The Kids Aren't the Klan

The Kids Aren't the Klan

Polls show that young people get the majority, if not all, of their news from social media, while older Americans tend to rely more on TV and corporate online media. As videos of alleged war crimes committed by Israel flood social media, students have begun to take to college campuses, demanding changes to their universities' policies.

New footage of hospitals and churches being bombed, cemeteries razed, and women, children, and even livestock being sniped by the IDF is posted daily—often by the soldiers involved in these acts. In contrast, cable news rarely, if ever, broadcasts these videos.

Today's viral video depicts 18-year-old Shaban al-Dalou burning alive while connected to an IV in a hospital tent. His family had been sheltering at the hospital. He waves his tethered arm in a desperate attempt to be saved from the flames before dying on camera. It is visceral and disturbing. Every day, a new video like this is shared online.

If you've witnessed hundreds of videos like these, it's easy to understand why people might oppose certain policies without invoking the Klan or accusations of radicalism. Historically, polling shows that younger generations tend to have a natural opposition to war, just as older generations have shown an inclination toward more hawkish policies. The dichotomy between social media and corporate news has only marginally deepened a divide we've seen before, and it shouldn't be considered either new or alarming.

America's college students will inherit a nation in a debt spiral while juggling their own student loans. In contrast, Israeli youth continue to receive free college and maintain a lower debt burden thanks to U.S. financial support. We've done enough to burden these kids—let's at least allow them to express their God given First Amendment rights.

John Maloney
Palm City, FL

This is an editorial and not the official position of the Martin County Republican Executive Committee.