DAVID MARCUS: Gen X knows the only force that can defeat violent leftist protest culture

At 250 years old, determination isn’t overmuch that the United States of America hasn’t gone through, and this includes periods of aggravated governmental protestation and violence, the past of which ended astir successful the precocious 1970s. The ‘80s and ’90s were not wholly protest-free, but they were not protest-driven.

Most of Generation X, the young would-be protesters of the time, saw small intent to it because, by and large, we liked America. We thought it was doing bully successful the world, and it besides conscionable seemed similar a batch of effort.

By 1999, a seat would alert done a model successful Seattle during the World Trade Organization protests. In 2011, Wall Street would beryllium "occupied," and successful 2020, galore American cities were ablaze, ostensibly implicit the decease of George Floyd.

Protest civilization was back, with a vengeance.

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Today, arsenic the conflict of Minneapolis rages, not conscionable rhetorically but successful carnal confrontation, we mourn the decease of Renee Good, portion we inactive reel from the assassination of Charlie Kirk. It feels similar our federation is backmost successful the deadly maelstrom of 1960s and '70s convulsive protest.

Demonstrators clasp assorted signs including "The Power of the People" and "No Kings No Royalty" astatine a pro-democracy rally successful Hancock Adams Common connected April 19, 2025. (Erin Clark/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

So what was it, backmost astatine the extremity of the 1970s that brought America retired of the nosedive of adjacent changeless governmental protestation and violence? Looking astatine the grounds of events, 1 reply stands retired much than immoderate other: Patriotism.

There is immoderate symmetry here, for successful 1976 the U.S. celebrated its bicentennial, and conscionable arsenic volition beryllium happening this twelvemonth for the semiquincentennial (fine, we’ll conscionable telephone it 250th), determination were immense patriotic celebrations crossed the land.

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Heading into the bicentennial, America was inactive suffering from the failures of Vietnam and the disgrace of Watergate, not truthful antithetic from our ain narration to the wars of Iraq and Afghanistan, not to notation the ungraded of Joe Biden’s absentee presidency.

Something began to alteration successful 1976. It marked the opening of an anti-American fever breaking, and determination was a antheral to pb this movement, a antheral named Ronald Reagan, whose presidency, successful his ain words, would bring backmost "morning successful America."

For those aged capable to retrieve it, the 1980s were a clip of shocking caller patriotism. We listened to "Born successful the USA" (hilariously missing Bruce Springsteen's intended point) and watched Rocky Balboa sound retired Soviet Ivan Drago and the full federation cheered our Olympians similar sprinter Carl Lewis and gymnast Mary Lou Retton. All of it was rather sincere.

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As for protests successful the 1980s and '90s, exceptions specified arsenic anti-apartheid sit-ins and the 1992 LA riots, proved the rule, Gen X teens and young adults mocked their boomer parents’ tales of anti-government agitating glory days and had nary volition of repeating them.

A firework was acceptable disconnected adjacent the country of a shooting successful Minneapolis connected Jan. 14. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

At the extremity of the day, successful those last 2 decades of the 2nd millennium AD, determination wasn’t a full batch for Americans to protest. We had won the Cold War and were the world’s lone superpower. For each the world, it looked similar if we could hole the Y2K machine glitch, we’d beryllium bully arsenic gold.

So, however connected Earth did the archetypal 2 decades of the 21st period bring america squarely backmost to a spot of convulsive protestation clashes and governmental murder? Once again, the cardinal taxable present is patriotism, but this time, its swift diminution.

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By the 2000s, governmental correctness, soon to metastasize into wokeness, had already changed our acquisition strategy into 1 that ever archetypal and foremost finds a mode to blasted America and the West for each the woes of the world.

Our past was nary longer taught arsenic the imperfect communicative of a federation making large strides toward equality of opportunity, but alternatively arsenic a fixed powerfulness structure, ever propping up mediocre White men, ever suppressing magical minorities.

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Our tv shows would statesman to archer america that America truly isn’t the top federation connected Earth, that it's a prevarication and, successful fact, we are an ignorant bully which needs to cede much powerfulness (while inactive paying for everything, of course).

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It is disfigured rhetoric that has brought america to an disfigured place.

Over the adjacent 3 years, with the 250th day of the nation, the hosting of the World Cup and the Olympics, and further imaginable overseas argumentation victories nether President Trump astir the globe, we tin spot a accidental for patriotism to emergence again, conscionable arsenic it did astatine the dawn of the 1980s.

A Gallup canvass past twelvemonth showed that lone 36% of Democrats are highly oregon precise arrogant to beryllium American, with Republicans astatine a staggering 92%, and independents, arsenic usual, stuck successful the mediate astatine 53%.

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There is apt nary signifier of measurement much predictive of who 1 volition ballot for and whether 1 volition protestation than if 1 is arrogant of the country. In galore ways, it is the cardinal disagreement that explains truthful overmuch of the mayhem of unit we spot today.

Patriotism is the answer. Patriotism is what our federation truthful severely needs, and the bully quality is that each of america tin grounds and observe it each day.

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