A recent survey shows that more high school senior boys identify as conservative than liberal, but the vast majority of them consider themselves moderate or apolitical. This is not indicative of anything new. The hostile Left, in its hateful perception and treatment of masculinity, is hindering young men from comfortably entering the political atmosphere. It is successfully shutting men up, and it is successfully losing them.
It is probable that some of the seniors refused to pick a side because of a general disinterest in politics. Most high school upperclassmen are more concerned with their grades, college, sports, and girls than with deciding their political affiliations. The Left’s attack on traditional values is keeping young men from revealing their conservatism, but its attack on masculinity is pushing them away from liberalism. Thus, they think their safest bet is to remain politically neutral.
Their silence reflects the trend in colleges. The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression asked 45,000 students across 203 colleges in 2023 about their ability to speak freely on campus. According to their report, “Conservative students are most likely to feel they cannot express their opinions freely, with 42% reporting that they ‘often’ feel uncomfortable speaking freely, compared to 13% of liberal students.