Explaining Mamdani’s appeal to the young, with polling



It’s a sad week for the de facto capital of the world, New York City. The epicenter of American finance, media, and dynamism now enters a self-imposed trajectory of decline.

But those of us on the populist right should not merely shake our heads and bemoan the extremism of Zohran Mamdani, frightening though it is. Instead, we must understand his appeal, so that we might effectively counter his un-American ideas and continue to build on our 2024 triumph by earning further big gains nationally among young voters.

We have much to learn from Mamdani, even though he is a dangerous Marxist. Establishment Republicans have no effective answer to this kind of populism.

Polling shows the pathway to that success.

First, the great news. Young voters have swung massively to the right over the last three presidential election cycles. President Trump won young men in 2024, and overall, voters 35 and under shifted materially from a +37% preference for the Democrats in 2016 to only a +13% preference in 2024, cutting the young adult margin by two-thirds in just over eight years. It represents a massive macro shift.

In addition, a new national poll of 2,100 voters ages 18-25 shows a substantial rejection of Democrats’ radicalism on key social issues, especially transgenderism and free speech. Simultaneously, young voters express extreme frustration with the current economy, creating a clear opening that Mamdani drove a campaign truck right through.

So, backed by data, here are the three lanes of success that Mamdani exploited.

‘Affordability’ is key

Even though all of his Marxist answers are wrong and immoral, Zohran is laser-focused on the issue that matters most to voters, especially younger ones. Most young citizens have not benefited from the massive run-up in asset prices in recent years. Without substantial holdings of equities or real estate, they struggle to afford the staples of life amid sky-high costs. Even worse, the job market got substantially tougher for young adults, adding even more angst.

These voters correctly blamed the Democrats for the pain of Bidenomics, but that anger has now shifted over to Republicans, fair or not.

Right now, per TIPP Insights polling, only 24% of young adults rate Trump’s performance on the economy as “good” or “excellent,” while 54% rate it as “poor” or “unacceptable.” On inflation, using letter grades, only 6% of young independents give the president an A, while 44% deliver an F.

Mamdani smartly dove into this issue. All his proposed solutions will only make inflation worse, of course, from “free” public transit to lavish benefits for illegal aliens. But regardless, he fixated on what matters to voters, especially young ones.

Media skills

After watching Mamdani throughout the campaign, it’s clear he hates the founding principles and history of the United States. He exemplifies how America’s immigration system — even its lawful pathways — too often imports people who reject the nation’s heritage rather than embrace it.

That said, as a media professional, I can only respect his acumen in front of the cameras.

In this new digital age, which President Trump helped create, successful politicians must be able to perform effectively. Mamdani exudes charisma and likeability. His youth and enthusiasm captivated voters, especially those in the streaming/TikTok spaces.

Media savvy combined with lots of ludicrous promises of freebies is a pretty powerful approach in this populist age. Young people are especially receptive to the heavy use of new/alternative media. TIPP Insights shows that only 31% of independent young adults have positive sentiment for legacy media, and only 34% of young women.

Focus on home

Perhaps the most compelling moment of the campaign for Mamdani was during the July debate, when all candidates were asked where their first foreign visit would be as mayor of New York. All of them said Israel, with Ukraine thrown in as well. But Mamdani gave a truly “New York First” answer instead, one that might well have been uttered by a MAGA partisan. He said, “I would stay in New York City.”

That answer clearly appeals to young voters, who are decidedly non-interventionist abroad. For example, a whopping 69% of young men think we “intervene too much in foreign conflicts.” Only 26% of young adults think the United States should remain involved in Ukraine if Putin and Zelenskyy cannot reach a settlement soon.

RELATED: The kids aren’t all right — they’re being seduced by socialism

Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

That non-interventionism seeps over into a very negative view of Israel among young voters. Survey results found that only 25% of them have a positive view of Israel, versus 52% negative. Among young independents, only 18% have a positive view of Israel.

Therefore, Mamdani probably did not generate the blowback he deserved for extremist postures, such as embracing a pro-terror jihadi who was implicated, but unindicted, in the 1993 World Trade Center bombings.

We have much to learn from Mamdani, even though he is a dangerous Marxist. Establishment Republicans have no effective answer to this kind of populism, because their default is always “cut taxes for the wealthy and go to war.”

The MAGA movement has a very different vision — one that can appeal to reasonable young people in increasing numbers — to continue this patriotic, populist surge for decades to come.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published by RealClearPolitics and made available via RealClearWire.

The kids aren’t all right — they’re being seduced by socialism



Something is breaking in America’s young people. You can feel it in every headline, every grocery bill, every young voice quietly asking if the American dream still means anything at all.

For many, the promise of America — work hard, build something that lasts, and give the next generation a better start — feels like it no longer exists. Home ownership and stability have become luxuries for a fortunate few.

Capitalism is not a perfect system. It is flawed because people are flawed, but it remains the only system that rewards creativity and effort rather than punishing them.

In that vacuum of hope, a new promise has begun to rise — one that sounds compassionate, equal, and fair. The promise of socialism.

The appeal of a broken dream

When the American dream becomes a checklist of things few can afford — a home, a car, two children, even a little peace — disappointment quickly turns to resentment. The average first-time homebuyer is now 40 years old. Debt lasts longer than marriages. The cost of living rises faster than opportunity.

For a generation that has never seen the system truly work, capitalism feels like a rigged game built to protect those already at the top.

That is where socialism finds its audience. It presents itself as fairness for the forgotten and justice for the disillusioned. It speaks softly at first, offering equality, compassion, and control disguised as care.

We are seeing that illusion play out now in New York City, where Zohran Mamdani — an open socialist — has won a major political victory. The same ideology that once hid behind euphemisms now campaigns openly throughout America’s once-great cities. And for many who feel left behind, it sounds like salvation.

But what socialism calls fairness is submission dressed as virtue. What it calls order is obedience. Once the system begins to replace personal responsibility with collective dependence, the erosion of liberty is only a matter of time.

The bridge that never ends

Socialism is not a destination; it is a bridge. Karl Marx described it as the necessary transition to communism — the scaffolding that builds the total state. Under socialism, people are taught to obey. Under communism, they forget that any other options exist.

History tells the story clearly. Russia, China, Cambodia, Cuba — each promised equality and delivered misery. One hundred million lives were lost, not because socialism failed, but because it succeeded at what it was designed to do: make the state supreme and the individual expendable.

Today’s advocates insist their version will be different — democratic, modern, and kind. They often cite Sweden as an example, but Sweden’s prosperity was never born of socialism. It grew out of capitalism, self-reliance, and a shared moral culture. Now that system is cracking under the weight of bureaucracy and division.

RELATED: The triumph — for now — of New York’s Muslim socialist mayor

Photo by Angela Weiss / Contributor via Getty Images

The real issue is not economic but moral. Socialism begins with a lie about human nature — that people exist for the collective and that the collective knows better than the individual.

This lie is contrary to the truths on which America was founded — that rights come not from government’s authority, but from God’s. Once government replaces that authority, compassion becomes control, and freedom becomes permission.

What young America deserves

Young Americans have many reasons to be frustrated. They were told to study, work hard, and follow the rules — and many did, only to find the goalposts moved again and again. But tearing down the entire house does not make it fairer; it only leaves everyone standing in the rubble.

Capitalism is not a perfect system. It is flawed because people are flawed, but it remains the only system that rewards creativity and effort rather than punishing them. The answer is not revolution but renewal — moral, cultural, and spiritual.

It means restoring honesty to markets, integrity to government, and faith to the heart of our nation. A people who forsake God will always turn to government for salvation, and that road always ends in dependency and decay.

Freedom demands something of us. It requires faith, discipline, and courage. It expects citizens to govern themselves before others govern them. That is the truth this generation deserves to hear again — that liberty is not a gift from the state but a calling from God.

Socialism always begins with promises and ends with permission. It tells you what to drive, what to say, what to believe, all in the name of fairness. But real fairness is not everyone sharing the same chains — it is everyone having the same chance.

The American dream was never about guarantees. It was about the right to try, to fail, and try again. That freedom built the most prosperous nation in history, and it can do so again if we remember that liberty is not a handout but a duty.

Socialism does not offer salvation. It requires subservience.

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Will Polls Keep Showing Less Support For Queer Policies As Zoomers Age?

New polling offers a growing opportunity for Christians to present God’s natural order as good and Christ’s offer of salvation as necessary.

The thoroughly unimpressive Mr. Fuentes



Tucker Carlson’s interview with Nick Fuentes was supposed to be explosive. It wasn’t.

Far from normalizing Fuentes or advancing his strange brand of “right-wing” politics, the two-hour conversation exposed him as a shallow, aggrieved figure without the intellect or maturity to lead anything. Carlson didn’t destroy Fuentes with debate. He did something worse: He made him boring.

Fuentes built his notoriety as a young “influencer” who mixes nationalism with online provocation. He’s outspokenly racist, anti-Semitic, and obsessed with pushing the limits of shock. And he’s managed to attract a following among disaffected young men — the “Groypers.”

Fuentes’ interview marks his peak — and his decline. Once the outrage fades, he’ll return to obscurity.

In recent years, Fuentes has tried to rebrand himself as something somewhat more serious. He talks about immigration breaking working families, foreign wars enriching elites, and a culture that mocks masculinity. Those themes resonate because they tap real frustrations that many Americans share.

But Fuentes offers no coherent moral or political vision. Others — better read, more disciplined, and far less toxic — make similar arguments with insight and integrity. The late Charlie Kirk, for example, famously wanted nothing to do with Fuentes and his followers for precisely that reason.

The grudge-filled path

Carlson’s interview focused less on ideas than on Fuentes’ grievances. He recounted his early days as a libertarian campaigning for Ted Cruz in 2015, his shift to Trumpism, and his viral rise after a debate with a leftist opponent. Soon he was clashing with prominent conservatives, especially the Daily Wire’s Ben Shapiro.

According to Fuentes, Shapiro and his allies sabotaged his career and drove him into exile on the “dark web.” At no point does Fuentes wonder whether Shapiro recognized instability and immaturity in him — or simply concluded that he wasn’t worth the investment.

Like many in his Gen Z cohort, Fuentes mistakes online engagement for substance. Without outrage, he has nothing. He’s poorly educated, reads little, and shrugs off legitimate criticism. The result is a young man trapped in perpetual adolescence, angry that the world won’t take him seriously.

Carlson’s indulgence

Carlson tries to humanize Fuentes, appealing to Christian charity and the value of learning from failure. But Fuentes clings to his score-settling. His list of enemies includes not just Shapiro but Charlie Kirk, Joe Kent, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) — and even Carlson himself, though he gets a temporary reprieve for offering the platform.

Carlson also attempts to rationalize Fuentes’ anti-Semitism, giving him space to “clarify.” Fuentes insists he doesn’t hate Jews personally — he just opposes Judaism as a “force against Western civilization.” He repeats conspiracy theories about Jewish control of institutions and denies the Holocaust.

Carlson pushes back, but only mildly. Both men protest that they “don’t hate Jews” and have Jewish friends, as if that were exculpatory. It isn’t. The exchange casts neither in a good light.

Empty provocateurs

The rest of the interview dissolves into incoherence. Fuentes casually praises Joseph Stalin, of all people, before the conversation fizzles. Carlson’s attempt to recast Fuentes as a misunderstood outsider backfires. The result is a portrait of a man whose only real claim to relevance is being disliked — and even that feels undeserved.

Carlson’s indulgence of fringe figures is becoming a pattern. Andrew Tate. Darryl Cooper. Now Fuentes. Each enjoys a sizeable online following built on provocation and grievance. And each, when pressed, collapses into self-pity and incoherence. These men are charlatans and grifters who don’t challenge the establishment; they merely rehearse falsehoods and conspiracy theories to raise their profiles among mostly lonely, disaffected young men.

RELATED:Tucker Carlson, Nick Fuentes, and the war for the conservative soul

Photo by NurPhoto via Getty Images

The decline of two brands

Fuentes’ interview marks his peak — and his decline. Once the outrage fades, he’ll return to obscurity, remembered mostly as a cautionary tale about what happens when empty charisma meets unearned confidence.

Carlson, meanwhile, risks following him down that path. His willingness to platform attention-seekers may boost short-term clicks, but it erodes long-term credibility. Each indulgence costs him a little more trust.

The tragedy isn’t just Fuentes’ wasted potential. It’s the spectacle of one of the right’s most talented communicators lending his megaphone to a man who long ago proved himself unworthy of it.

What it really means to be a conservative in America today



Our movement is at a crossroads, and the question before us is simple: What does it mean to be a conservative in America today?

For years, we have been told what we are against — against the left, against wokeism, against decline. But opposition alone does not define a movement, and it certainly does not define a moral vision.

We are not here to cling to the past or wallow in grievance. We are not the movement of rage. We are the movement of reason and hope.

The media, as usual, are eager to supply their own answer. The New York Times recently suggested that Nick Fuentes represents the “future” of conservatism. That’s nonsense — a distortion of both truth and tradition. Fuentes and those like him do not represent American conservatism. They represent its counterfeit.

Real conservatism is not rage. It is reverence. It does not treat the past as a museum, but as a teacher. America’s founders asked us to preserve their principles and improve upon their practice. That means understanding what we are conserving — a living covenant, not a relic.

Conservatism as stewardship

In 2025, conservatism means stewardship — of a nation, a culture, and a moral inheritance too precious to abandon. To conserve is not to freeze history. It is to stand guard over what is essential. We are custodians of an experiment in liberty that rests on the belief that rights come not from kings or Congress, but from the Creator.

That belief built this country. It will be what saves it. The Constitution is a covenant between generations. Conservatism is the duty to keep that covenant alive — to preserve what works, correct what fails, and pass on both wisdom and freedom to those who come next.

Economics, culture, and morality are inseparable. Debt is not only fiscal; it is moral. Spending what belongs to the unborn is theft. Dependence is not compassion; it is weakness parading as virtue. A society that trades responsibility for comfort teaches citizens how to live as slaves.

Freedom without virtue is not freedom; it is chaos. A culture that mocks faith cannot defend liberty, and a nation that rejects truth cannot sustain justice. Conservatism must again become the moral compass of a disoriented people, reminding America that liberty survives only when anchored to virtue.

Rebuilding what is broken

We cannot define ourselves by what we oppose. We must build families, communities, and institutions that endure. Government is broken because education is broken, and education is broken because we abandoned the formation of the mind and the soul. The work ahead is competence, not cynicism.

Conservatives should embrace innovation and technology while rejecting the chaos of Silicon Valley. Progress must not come at the expense of principle. Technology must strengthen people, not replace them. Artificial intelligence should remain a servant, never a master. The true strength of a nation is not measured by data or bureaucracy, but by the quiet webs of family, faith, and service that hold communities together. When Washington falters — and it will — those neighborhoods must stand.

RELATED: Evil never announces itself — it seduces the hearts of the blind

Lisa Haney via iStock/Getty Images

This is the real work of conservatism: to conserve what is good and true and to reform what has decayed. It is not about slogans; it is about stewardship — the patient labor of building a civilization that remembers what it stands for.

A creed for the rising generation

We are not here to cling to the past or wallow in grievance. We are not the movement of rage. We are the movement of reason and hope.

For the rising generation, conservatism cannot be nostalgia. It must be more than a memory of 9/11 or admiration for a Reagan era they never lived through. Many young Americans did not experience those moments — and they should not have to in order to grasp the lessons they taught and the truths they embodied. The next chapter is not about preserving relics but renewing purpose. It must speak to conviction, not cynicism; to moral clarity, not despair.

Young people are searching for meaning in a culture that mocks truth and empties life of purpose. Conservatism should be the moral compass that reminds them freedom is responsibility and that faith, family, and moral courage remain the surest rebellions against hopelessness.

To be a conservative in 2025 is to defend the enduring principles of American liberty while stewarding the culture, the economy, and the spirit of a free people. It is to stand for truth when truth is unfashionable and to guard moral order when the world celebrates chaos.

We are not merely holding the torch. We are relighting it.

Kamala Harris pushes to lower voting age to 16 — in honor of 'climate anxiety'



Former Vice President Kamala Harris is calling for the voting age to be lowered to 16, arguing that Generation Z — a group she says has grown up under the shadow of the “climate crisis” — deserves to have a stronger political voice.

“I think we should reduce the voting age to 16. I’ll tell you why. So Gen-Z, they’re age about 13 through 27. They’ve only known the climate crisis. They’ve coined the term ‘climate anxiety’ to describe fear of not only being able to buy a home, but fear it’ll be wiped out by extreme weather, but fear of having children,” Harris said on “The Diary of a CEO” podcast.

“They know everything that’s happening right now is going to impact them more than anybody older than them for the most part, in terms of how these systems work. If they’re voting, right now, at 16 and up, they’re going to be talking about the importance of climate,” she added.

BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales sees right through Harris’ charade, saying there’s a “reason why they have infiltrated the education systems,” and it’s simply an attempt to “brainwash the youth.”


Especially considering the fact that recently, Harris boldly asserted that the youth are “stupid.”

“What else do we know about this population, 18 through 24? They are stupid. That is why we put them in dormitories and they have a resident assistant. They make really bad decisions,” Harris said in a speech, which drew laughter from the audience.

“And there it is. Really bad decisions like voting for Democrats and Democrat policies. This is why the Democrats are importing their voters from other countries. This is why they advocate for lowering the voting age,” Gonzales comments.

“Because anyone with two functioning brain cells who can communicate and understand the values and principles upon which this country was founded understand that their policies are simply r*****ed,” she continues.

However, Gonzales points out that while Harris is still fearmongering about climate change in hopes that the youth will take it as gospel — even Bill Gates has taken a step back from climate alarmism.

“The guy who was pushing that message for years, one of the main ones, Bill Gates, he’s like, ‘Actually, it’s not — we’re just not going to do this anymore,’” Gonzales says.

“In fact, he even wrote this big essay encouraging his rich friends to shift resources away from the battle against climate change and into like, ‘let’s help the starving kids,’ which I would also caution you about that because Bill Gates is an evil son of a b***h. So don’t trust a word of what he says,” she continues.

“Now why the flip? Because it was all a lie. The climate-change hoax was specifically to control this narrative, to get people fearful and anxious and scared,” she says, adding, “I mean, I would be scared, too, if I actually believed that the world was going to end.”

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The left's costume party: Virtue signaling as performance art



Protests are fashion statements.

In the 1960s, the hippie movement urged participants to wear their hair long and adorn themselves in bright colors that could be seen on color television newscasts. Today, the social media era has devolved into a new form of lunacy intended to be eye-catching for the sake of internet virality.

Communism has become the ultimate fashion statement.

The No Kings protests were a perfect example of how protests have become liberal runways.

Many attendees dressed in inflatable costumes while others sported the red cloaks from "A Handmaid's Tale." A quick internet search bears witness to countless other dramatic protest garbs, from Stormtroopers to Uncle Sam to circus clowns. Those who didn't make a stop at a Spirit Halloween store before attending the protest wore their outrage on too-clever T-shirts or by swinging homemade signs.

These recent protests were, relatively speaking, more geriatric than other protests of recent past, but even BLM and Antifa protesters have their own distinct style. They can be easily identified by their piercings, dyed hair, and Pride pins. They stick to dark clothing like ripped jeans and scuffed Doc Martens, much like 1990s high schoolers who just discovered grunge music. They often use satanic imagery, like skulls or pentagrams, pretending that their relationship with demonic symbols is ironic and, therefore, "wholesome."

Another symbol that these protestors cling to is the hammer and sickle. They wear it on T-shirts with a casual attitude. College students have it on their belt buckles, and grad students put stickers of it on their Apple computers.

If you knew nothing about the hammer and sickle, you might think it was a clothing brand. Removed from its context, it has morphed into something completely unrecognizable.

Communism has become the ultimate fashion statement. It's subversive and feigns intelligence, allowing contrarians to morph their love of punk rock into disdain for "the system." Their quirky personalities are not personal discrepancies but are instead indicators that they are victims of a normal, Christian society.

RELATED: ‘No Kings’ is the clown show covering for a coup

KEREM YUCEL/AFP via Getty Images

In the 1950s, the outcasts wore leather jackets and slicked their hair. In the 2000s, the outcasts wore choker necklaces and sneakers. In 2025, kids are wearing communism. It's an absurd get-out-of-jail-free card that justifies the behavior of people who feel they don't fit in.

The Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, almost 35 years ago. For many young people, the fall of the USSR feels as distant as World War I or Napoleon. They didn't see Mikhail Gorbachev lose control or witness the Berlin Wall fall. Older generations understand that communism is a failed system because they saw its ramifications on television. They knew that tens of millions of Russians were killed by it. They saw Cuba be utterly destroyed by it. They saw their family members deployed to Korea and Vietnam to stop it.

For the modern rebel, communism has no consequences. It's a political theory, a thought experiment discussed in college safe spaces.

The Communist Party, unfortunately, is alive and growing in America.

The Revolutionary Communists of America are slated to host Marxist schools in Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York this year. Membership in the Communist Party USA has jumped from 15,000 in 2023 to 20,000 in 2024. Many of these clubs offer tools and resources to learn about communism on their websites, with one even having a "Marxism IQ" test.

Their cancerous ideology is preying on disenfranchised young people, baiting them with the deadly promises of "equity."

Wearing a hammer and sickle pin or reading Lenin in public is a way for people to show just how much they care about the 'oppressed classes.'

At one No Kings protest, the "Denver Communists" had a tent with a sign that read, "Charlie Kirk had it coming." Workers at the tent posed beside it with thumbs-up, smiling and encouraging people to take photos. A slogan so utterly debauched is intended to get social media recognition. The Denver Communists are actively trying to be noticed for their inflammatory behavior.

It's the violent progression of a teenager swearing to make his parents angry.

There is a maturity problem in America. Young people are trying to extend their youth in a desperate attempt to circumvent responsibility. The length of time that Gen Z will hold onto one job has sharply declined. Marriage rates have been in a free fall for years. Less than 20% of young people are saving for retirement. College attendance has become the normalized experience of young adulthood, extending the length of schooling while sacrificing years meant for maturity.

This generation has been convinced that their success doesn't depend on their own work, but on the work of others. To them, communism is the solution they've been looking for.

Being a communist is the cool, empathetic thing for young people to support. Wearing a hammer and sickle pin or reading Lenin in public is a way for people to show just how much they care about the "oppressed classes." It's a new depth of virtue signaling.

No longer is it enough for radical leftists to support gay marriage or abortion — they must now object to the entire constitutional republic. It's all for the sake of being rebellious and relevant.

Some people buy expensive handbags. Some people buy rare watches. And today, some people join the Communist Party. After all, it's just about having the right look.

About 40% Of Young Americans Think Violence Against ‘The Rich’ Is Sometimes Justified, Survey Finds
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About 40% Of Young Americans Think Violence Against ‘The Rich’ Is Sometimes Justified, Survey Finds

Young Americans Don't Just Hate 'The Rich' — They Want Them Dead

Democrats Have Become The Party Of Grumpy Elderly People

No kings? More like no young people. On Saturday, several so-called “No Kings” protests took place across the country. The protests looked more like an AARP meeting, with NBC Boston perhaps encapsulating the state of the protests best: “This is an older crowd … A lot of white hair. You see Q-Tips as we used […]

Why Gen Z is rebelling against leftist lies — and turning to Jesus



Picture it: 8,000 college students packed into an arena. Not to watch basketball but baptisms. Hundreds stepped into portable tanks while their friends cheered, with 500 professing faith in Christ that night alone.

This scene unfolded recently at the University of Tennessee, a major state university. It wasn’t an isolated incident. The Unite US revival movement, which began at Auburn University two years ago, has now spread to more than 20 college campuses nationwide.

The problem with building your worldview on sand is that eventually people notice that they’re sinking.

Here’s what’s happening: For decades, secular progressives positioned themselves as countercultural rebels against the oppressive Christian tradition. But they overplayed their hand. They became the establishment.

The result? Young people are now rebelling against them by turning to Jesus Christ in record numbers.

Since Charlie Kirk’s assassination on Sept. 10, churches report attendance increases of 15% and campus ministries are seeing even higher numbers. Bible sales in 2025 have surged past 10 million copies, already over a million more than last year.

The establishment's overreach

The secular left didn’t just ask for “tolerance” of its beliefs — leftists demanded total capitulation. Over the past six decades, they captured universities, media, entertainment, corporations, and government agencies, then wielded these institutions like weapons.

They told young men their masculinity was toxic. They told young women that marriage and motherhood were a trap. They flooded schools with gender ideology and characterized objecting parents as “domestic terrorists.” University DEI offices became enforcement arms for ideological conformity. During COVID, they locked down churches while keeping abortion clinics and strip clubs open. They promised liberation and delivered loneliness, anxiety, and existential despair. Then they called Christianity oppressive.

The problem with building your worldview on sand is that eventually people notice that they’re sinking.

Scripture tells us that God has written His law on every human heart (Romans 2:15). You can suppress that truth, but you cannot erase it. When a generation has been fed nothing but lies dressed as progress, the hunger for truth becomes overwhelming.

Why young men are leading

Research from Pew shows that for decades, each age cohort was less Christian than the one before it. But that trend has stopped with Gen Z. Americans born in the 2000s are just as Christian as those born in the 1990s, the first generation in decades not to show further decline.

Even more striking: Gen Z men now attend weekly religious services more often than Millennials and younger Gen Xers. The gender gap in religious participation has closed, with young men flooding back even as some young women leave.

The secular progressive vision has been particularly hostile to biblical masculinity. Men were told that their natural inclinations toward strength, protection, and leadership were “toxic,” that the desire to work hard and keep your feelings private promoted aggression toward women and the vulnerable, that embracing traditional marriage roles reinforced gender power imbalances and made society less safe.

Kirk recognized that men who fear God more than they fear man build the foundations of civilization.

By contrast, the church doesn’t tell young men that they’re inherently evil. Instead, it calls them to be servant leaders after the pattern of Christ, to lay down their lives as He laid down His for the Church (Ephesians 5:25), and to be strong and courageous in the face of evil (Joshua 1:9).

Scripture has always offered a vision of masculinity that is both strong and sacrificial. When a generation of young men have been told they’re “toxic” simply for being masculine, the gospel’s call to biblical manhood becomes irresistibly attractive.

Charlie Kirk understood this. He often told young men: “Get married. Have children. Build a legacy. Pass down your values. Pursue the eternal. Seek true joy.”

Kirk recognized that men who fear God more than they fear man build the foundations of civilization.

His assassination, meant to silence a voice calling people back to faith and family, had the opposite effect. As one pastor noted, “Charlie Kirk started a political movement, but he ended it as a Christian movement.”

His memorial, attended by 100,000 and viewed by millions, became a gospel proclamation. Young people decided they wanted what Kirk had found: purpose, meaning, and hope anchored in Jesus Christ.

Expect a backlash

Amid all this good news, Christians should never underestimate the resistance that will come from the cultural elites.

Expect increased persecution on campuses. Institutions that previously celebrated every sexual deviation will now express concern about “cultlike behavior” when students undergo baptism. University administrators, who previously ignored the Black Lives Matter riots, will now seek to restrict Christian gatherings. Media outlets that praised “mostly peaceful protests” will warn about the dangers of “religious fervor.”

That’s because spiritual warfare is afoot, and the enemy knows what’s at stake. When young people turn to Christ, they don’t just become saved, they also become transformed. They get married, have children, and raise the next generation in biblical truth. Civilizational renewal begins with revival.

True revival or cultural moment?

It’s also crucial not to mistake enthusiasm for revival. True revival brings conviction of sin, genuine repentance, hunger for God Himself, and hearts transformed by the gospel, not just increased church attendance.

Time will tell whether these professions of faith endure. Jesus warned that many hear the word with initial enthusiasm but fall away when trials come (Matthew 13:1-23). We must pray that these young believers sink roots deep into scripture and persevere.

But we should also recognize what God may be doing. When thousands pack arenas across multiple campuses to worship Christ, that’s not normal in modern America. As Paul wrote, “What does it matter? Only that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is proclaimed, and in this I rejoice” (Philippians 1:18).

RELATED: Charlie Kirk's legacy exposes a corrosive lie — and now it's time to choose

The apostle Paul. Wirestock/iStock/Getty Images Plus

This isn’t just about individual souls, though. It’s about Western civilization itself. Strong families produce stable societies. If this revival takes root, we’ll see the reversal of family collapse, demographic decline, and cultural decay.

The secular left knows this. Leftists built their project on the destruction of the family, the confusion of gender, and the rejection of biblical authority.

Every young person who turns to Christ, gets married, and raises godly children is a defeat for their vision. Every young man who embraces biblical masculinity is a threat to their power. Every young woman who chooses motherhood over careerism is a rebellion against their ideology.

The gospel offers what secular humanism never could: forgiveness through Christ’s sacrifice, transformation through the Holy Spirit, adoption into God’s family, and a purpose that echoes into eternity.

Most importantly, it offers Jesus Himself: the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). Not a system of self-improvement or a political ideology, but a Savior and friend who loved us enough to die for us and who conquered death and rose again.

What we must do now

At key points, there is always a moment when God’s mercy is clearly apparent. This is one of those moments, and Christians must seize on it and fan the flames.

How? Take the following steps:

  1. Preach the full gospel: Not a therapeutic version that makes Jesus your life coach but the biblical truth that we are sinners under God’s just wrath, that Christ died in our place, that He rose conquering death, and that all who repent and believe in Him will be saved.
  2. Live lives that reflect what we proclaim: Young people are watching. If we want this generation to take Christianity seriously, they need to see Christians who love faithfully, raise children in the Lord, and stand for truth — even when it costs them.
  3. Disciple intentionally: It’s not enough for young people to make a profession at a revival event. They need scripture, mentorship, and biblical thinking for every area of life. This is the Great Commission: Make disciples, not just converts (Matthew 28:19-20).

Finally, if you’re a student reading this, recognize that your campus could be next for real revival. How can you help advance it? Start a regular prayer meeting. Invite your skeptical friends to church. Be bold when professors mock Christianity. Defend biblical truth.

You’ve been trained for this moment. Now step into it.

The victory is already won

The gates of hell will not prevail against Christ’s church (Matthew 16:18). We don’t fight for victory — we fight from victory.

The secular left’s project was always doomed because it was built on lies — and lies cannot ultimately triumph over truth Himself. The same God who sparked the Great Awakening, who raised up Luther to reform His church, who turned the persecutor Saul into the apostle Paul is still at work today.

The question isn’t whether God will prevail. That’s already settled. The question is whether we’ll have the courage to stand with Him while He does.

If He chooses to use the overreach of secular progressives and the hunger of a desperate generation to turn society back to Him, that’s precisely how God works. He uses the wrath of man to praise Him (Psalm 76:10). He takes what enemies meant for evil and works it for good (Genesis 50:20).

So let the secularists tighten their grip on their failing institutions. Every act of overreach, every attempt to silence the gospel only makes Christianity’s countercultural appeal stronger.

They made rebellion against God the establishment position. Now, young people are rebelling by turning back to Him.

The age of comfortable, culturally acceptable Christianity is over. What’s rising in its place is something far more dangerous to the powers of this world: a generation that has counted the cost and chosen Christ anyway. A generation that knows following Jesus might cost them jobs, friends, and status and has decided He’s worth it.

This is how reformation begins. This is how revival spreads. This is how civilizations are rebuilt from the rubble of failed ideologies.

The question isn’t whether God will prevail. That’s already settled. The question is whether we’ll have the courage to stand with Him while He does.

The revolution has already begun. The only question left is: Which side of history will you be on?

This article is adapted from an essay originally published at Liberty University's Standing for Freedom Center.