If you’re looking at birth rates by ideological persuasion, you’ll see that it’s not progressives having kids; they’re entrenched in anti-natalist propaganda. Their aim is ideological capture of a generation, but it’s not their kids they’re going to brainwash—it’s yours.

That dire warning comes from the introduction to Stolen Youth: How Radicals Are Erasing Innocence and Indoctrinating a Generation. Here, co-authors Bethany Mandel and Karol Markowicz tackle the battles that daily make today’s headlines: the ongoing sexualization of children, the woke indoctrination of students K-12 by means of our public schools and libraries, and the attempts by companies like Disney and Scholastic to draw children into the latest version of the sexual revolution.

Though most of us were familiar with this battleground before Mandel and Markowicz wrote and published Stolen Youth, they have nonetheless performed a great service for all who are opposed to the far left’s daily affronts to our society—such as the promotion of pedophilia, the drag queen shows in libraries, the lewd pride parades, and the entrance of biological men into women’s sporting events. These two intrepid writers have gathered a tremendous amount of data and anecdotal evidence revealing the radical attempts to groom the minds and hearts of children and to enroll them as foot soldiers in the ranks of the far left.

The influence on children of this Marxist-based ideology of diversity, equity, and inclusion extends beyond the classroom, libraries, and entertainment. In their chapter “The Peril of Woke Medicine,” for instance, Mandel and Markowicz spotlight the American Academy of Pediatrics and the support it gave during the pandemic to the efficacy of school closures and the masking even of pre-K students—despite evidence that these things were actually harmful. Pediatricians who opposed these and other AAP dictates were threatened with losing their licenses for spreading “misinformation.”

In Stolen Youth’s final three chapters, Mandel and Markowicz offer readers advice on fighting against this political and cultural rot. Both women are mothers and favor keeping a close watch on children, their activities, and influences outside the home—whether it be friends and mentors or social media.

From there, they take different directions in the advice they give. Mandel recommends removing children from public schools, teaching them at home, joining or starting homeschooling support groups, and restricting television and other media. She adamantly opposes smartphones for children until they reach their late teens, citing the destructive effect of devices on mental and moral well-being.

Markowicz favors more engagement in the public square. Upset by the woke culture engulfing their three children in their New York City schools, the Markowicz family moved to Florida, in large part because of Governor Ron DeSantis and his opposition to woke teaching and curricula in public school classrooms. With her children remaining in school, Markowicz recommends that moms and dads stay engaged with their children’s schooling, “link up with likeminded parents,” join groups like Moms for Liberty, and teach and practice their values in the home.

Both women strongly agree that home and family are the core of resistance to these attacks. As Karol Markowicz concludes:

You’re the parent. Your kids are yours and no one else’s. You know what is best for them. You know what you believe and what’s important. The leftists are coming for the kids, and you’re the last line of defense. Fight.

With Stolen Youth, Mandel and Markowicz have added to the weapons parents need for this fight, but there’s more good news as well. More and more Americans are fed up with the far left’s fanatical ideology regarding children and are punching back. Organizations like Moms for Liberty are gaining members. State legislatures are turning against teaching radical gender ideology and critical race theory in schools. The American Library Association, which for several years has promoted explicitly sexual books like Gender Queer and which recently elected a self-proclaimed “Marxist lesbian” as its president, is getting pushback from parents and some state legislatures.

“Fight” is the final word in Stolen Youth. The battle is taking place right now. Whatever we can do, now is the time to step up and defend the rights and innocence of our children.

—

Image credit: Unsplash 

ITO