Viewpoints with Kerby Anderson

Kerby Anderson
President Trump wants manufacturing reinvigorated by bringing many jobs back to the U.S. That is great for America and great for American workers. But who is going to fill those jobs?
The latest numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show 7.6 million job openings along with 6.8 million unemployed workers. You might ask why those millions of unemployed workers haven’t snapped up those millions of job openings.
Mike Rowe (host of “Dirty Jobs”) says the problem of filling those jobs is two-fold. He says we have a “skills gap,” and we also have a “will gap.”
The skills gap is the disparity between the skills an employer expects their employees to have, and the actual skills employees possess. It is certainly true that jobs in the medical field require a science degree and jobs in big tech require a computer science degree. But most of the blue-collar skills don’t require a degree but require some mechanical ability and training.
Unfortunately, lots of high schools removed shop classes that could be training the next generation of Americans who like to work with their hands. Instead, students have been convinced they should go to college and take out massive student loans to get a degree that may not even prepare them for a future job.
The will gap is best illustrated by what economist Nicholas Eberstadt refers to as the “flight from work.” His Washington Post op-ed three years ago lamented that at that time there were seven million men who were not working and not looking for work. The number of non-working men has only dropped a percentage point in the last few years.
If the president is successful in bringing jobs back to America, pastors, parents, and other leaders must encourage the next generation to go to work.

Kerby Anderson
Dr. Sean McDowell reminds us, “Apologetics in an ever-changing culture must be about taking timeless truths and applying them to timely issues and challenges.” Sixteen years ago, he was the editor of the book, Apologetics for a New Generation, and I have recommended it as a resource. At the time, he and the other authors attempted to answer many of the questions teenagers and college students were asking.
He has updated that information in his new book, Apologetics for an Ever-Changing Culture. He argues that we need apologetics now more than ever because Christian students are bombarded by anti-Christian messages on social media, in the classroom, and among friends.
When he was on my radio program earlier this month, we talked about some of the additions and changes in his new book. For example, he said that if someone suggested he have an author write a chapter on transgenderism, he would wonder why that should be included. The chapter on the transgender debate is a necessary addition.
Even though Sean studied philosophy, it didn’t seem like the earlier book should include a chapter on critical theory. Anyone who has heard anything about critical race theory or critical queer theory, knows why that chapter was included.
His book also highlights the work of men and women making a significant contribution to the discussion. One example is the addition of a chapter on urban apologetics. Another is a chapter by Natasha Crain on “doing apologetics in the home.”
The forward to both books is written by David Kinnamen, CEO of the Barna Group. You will also appreciate some of the interviews Sean does with apologists like Lee Strobel, Jeff Myers, and Hillary Morgan Ferrer.

Kerby Anderson
Two weeks ago, I talked about President Trump’s countermarch through the institutions. Progressive activists have been marching through the institutions of this country, and Trump is engaged in a countermarch.
Victor Davis Hanson provides a different perspective on what is happening. He is asking, “Who Caused the Counter Revolution?” He observed that at some point, “some president was going to have to stop the unsustainable spending and borrowing.” He then looks at the crisis at the border and concluded that “to have any country left, some president would eventually have had to restore a nonexistent border and stop the influx of 3 million illegal aliens a year.” He also added, “Some commander-in-chief finally would have to try to stop the theater wars abroad.”
Eventually, someone in authority would have to deal with these issues. President Trump is leading a counter revolution because he is convinced there is a need to restore common sense. Yes, some may be disturbed at the speed or the breadth of action, but most would agree that some changes needed to be made.
Most Americans believe there are two genders. Most Americans don’t think biological men (with greater size and strength) should compete with women in sports. Most Americans believe too many people crossed the border and fear a percentage of migrants who are criminals, believing they should be removed.
We may not like it when a federal employee is fired or when a government program is terminated. Getting to a balanced budget, at times, might seem heartless. We may not agree with every decision being made to deport people here illegally. But Americans voted for a change from the previous four years. That is why there is a Trump counter revolution.

Kerby Anderson
Earlier this month, President Trump signed an executive order that establishes a strategic bitcoin reserve. It will capitalize the bitcoin already owned by the Department of Treasury that was taken from criminal or civil asset forfeiture proceedings. It will not sell any bitcoin. And the Secretaries of Treasury and Commerce have been given the task of developing budget-neutral strategies for acquiring more.
At the same time, the executive order also establishes a digital asset stockpile that would consist of other digital assets owned by the Department of Treasury. There are no plans to acquire any more, and it is likely those will be sold off.
As you might imagine, there are proponents and opponents to the strategic bitcoin reserve. Many members of Trump’s cabinet are proponents of bitcoin and have bitcoin within their own financial portfolios. The executive order reminds voters of the pledge by candidate Trump to make the U.S. the “crypto capital of the world.”
The opponents can be divided into two groups. One group opposes a bitcoin strategic reserve because they believe it won’t work. I first discussed bitcoin on the radio in 2017. For the last eight years, I have read and heard what is often called FUD: fear, uncertainty, and doubt. We will no doubt hear all those erroneous claims once again.
The other opponents are those who believe the strategic reserve will work, and don’t want to reward bad behavior. This asset with a fixed supply of 21 million coins will increase in value and can be used to offset our current and future national debt. The debt came from politicians who ran up massive deficits and the Federal Reserve that printed the money to fund that fiscal irresponsibility.
Some people in the past feared the government might ban bitcoin. Instead, the government will be acquiring bitcoin.

Penna Dexter
Thankfully, the predicted long wait to learn the 2024 presidential outcome did not come to fruition last November. But results for many down-ballot races were delayed — some for weeks.
Experts warn that we have much more to do to clean up our elections.
The Daily Signal’s Fred Lucas points to Germany’s recent election in which all votes were counted on election night. We should ask ourselves why we often can’t do that here in the U.S.
Mr. Lucas cites several differences between our elections and those conducted in European democracies:

In many countries, especially parliamentary systems, the ballots are simpler. Germans voted for the party. The U.S. is a larger country with ballots which are longer and more complex.
Plus our system is decentralized. States run their own elections, creating most of their own rules.
But the most consequential cause of delays in vote counting in U.S. elections is the widespread use of mail-in ballots.

In his book, The Myth of Voter Suppression, Fred Lucas notes that nearly three fourths of countries in the European Union “don’t allow mail-in voting without specific reasons.”
According to J. Christian Adams, President of the Public Interest Legal Foundation, “These countries have in-person voting at the polling place and have results on election night.” What’s more, he says, “every European country except Britain has voter ID requirements.”  In the U.S., several states lack this fundamental protection.
Election law attorney, author and podcaster Cleta Mitchell founded the Election Integrity Network, a coalition dedicated to the security of every American vote. She recommends several commonsense protections. One that should be a no-brainer is: Do not let non-citizens participate in our elections. A federal bill requiring voter ID, the SAVE Act, awaits a vote in Congress.
Ms. Mitchell also says we should return to election-day and precinct-based, supervised voting. And paper ballots. For more, see Votefair2026.com.

Kerby Anderson
A recent educational report illustrates that our public schools are politically skewed. It concluded that the Marxist Howard Zinn’s book is used in a fourth (25%) of all American classrooms.
Educator Larry Sand explains that Zinn’s best-selling book, A People’s History of the United States, approaches history from a Marxist perspective. “Zinn maintained that the teaching of history should serve society in some way and that objectivity is impossible, and it is also undesirable.” Zinn even admitted that he wrote his book to create a revolution.
If you want to know more about Howard Zinn and his education project, you can follow the link to this commentary. Even better, you might want to obtain the book, Debunking Howard Zinn, written by Mary Grabar. I did an hour interview with her about the book a few years ago.
Larry Sand concludes that students may be becoming an experts in Marxist dogma, but they aren’t learning U.S. history. The American Council of Trustees and Alumni conducted a national survey of college students. It tested them about their basic knowledge of American history and government and found that significant numbers of college students graduate without a basic grasp of the nation’s history and political system. He also cites other surveys that come to the same discouraging conclusion.
In many cases, foreigners who come to the U.S. to become citizens learn more about our history and governmental structure than young people who attend our public schools. Why not require high school students to pass the citizenship test? Recently, the governor of Iowa announced a bill that would require high school students to pass the citizenship test to graduate. If the bill passes, Iowa will become the 14th state to adopt such a measure.
Our schools aren’t teaching history, and what they do teach is often politically skewed.

Kerby Anderson
Natasha Crain warns Christians in her new book, When Culture Hates You: Persevering for the Common Good as Christians in a Hostile Public Square. She begins by talking about the hostility Christians often face when they articulate a biblical perspective on cultural issues. We shouldn’t be surprised since Jesus warned us, “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you” (John 15:18).
One of the significant criticisms from non-Christians, and even from Christians, is the claim that Christians should not impose their views on others. We also hear that Christians should not seek power. We are told that getting involved in politics harms our witness and can disrupt unity in the church. And we are told that Christians should not be partisans.
To evaluate those objections, she proposes slavery as a test case. Here are her five key statements using those objections: (1) Christians shouldn’t have worked to end slavery because we shouldn’t have imposed our views on others. (2) Christians shouldn’t have worked to end slavery because that involved seeking power to do it. (3) Christians shouldn’t have worked to end slavery because getting involved with a political issue harmed our witness. (4) Christians shouldn’t have worked to end slavery because it disrupted unity in the church. (5) Christians shouldn’t have worked to end slavery because Christians shouldn’t have been partisans.
Would we accept those objections today? We would reject such reasoning and can see how we shouldn’t have applied such arguments two centuries ago. We were called to speak truth then and are called to speak truth today.

Kerby Anderson
Health care officials warn that “vaccine hesitancy” is one of the top health challenges of this decade. It appears that both sides of the vaccine debate seem to be painting with too broad of a brush.
Most parents routinely have their physician give their children the MMR vaccine for measles, mumps, and rubella. At the same time, those same parents may express concern about giving their children the COVID-19 vaccine. Unfortunately, they are often labeled anti-vax and blamed for the latest measle outbreak in the US.
It is true that the percentage of children receiving the two doses of MMR vaccine dropped a bit (from 95% five years ago to 93% recently). But there are other factors, such as the measles spread from unvaccinated travelers or even undocumented immigrants.
Parents who vaccinate their children but express concerns about the COVID vaccine should not be called anti-vax. Likewise, parents shouldn’t refuse all vaccines simply because of legitimate concerns about the COVID vaccine.
By now, you may be wondering why I say there are legitimate concerns with the COVID vaccine. A recent Yale study has confirmed what many suspected and has been referred to as “post-vaccination syndrome.”
The COVID vaccine in a small number of people may have led to a constellation of side effects. These include fatigue, exercise intolerance, brain fog, and dizziness. Some people show distinct biological changes in immune cells, reawakening of a dormant Epstein-Barr virus, and the persistence of a coronavirus protein in their blood.
While this is just a small study, it highlights potential health concerns and calls into question the efficacy of the COVID vaccine. That is why many parents are concerned about the vaccine and why some states have banned vaccine mandates.

Kerby Anderson
A significant number of young people have a positive view of socialism. In my booklet on A Biblical Point of View on Socialism, I suggest this is because of what they hear on college campuses and what they hear from politicians like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
John Stossel now provides another reason for socialism’s popularity: social media. He documents the “Dumb Things Socialists Promise.”
For example, one TikTok social influencer has a video proclaiming: “Socialism is working better than capitalism 93% of the time!” That misleading statistic is drawn from a study by self-described Marxists in the Journal of Health Services from nearly four decades ago.
Another social media influencer proclaims, “Socialism worked in China” because it “lifted over 800 million people from poverty.” Yes, the per capita income in China has increased, but much of that increase came after China gave up on socialism and created a hybrid capitalism-communism society. Hong Kong, which adopted true capitalism, increased personal income much more and much faster than mainland China.
And another social media influencer tells his YouTube subscribers: “The central idea that unites all socialists is maximizing freedom … democratization of power.” The reality in most socialist countries is less freedom and only one political party.
Perhaps you have a friend or family member that is promoting socialism. Let me offer my booklet on socialism (either in digital form or printed form). We need to be prepared to answer these socialist claims and promises.

Kerby Anderson
Here’s a phrase I sometimes use on radio: “It is difficult to solve a problem when politicians won’t even admit there is a problem.” This is true about our national debt, but it is also true about America’s health. We can’t solve America’s health problems if we won’t admit that Americans are unhealthy. The confirmation of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. may be changing our mindset. But we still need to understand the depth of the health care problem in America.
We have heard that “America is a first-world country facing third-world health issues.” When you hear that, it sounds too extreme. Is that true? You can read an article in the Annual Review of Public Health that attempts to answer: “Why do Americans have shorter life expectancy and worse health than people in other high-income countries?”
It is even worse for poor Americans. One research paper on “Life Expectancy in the United States” says this: “The poorest men in the US have life expectancies comparable to men in Sudan and Pakistan; the richest men in the US live longer than the average man in any country.”
A CDC research paper documents that: “Six in 10 Americans have at least one chronic disease, and 4 in 10 have two or more chronic diseases.” It is worth mentioning that chronic disease may account for as much as three-quarters of America’s health care spending.
Another study in the New England Journal of Medicine on the “Prevalence of Adult Obesity and Severe Obesity,” made this ominous prediction. The researchers estimated that by 2030 nearly half of US adults will be obese.
These statistics, and many others, illustrate the need to address the health of Americans. There are solutions to this problem, but the first step is to admit there is a problem and understand the depth of our health care problem.

Penna Dexter
As the transgender agenda began to unravel, author J.K. Rowling posted her summary of the damage it’s done, including this:

Gender ideology has undermined freedom of speech, scientific truth, gay rights, and women and girls’ safety, privacy and dignity. It’s also caused irreparable physical damage to vulnerable kids.
Nobody voted for it, the vast majority of people disagree with it, yet it has been imposed, top down, by politicians, healthcare bodies, academia, sections of the media, celebrities and even the police.

Here are just three actions the Trump administration has already taken to dismantle this woke regime:
On February 5, National Girls and Women in Sports Day, surrounded by crowd of female athletes, President Trump signed an executive order titled, Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports. The president warned education institutions and their athletic associations, “if you let men take over women’s sports teams or invade your locker rooms, you will be investigated for violations of Title IX and risk your federal funding.”
Secondly, two days after Attorney General Pam Bondi was sworn in, the administration reversed its position in a case currently being considered at the U.S. Supreme Court. In December, the Court heard oral arguments in U.S. v. Skrmetti. the Biden Administration’s challenge to Tennessee’s law protecting minors from gender transition procedures. The Bondi Justice Department has dropped all opposition to the law.  .
Twenty-five other states have similar laws. A ruling in Skrmetti, will affect challenges to those laws. So, the Supreme Court will continue to deliberate and resolve this case.
Finally, pursuant to another of President Trump’s executive orders, the administration is rewriting admissions requirements, ceasing the funding of gender transition procedures and otherwise moving the military away from transgender tyranny in favor of restoring a “warrior ethos.”
There is more being done, and much more to do. And Congress must act to make sure this rejection of trans tyranny is permanent. 

Kerby Anderson
At a time when politicians are talking about threats to democracy, it might be worthwhile to consider what democracy really is. But first a disclaimer: America is a republic, not a democracy.
Professor Allen Guelzo recently wrote about “Lincoln’s Vision of Democracy.” After the battle of Gettysburg, Lincoln was asked to participate in the dedication of a national cemetery in that town. The featured orator was Edward Everett, but the short 272-word speech by Abraham Lincoln is the message we remember.
Lincoln laid out the story of the American republic in three stages: the past (“four score and seven years ago”), then the present (“now we are engaged in a great civil war”), and then the future (“we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain”).
The least examined words of the address are the triplet: “government of the people, by the people, for the people.” This was more than a rhetorical flourish. Lincoln essentially laid out the three foundations of our government.
The first is consent. We are a government “of the people.” In a previous speech, he explained that “the just powers of governments are derived from the consent of the governed.”
The second distinctive feature is the people’s voice in the affairs of governing. We are a government “by the people.” Lincoln argued that government by the people was through their laws and through elections and not by mobs.
The third element is a government that serves the interests of the people. We are a government “for the people.” Government is not for a king or an aristocracy or even for a few elites.
What is the form of government in America? It is a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.

Kerby Anderson
Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan may be best known for a seminal essay he wrote three decades ago. The Democratic Senator from New York said that the country back then was Defining Deviancy Down.
His concern was that deviant behavior had become so pervasive even in the 1980s and 1990s that commentators were beginning to redefine it to cope with it. He began by acknowledging that there was “always a certain amount of deviancy in society. But when you get too much, you begin to think that it’s not really that bad. Pretty soon you become accustomed to very destructive behavior.”
Anyone who has read the book of Isaiah will recognize this tendency. In Isaiah 5:20 we read, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness.”
Scott Hogenson referred to the Moynihan description of deviancy as he listed the numerous examples of what “used to be defined as medical malpractice, criminal molestation, voyeurism, and rape.” He concludes that we have defined deviancy “so downward, it’s positively subterranean.”
He reminds us that our laws are written by humans, but they are also written on the human heart. You may disagree with your neighbor, but you don’t vandalize his home. You may not like the guy who stole your parking place, but you don’t key his car.
Jeremiah wrote that the Lord declared, “I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts.” The writer of Hebrews explains that God says, “I will put my laws on their hearts and write them on their minds.”
That is why Christians need to speak out against evil and not let a secular society call “evil good.” The deviancy today is even worse than in the 1980s and 1990s when Senator Moynihan lamented that we were defining deviancy down.

Kerby Anderson
Homelessness not only affects big cities but can be found in small towns as well. Scott Morefield tells a story about Bristol, Tennessee and Bristol, Virginia that illustrates the impact that public policy can have on a social problem like homelessness.
First, let’s explain the geography. Bristol is really two cities with two governments that are right next to each other. They are divided by a state line that runs down the main street. This division provides a perfect test for the impact of laws and policies.
One past example of the differences came during the pandemic and lockdowns. The Democratic Virginia state mandates were much different than the Tennessee policies. It created a “weird time when half of the main street was essentially shuttered while the other half prospered.”
More recently, Tennessee passed a law that made camping on public property a felony. As you might expect, the homeless problem gravitated toward the Virginia side. The kitchen director at the local shelter said he heard numerous people at the evening meal, say “I’m going to get this meal and then I’m going to go over to Virginia, so I don’t have to worry about getting thrown in jail and have a felony on my record.”
The principle is simple. Remove the incentives and create disincentives for homeless people, and they will go elsewhere. In this case, they migrated to the other side of town. It wasn’t long before Bristol, Virginia passed a camping ban, though it was merely a misdemeanor offense.
Three months ago, I talked about the book by Michael Shellenberger with the arresting title: San Fransicko: Why Progressives Ruin Cities. He documents various reasons why the homeless problem has become worse. But one of the most important reasons is lax enforcement. The two cities of Bristol illustrate how policies do affect homeless behavior.

Kerby Anderson

Television host Mike Rowe has been an advocate for blue-collar workers who have kept this country running. He explains that opportunities have never been better for anyone willing to work and willing to learn a skill in demand.
Unfortunately, we have seven million men (ages 25-54) who not only are not working but are not looking for work. Economist Nicholas Eberstadt refers to that in a recent Washington Post op-ed as the “flight from work.” The U.S. currently has 11 million unfilled jobs. Businesses in every sector nationwide are desperate for workers, including positions that do not require high school diplomas.
Mike Rowe has provided more than a thousand scholarships to young people through his mikeroweWORKS foundation. They get trained for skills that are in demand (welders, steam fitters, pipe fitters, mechanics). None require a four-year degree. He says there has never been a greater need for skilled workers like right now. “If you are inclined to think that way and work that way,” he explains, “the world is your oyster.” Unfortunately, if you are not and are a man, “you are probably sitting home spending 2,000 hours sitting in front of a screen.”
A recent Fox News Poll asked this open-ended question: “What message would you send to government?” A majority (52%) said “lend me a hand.” The only other time a majority said that was during the pandemic. But we are two years past the pandemic and lockdowns.
Mike Rowe argues that two things could be true at the same time. First, there are people who need a hand who are well intended and willing to work. Second, many others have been given a hand and have done nothing with what they have been given.
I’m always willing to give someone a “hand up” to better themselves. But I think it is time to question whether we should be giving a “hand out” to millions who won’t work.

Kerby Anderson
Sean McDowell observes that “In a culture that glamorizes sex, chases fame, and shames those who don’t fall in line, it takes a rebel to be a Christian.” That is why the title of his new book is, A Rebel’s Manifesto.
His book for young Christians focuses on the challenges of the culture, relationships, sexuality, ethics, and cultural engagement. He published much of this in a previous book Ethix: Being Bold in a Whatever World. When I did a radio interview with him, we talked about the fact that he needed to both update chapters and add new chapters. The section on relationships was added because of current problems with loneliness, bullying, and suicide. And a chapter on transgender ideology also needed to be added.
We talked about the fact that Sean McDowell will often role-play as an atheist and take questions from Christian students. After he finishes, he asks them to describe how they treated the “atheist” guest. They often use words like rude, aggressive, and disrespectful. He then concludes that if this is how they treated a fellow Christian role-playing as an atheist, perhaps they have a lot to learn about better loving their neighbors.
We also spent some time talking about the influence of smartphones and social media. He lists five ways smartphones influence you. It affects how we access truth and affects us emotionally and spiritually. It also affects our identities and relationships.
This is a book you should give to your children or grandchildren. But I would also encourage you to give a copy to your youth leader. At the end of each chapter are questions that could be used to guide a small group discussion with young people. These are issues they confront, and they need the sound, biblical perspective this book provides.

Penna Dexter
In a recent sermon, my pastor declared: “The most significant decision we make every week is whether we will go to church.”
Church attendance is declining as the culture secularizes. Our pastor, Paul Donison, told us that during the pandemic, 40 million Americans stopped going to church and the numbers have continued dropping.
Dr. Ryan Burge is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Eastern Illinois University. He researches religiosity and political behavior in the United States and publishes a substack called “Graphs about Religion.” His findings show religious practice diminishing in all major demographic groups over the last 15-20 years. He says, “every group is leaving religion, even among conservatives and Republicans, the group that is typically tied to religion.”
Polls reveal that about a quarter of Americans identify as evangelicals. But many evangelicals report they’re not attending church. Dr. Burge says, “non attenders are taking on the label.”
When asked about church attendance, self-identified Christians who don’t attend church offer explanations like: “I don’t need to go” or “I can worship on my own” or “I find God in nature.”
If you’re in that category, read Psalm 27.
King David faced adversity when surrounded, betrayed, or even exiled. The psalm says the  sanctuary is the thing he asks God for. That’s where he longs to be.
It’s in the sanctuary where he sees the splendor of God, where he’s given a new perspective on his circumstances. He seeks to “inquire in his temple” (v.4, ESV). It’s there, he will find “shelter in the day of trouble” (v.5).  And he will “offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy” (v.6).
David feared he’d be forsaken, but concluded: “the Lord will take me in” (v.10).
We can worship by an ocean or a tree. But Pastor Donison speaks the truth: we need biblical preaching and sacraments to show us the fullness of who God is.
So, dear one, go to church.

Kerby Anderson
On one of our radio programs, one of the guests argued that the government had grown so big that it’s unrealistic for anyone to manage it. His comment reminded me of a commentary I did six years ago that compared the government to some of the largest companies in America.
First, let’s look at the federal government. The federal budget six years ago was $4 trillion dollars. Today, the federal budget is $7 trillion. By the way, federal tax revenues are only $5 trillion, which is why we have $2 trillion deficit this year. How many federal employees? That number is 2.4 million (but it you count military, civilian, and contract employees, it is twice that).
No one in history has ever managed such a large organization. The current president has managed a large company, but it pales in comparison to these numbers. And remember that the two other presidents were both U.S. Senators who had never managed a company.
Let’s compare this to the largest U.S. companies. Walmart employs 2.1 million people worldwide, and about 1.6 million of them are in the United States with annual revenue of $680 billion. Amazon employs 1.6 million worldwide with 1.1 million in the U.S. with annual revenue around $637 billion.
I know that is a lot of numbers, so here is the bottom line: if Walmart or Amazon were part of the federal government, they wouldn’t even be the largest federal programs.
During the confirmation hearings, some of the nominees were asked about their experience in running a large bureaucracy. Even some of the nominees who were governors had never managed something as large as a federal department. Perhaps that is a good reason why the Department of Government Efficiency should be looking for ways to cut spending.

Kerby Anderson
The future of TikTok is uncertain. ByteDance was given a 75-day extension to sell TikTok to a non-Chinese owner. But Melissa Henson (Parents Television and Media Council) believes parents should pay attention right now to the dangers on this platform.
She explains, “Social media platforms aren’t innocent. The reality is that predators target children online to sexually exploit or extort them. Social platforms have harmed teens’ mental health and exposed teens to sexual harassment. Children and teens have been targeted by powerful algorithms with eating disorder and other harmful content.”
Parents should be aware that their children are being targeted by a powerful algorithm that is designed to keep them hooked on the platforms. This isn’t merely speculation. There are internal memos and documents that reveal the goal of attracting and keeping young children on the platform.
Children are falling into patterns of addiction, depression, and sexual exploitation. That is why 14 state Attorneys General have filed lawsuits against TikTok. You might want to read the article by Melissa Henson or even follow the link to the lawsuits that have been filed to see how graphic and deviant some of the content is on this social media platform.
At this point you might be tempted to argue that TikTok has some redeeming value. If it was merely junk, it probably wouldn’t exist. My adult daughters sometimes find a good TikTok video and forward it to me. But that doesn’t negate all the negative influences found on this social media platform.
TikTok is a mixture of good and bad or light and darkness. Parents and grandparents need to be aware of the dangers of this social media platform.

Kerby Anderson
Perhaps you have heard the call for leftists to engage in “the long march through institutions.” The phrase was popularized by the radical German activist Herbert Marcuse who was quoting another activist. It came up in my radio interview with Stanley Ridgley on his book, Brutal Minds. In his book, America’s Cultural Revolution, Christopher Rufo not only quotes him, but devotes an entire chapter on Marcuse.
The plan was simple. Instead of encouraging students to protest the university and government, have them march into the institutions and take them over. By taking over faculty lounges, Hollywood studios, and government offices, they could bring about revolutionary change.
Rich Lowry writes about “Trump’s Countermarch Through the Institutions.” He says it is a new way of thinking for conservatives. It is such a strange reversal that many on the left and progressives in Congress don’t quite know what to do.
One example he cites was the Trump executive order that decreed that federal funding would be withdrawn from educational institutions that permit males to compete in females’ sports. “The NCAA instantly changed its policy to say that only athletes who were female at birth can compete against females.”
If this tactic sounds familiar, we saw it used by President Obama. He threatened to cut off federal funds to impose his views on college campus investigations and even school bathroom policies.
The Trump executive order on DEI had a similar effect. Funding was pulled, federal contractors changed their policies, and West Point disbanded its identity-based clubs.
You could say that Trump’s countermarch is a case of what is good for the liberal goose is also good for the conservative gander.