Sen.
Tim Scott
(R-SC) defended traditional values in a new op-ed after a poll this week revealed that people are turning away from religion, patriotism, community, and having children.
The Wall Street Journal-NORC poll,
released
Monday, showed a sharp decline in how the public prioritized these four key values. Scott, who is mulling a bid for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, argued in
an op-ed
published late Thursday that young people were being led astray by false narratives that left them desperate for hope.
“When I look around America today, I see a people yearning for it, but instead being sold a drug of victimhood and the narcotic of despair by the radical Left,” Scott wrote. “Something’s changed. It’s not the people that have changed. No, the American people still have their defining desire and passion for greatness.”
WHY PATRIOTISM AND HOPE IN AMERICA ARE COLLAPSING
Scott went on to reference his own life story, having been raised a child of poverty by a single mother in South Carolina, to express why he had hope for the future of the nation and why he thought positive leadership could steer the country back toward those traditional values.
“Our leadership today wants you to believe that America is irredeemable, that the best is behind us,” he said. “They’ve spread the message that our present is defined by our past, eroding away at the very patriotic foundation of our nation. But I see a different future. Because I have walked a different path.”
“Let me be clear: The painful parts of America’s past are not to be ignored, but they must underscore why we need new leaders who will lift us up, not tear us down,” he continued. “We need leaders who believe that out of our pain can come our purpose. We need a leader who understands the future of our nation is rooted in two basic principles: Freedom and responsibility. When individuals take responsibility for their futures, We the People collectively are stronger. These simple truths have taken our nation to unbelievable heights.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Just 38% of people said patriotism was “very important” to them in the Wall Street Journal-NORC survey, down from 70% when the same poll was conducted in 1998. Faith was also down on the importance scale, with 39% calling it “very important” as opposed to 62% who said the same in 1998. The population who said raising children was “very important” to them dropped from 59% in 1998 to just 30% now. When people were asked in 2019 how much they valued involvement in their community, 62% said it was “very important.” That marks a sharp contrast to 2023, with just 27% of respondents describing it as such.
Money was the only value that had increased in worth, with 43% calling it “very important” in 2023 compared to 31% in 1998.
