An Open Letter to Generation Z: A Pro-Life Perspective on Our Shared Future
Updated: Oct 6
Over the summer, during all the patriotic America250 events, I discovered my husband had never heard Toby Keith's song Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue. I knew the chorus, but not the story behind it. So we watched the video together.
An hour later, I found myself crying so hard I could barely speak.
“I wish our kids could have lived in that kind of America,” I finally said. “I wish they'd known what it felt like to see so many people genuinely proud of their country. I wish our son could have experienced serving in the military when it felt like the entire nation stood behind those who wore the uniform.”
It got me thinking about all my wishes for this American generation—my children—and brought me to write this open letter.
An Open Apology from a Gen X Parent to Generation Z
I wish you had known your great-grandparents—and the grit and sacrifices of the Greatest Generation.
You mostly saw them at holidays. They always had body aches and talked about doctor’s appointments. Great-Grandpa spoke in a deep, gravelly voice. Great-Grandma kissed you and held you a little more tightly than you wanted, and she smelled funny.
You went off to play because adult talk was boring for little ones.
They had life stories you were too young to know you’d need later.
Your great-grandparents were quiet, noble, flawed, and humble.
Your grandparents, on the other hand, grew up alongside—and sometimes gave serious side-eye to—the generation historically known for the 1960s protests and demands for widespread change. Every generation wants something better for the next, and I truly believe your grandparents gave Generation X a solid childhood.
This is Us
Welcome to Generation X, our generation... known for grunge, mixtapes, big hair, and hair bands. Though divorce became more common and "latch-key kids" often described the children of our era, we had many things going for us.
We had strong communities and school support systems. We had a shared belief that if we worked hard, went to college, and got our degrees, a good job would likely be waiting on the other side.
For the most part, we trusted our teachers, childcare workers, and preachers to be upstanding human beings. That trust wasn't universal, and it wasn't always deserved—but for many of us, it formed the backdrop of childhood.
Obviously, there were still fears. We saw our parents' financial fears during the Farm Crisis of the 1980s. We had global fears. In fact, our schools had nuclear fallout shelters. It was the Cold War, and we were just sure the Soviet Union was going to bomb us (or we would bomb them).
But then came Ronald Reagan and the end of the Cold War. The Berlin Wall fell. Communism collapsed. (As seen in the current movie "Brink of War.")
The world suddenly seemed a whole lot safer.
And we assumed that golden glow of everything being right in the world would stay. That's where we were wrong.
Somewhere along the way, our generation stopped believing freedom had to be tended. We assumed the values our grandparents fought for would simply perpetuate themselves.
They don't.
Every generation has to decide whether it will merely inherit freedom—or steward it.
The Greatest Generation fought to preserve America. Gen X inherited much of the prosperity and stability their sacrifice helped create. And instead of recognizing that inheritance as a responsibility, we often settled into it as a way of life. With our dry humor and cynical attitudes, we give side-eye to institutions and politics... thinking, "Well, it's all corrupt anyway."
We were among the first generations in our family tree to largely experience comfort as the norm rather than the reward for sacrifice. So we've largely embraced conflict avoidance and allowed the Boomers to hold onto the reins a little bit longer than we ought to... perhaps simply because it's easier that way. No sense in rocking the boat.
The Millennial Leapfrog: Because Boomers stayed in the CEO chair longer, many Gen X executives are being bypassed. Corporate boards are increasingly skipping Gen X to transition directly to tech-fluent Millennials (who now command 15.1% of CEO positions) to navigate long-term AI implementation. -LinkedIn
Grief Ambush
And that brings me back to that Toby Keith song.
In times of grief, people know to anticipate tears on significant dates. For example, you expect to feel the absence of a lost loved one on their birthday and during Christmas. Then there are the grief ambushes. The unexpected moments that bring sudden tears.
Watching that Toby Keith video was one of mine.
I cried harder than I had in a very long time—not simply because I was remembering the 09/11 terror attack or the patriotism that followed it, but because I was grieving the America I wish my children had known. For a brief moment, we remembered we belonged to one another.
And beneath that grief was something harder to admit:
Part of the reason they didn't know it is my generation's fault.
The Apology
I'm sorry the America you're inheriting isn't anything close to the America I knew as a child. We were proud to be Americans, and largely loved God and took care of each other.
I hesitate to share this, but I don't think we will recognize America in 10 years. If things continue down the current trajectory, America might exist in "name" - but without the freedoms, values, or form of government that have made it great.
While I once believed we would have a future civil war, I now think we will likely accept incremental socialism. I see this country continuing down that path until the USA is under the same style of Communist form of government that we fought against during the 1980s Cold War. (And frankly, our generation has seen enough history to know better.) I hate leaving our country in this state to you as your inheritance.
I'm sorry our generation didn't model contagious courage. We didn't rally in the streets. We didn't think we needed to do anything radical because we expected some things were just self-explanatory... like a girl is a girl and a boy is a boy.
And other things like:
Freedoms are more valuable than free things from the government.
Citizens should have a right to defend themselves.
Theft is always wrong.
Celebrating an abortion is demonic.
People should be able to gather to worship at any time.
American citizens belong here and those who cross illegally don't.
We didn't want to be ostracized like the Boomer in the MAGA hat. We believed we wouldn't make a difference and that government is corrupt anyway...
Our generation became famous for one word:
“Whatever.”
At the time, it sounded harmless—even funny. Looking back, I wonder if it revealed something deeper...
We built careers, chased promotions, remodeled kitchens, and filled our calendars... Sometimes we'd shake our heads at what was happening in our country but rarely jumped in to see what institution or organization we could join to make a positive change.
Like GenXer John Mayer sang, we've been "Waiting on the World to Change".
The problem is that maintenance of a society requires sacrifice, too—and we thought somebody else would do it or it would just naturally happen.
I'm sorry we believed that if we kept our heads down, worked hard, paid our bills, and stayed out of the fray, things would just work out. We confused comfort with stewardship.
Freedom isn't self-sustaining.
Neither are healthy families, thriving churches, trustworthy institutions, or vibrant communities.
Every generation inherits a garden.
And every generation has a choice:
Tend it—or let the weeds take over.
Hold Up a Sign
We didn't realize your generation would be so passionate about social causes. And then, of course, we had no idea that the internet and then social media content would have such an impact on your values. To find a colorful generation full of conviction, you had to look back to your grandparents' era with the civil rights movement, anti-war protests, and other forms of 1960s activism.
There is an undeniable appeal in people who seem willing to stand together for something they believe matters. I wish we had shown you that same admirable spunk in defending the things we believed were worth preserving.
Gen Z, you've seen the problems in our current American society and have found engaging speakers, influencers, and leaders online who have listened to your pain—and rallied you. We, as parents, had no idea foreign Communist governments were infiltrating what you were consuming on TikTok. You were ingesting content that looked different from ours and was curated to shape beliefs into something different than the one Gen X has valued.
It happened over the course of perhaps five years... A wiggle, a "what if?" The words might be whispered in backrooms, but never in public in America:
"What if we tried Socialism/Communism?"
“Every nation that has fallen has fallen from within.”— Scott Wesley Brown, This Little Child
We lose our freedom with socialist-style "acts of kindness" from the government.
It looks like:
We'll restrict this temporarily for your safety.
We'll monitor this to protect you.
We'll regulate this so nobody gets hurt.
We'll provide this so nobody falls through the cracks.
We'll forgive this debt.
We'll guarantee this benefit.
We'll make sure everyone has access.
We'll protect you from misinformation.
We'll make this easier.
We all see prices on groceries, gas, and homes that are uncomfortably high... I see free market capitalism, lower interest rates, and time as helping ease the problem. A socialist answer looks like fixed price grocery stores or even the bread lines we saw back in the 1980s Soviet Union under communism. There were food shortages, and people stood in line for many hours with coupons for the opportunity to purchase a single food item.
Follow the news, and we see where the weeds are taking over.
Look at California or New York City...
I'm sorry, Gen Z, I wish we had known. I cannot speak for all of my generation, but I can speak for myself. I want you and your children to build a life and raise families in an American Democratic Republic with free markets and free living. I want you to know our history and be proud of our country. I will not give up on America, because I will not give up on you. Please forgive our generation for our inaction that has hurt you.
Can we join together, Gen X and Gen Z, to preserve our America? Maybe hold up signs together, while we're at it?
Hey, maybe that's not a bad idea...
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