A Letter to My Teenage Child by Anonymous
There are many things at their extremes in our world today. I have put together some thoughts about what’s happening, along with a bit of my background, so you have some context for how your father sees things.
Political History
I have always believed that a healthy two-party system is essential to keeping America free. Over the years, I’ve supported both Democrats and Republicans, depending on the person and the moment, not party loyalty.
One of the most formative periods of my political engagements came in the late 1960s, when I was a college freshman. I worked for New York Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, a brilliant and thoughtful Democrat who had served as Secretary of Labor under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, and later as US Ambassador to India and then the United Nations.
On the Republican side, I voted for Ronald Reagan for many reasons, especially including his ability to work productively with House Speaker Tip O’Neil, a true grass-roots Democrat. Cross-aisle cooperation used to be normal. Today, both parties have moved to their extreme wings. In the 2024 election, I struggled to support either side—a recognition that something fundamental had shifted.
Thinking Critically
Senator Moynihan had a famous quote: “Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not to their own facts.” It guides me completely. I fact check everything: Speeches, social media, mainstream press, cable news, all of it.
I acquired another important guidepost as an undergraduate in engineering and science. I was taught to question virtually everything, no matter what the prominent, consensus opinion or scientific explanation was! Find the evidence, challenge it, and re-prove it to my own satisfaction. I became somewhat obsessed with that way of thinking and carried it with me into my career as an investment analyst. You don’t last long in that business if you take claims at face value. You learn very quickly to re-challenge assumptions, verify sources, and test narratives against reality.
This isn’t cynicism, it is an important discipline. It shapes how I evaluate politics, media, and public claims today. I look for what’s true, not what’s popular. Facts matter, but only if they are truly factual.
Israel and Antisemitism
Early on I studied World War II in depth, and Holocaust denial horrifies me. What we see today, protests and antisemitic attacks on campuses and in front of synagogues, is rooted in staggering ignorance, and is morally wrong. It is also orchestrated and paid for by Political Islam zealots spreading antisemitism. I am shocked by naïve, easily-influenced college students.
The Jewish presence in Canaan/Palestine/Israel dates back to 3500 B.C.E. and has survived centuries of occupation, most recently by the Ottoman Turks for 500 years. Israel was the Jewish ancestorial homeland long before Islam even existed.
Following World War II, the United Nations partitioned the land between Jews and Arabs. There was never a Palestinian state in all of history. Palestine was previously just a name for a geography, originally called Palestina in AD 135 by the Romans.
Israel was finally established in 1948, after defending itself against Arab aggression. Jews were virtually expelled from all Arab lands, where their population fell from 880,000 in 1948 to fewer than 13,000 today. Meanwhile, the Arab population in Israel rose from 156,000 to over 2.1 million. Despite this, Israel is consistently accused of colonization and oppression, which is clearly false and factually backwards.
More importantly, A “two-state” solution for the “Palestinians” was offered in 1937, 1947, 1967, 2000, 2001 and 2008! The Jews fully accepted the terms each time. The Arabs, effectively the Muslim Brotherhood, rejected all six with no counteroffers, blatantly refusing to recognize Israel’s right to exist!
In 2005, all Jews were moved out of Gaza in an effort to bring peace. In 2007, Hamas, considered a terrorist organization, was elected to govern Gaza. Instead of governing for the people, it diverted billions to build 450 miles of tunnels and military infrastructure instead of schools, hospitals or water systems, all the while indoctrinating children to hate and kill Jews. Hamas has repeatedly attacked Israel. It has been estimated that they have since fired over fifteen thousand rockets and missiles into Israel, or about 75 per month!
October 7, 2023 marked a horrific escalation: 1,200 Israelis killed, 250 hostages taken, and incomprehensibly extreme brutality. War is tragic, but selective outrage, focusing on Israel while ignoring mass killings elsewhere such as in Iran, Sudan and Nigeria just recently, is always politically motivated. Organizations like the Muslim Brotherhood, CAIR, Hamas, MSA, and Students for Justice in Palestine have greatly amplified these biases, especially on U.S. campuses. I am shocked by the naivete of college students that should certainly know better.
Charlie Kirk
I only encountered Charlie Kirk after his death, watching his videos. What struck me wasn’t just the criticism, but the celebration of his death, which revealed explosive intolerance for independent thought. His work with Turning Point USA at colleges and high schools was consistently factual and civil. He debated opponents respectfully, encouraged students to challenge ideas, including his own, and emphasized critical thinking over slogans. On issues like religion and abortion, he argued for seriousness and reflection, not confrontation. On education and free speech, he welcomed disagreement rather than trying to silence it.
When someone can be argued with respectfully while alive, but dehumanized once dead, it shows the problem isn’t disagreement but rather mindless cruelty towards people that don’t agree with you. Once that is rewarded, society is no longer debating, it is rehearsing for something far worse.
Big Federal Government
I tend to vote Republican mainly because I respect the Constitution, individual rights, and limited government. I also respect its inclusion and foundation in God. Federal oversight should be confined to defense, currency, and ensuring liberty. It should certainly not be in education, health care and the environment. Everything else properly belongs to the states, as we are a Constitutional Republic of states, each with its own government.
Government inefficiency and waste is well-documented, whereas the private sector drives innovation and growth. It’s where wealth and jobs are created. Capitalism, with measured regulation, wildly and consistently outperforms socialist models, as clearly seen in Venezuela, Russia, Cuba, and North Korea. Even China, once staunchly communist, has defaulted to most of its economic precepts today.
Taxes are already highly progressive: The top 1% pay 40% of all federal income taxes, the top 10% nearly three-quarters, while the bottom half pay only 3%! Looked at another way, each taxpayer in the top 0.1% of earners pays the equivalent taxes of 1600 taxpayers from the bottom half. The rich pay well more than their fair share already, so calls for higher taxes on the wealthy are grossly misplaced.
Zohran Mamdani and New York City
Obviously, he is a Socialist/Marxist and he’s using a model that has demonstrably failed through history time and time again. Mamdani’s platform as NYC mayor is not only unrealistic, it’s dangerous. Promises like free buses, subsidized groceries, free childcare, and rent freezes are unaffordable, unworkable, and will likely worsen shortages. His anti-Israel policies, divesting NYC pension funds from Israel, banning trade, threatening to arrest foreign leaders have nothing to do with New Yorkers and are legally and diplomatically untenable.
Worst of all, crime is set to rise. The NYPD is already understaffed, with thousands more now resigning. Decriminalization of theft, assault, DUI, and prostitution, combined with reliance on psychological interventions instead of law enforcement, will only further destabilize the city. Mamdani’s administration relies heavily on former de Blasio staff, who oversaw similar mismanagement. NYC is already seeing residents and businesses leave for safer, more fiscally responsible states.
Finally, his background: Never had a job until at age 29 he was elected to the NY State Assembly. In that job, he missed three quarters of roll calls and never worked on any legislation, let alone created anything. He has been associated with the first World Trade Center bombing as a defender of the blind sheik Omar Abdul Rahman. He is also associated with Uganda’s Deputy Prime Minister who wanted to install the death penalty for homosexuals. Mamdani retains his Ugandan citizenship, a country with one of the worst human-rights records in the world. He is also connected to the Holy Land Five, a group that directly funneled money to Hamas, with several of their members currently serving from 15 to 60 years in prison.
Mamdani supports far-left, anti-Israel candidates. Violent antisemitic demonstrations, including calls to “Globalize the Intifada” (directly translated as a call to kill Jews) that now occur openly in NYC, while all previous protections for Jewish citizens were removed in his first action as mayor.
There is growing advocacy for applying Sharia (religious law) in ways that completely subvert our Constitution and secular governance. Read the Quran, which clearly highlights Islam’s primary goal of converting the world to Islam. In history, this was primarily done by invading countries and forcing their inhabitants to either convert, die or pay a tax. Iraq, which was only 20% Muslim, faced this as an occupation and revolution in 1979. Today in London, under Mayor Sadiq Khan, residents have faced rising crime, housing crises, and policy conflicts linked to religious influence. Texas has just recently been compelled to formerly outlaw Sharia law.
Combined with radical activism and far-left agendas that weaken law enforcement, these trends highlight a real tension between civic law, community safety, and ideological agendas.
Final Reflection
We are living through a period where the world I grew up in, the assumptions about truth, institutions, civic behavior, and moral limits is rapidly eroding. Extremes are normalized. Disagreement is replaced by intimidation, slogans, and emotional pressure.
I’ve seen cycles of political conflict before, but this is different and much more serious. What worries me is not disagreement, but the loss of shared principles and values. Once that goes, everything becomes unstable.
You don’t need to pick a side or join movements. What matters is learning to think independently and rigorously. Verify claims. Understand history before accepting moral judgments. Be cautious of crowds, especially when they demand moral certainty without evidence. Pay attention to who benefits from and who is paying for it.
In short, don’t outsource your judgment! That’s the easiest thing to lose and the hardest thing to get back.
Anonymous
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