxist professors and ideologues.
History lessons have become a farce in many middle and high schools, with purposeful exclusions from America’s story (Mayflower Compact, anyone?) and other facts drastically mischaracterized to kill national pride among our youth. It’s crazy, but it’s not new. I was raising concerns in my eldest girl’s AP US History class back in 2011 about the paper she was asked to write on how white European men oppressed women and natives when they arrived in America. They aren’t terribly subtle.
What happens when we have weak young adults who haven’t learned to value our freedoms and our nation? The results are beginning to become more visible, with ignorant student protesters and historically illiterate graduates. Still, there is a greater danger to our country. Military recruitment is down. It turns out our kids are less fit, and many don’t qualify to serve, but more telling is the fact that more than half of young adults now hold a negative view of the military. Wonder why?
What Can You Do?
Take Charge – Remember, these are your kids. Ultimately, you are the principal in their lives, not some pink-haired teacher who wants to explore gender with them. Be involved, and don’t let anyone abuse your child by brainwashing them to hate themselves (their gender or their faith) or to hate their nation. Calmly but firmly hold your school accountable. Be the biggest booster when the teachers and administrators provide quality instruction, but don’t be afraid to stand up for your child. No one else will.
Get Involved – Volunteer in your child’s classroom, run for school board, and make brownies for the fundraising event. Staying close will keep you informed about what’s happening, and you can win points with harried educators who can use a helping hand.
Take Action – Other options exist if your school doesn’t measure up. Some may seem out of reach, but others are not. Ultimately, you only get one chance to raise your dear little ones, so consider homeschooling, charter schools, or private education. Sadly, things are different now in our public schools; you must be vigilant and ready to take action.
Spiritual Slide
There’s no doubt that this nation was founded and developed into the most powerful and prosperous nation in the world with its Judeo-Christian values. John Adams said, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” With our slide to a less religious society, the freedoms and rights guaranteed are being challenged and stretched beyond what our founders could’ve ever imagined.
From the claim that religion shouldn’t be anywhere in politics to the more extreme thought that expressions of faith shouldn’t be seen in public, angry individuals seem determined to transition our nation away from the faith that built our great United States – leaving a void of conscience and Biblical truth.
Where does moral clarity come from without the basic tenets of faith, whether you are Christian, Jewish, or something else?
What makes something wrong? Is stealing wrong? It depends on who you ask. Can we say adultery is bad? Without healthy, solid standards – where do we go for the safety of boundaries? What’s wrong with changing your gender or hating your neighbor? Why shouldn’t men be in women’s sports? It’s a mess.
The good news is that the church has changed but is still strong in America. In fact, studies show that churches that uphold Biblical integrity have shown growth, as others who chose a more “inclusive” less Biblical lane are the ones seeing a decline.2
We agree with John Adams – our nation needs the grounding of our freedom to exercise our faith and ethics to remain strong. Without it, we will see generations without courage or convictions.
What You Can Do?
Go to Church – Practice your faith as a family. Be involved in a local congregation and give your kids the benefit of experiencing worship, fellowship, and community.
Exercise Faith at Home – Read the Bible and create a gratitude-filled environment. Teach your kids to understand why you believe as you do. Allow questions and deep conversations. Moms of faith wield powerful influence in the home.
Pray with your kids and hit your knees when you’re alone. Pray for our nation and for their day. Teach them and yourself that “the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective” (James 5:16) because it is.
Political Pandemonium
Between fake news and the current lawfare craze, politics in America is pure pandemonium. As the left tries to figure out a path to defeat President Trump in the 2024 election, the media does their bidding. It combines loosening election rules and creating false narratives using misquotes, creative edits, and fabrications. They attempt to keep him tied up in kangaroo courts so that he can’t be on the campaign trail. It’s an astounding and shameless attempt to influence the election.
Meanwhile, the sitting President struggles to complete sentences, string thoughts together, or even garner a crowd for his appearances. He routinely makes false statements, including a doozy he’s been throwing out there recently, claiming that the inflation rate was 9% when he came into office – instead of the truthful figure of 1.4% at the end of President Trump’s first term.
It’s a mess, but we’ve got to stay focused.
What Can You Do?
Vote – Your vote is more vital than ever. Visit MomVote and share the link with others. Encourage friends and family not to sit this one out, no matter how crazy it gets.
Volunteer – Call your local party office and see how you can help. Engaging is a great way to help save this nation and model civic duty for your kids.
Teach – Use this year as a robust learning experience for your family. Talk about the issues in simple terms. Encourage your children to ask questions and discuss. Point out when either side skews the facts and explain the truth. Teach them political discernment so they won’t be fooled when it’s their turn to pull the lever for a candidate in the future.
Patriotic Party – Be sure to plan an election night shindig with red, white, and blue decorations and snacks at your house. Hang a U.S. map with states outlined so your kids can color in red or blue as each state result is called.
There’s a lot to do, mamas. Still, there’s much to be gained with our wisdom, energy, and creativity as we raise a new generation of patriots who will turn the tide on the nation’s current decline. 2024 is the time to roll up our sleeves and get to work to save America.
1 youtube.com – Grid Down, Power Up Documentary
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