The “Young Conservative Problem” is Current Conservatives’ Fault

The most influential force on young people deciding on whether or not to be conservative is the behavior of current conservatives.

I read, and reread several times with interest, a piece in National Review by Isaac Schorr entitled “ A Wake-Up Call for Conservatives “ and subtitled “Millennials and Generation Z show no sign of growing more conservative over time like the Boomers did. We must address the age gap.” After citing statistics to the point, he lays out two conclusions:

These results should lead the conservatives interpreting them to two distressing, but hopefully motivating, conclusions.

The first conclusion is an obvious one: A college education is a not-so-golden ticket to a worldview that embraces the premises of the Left. This may be a seemingly self-evident truth to conservatives, but there are those who deny it. This poll makes it obvious that time spent on a campus — being governed by progressive administrators, being taught by progressive faculty, and most important, living amongst progressive peers — tends to turn you into a much more progressive person. Conservatives are quick to complain about this phenomenon, but it’s very possible that we underestimate its consequences…

…The second conclusion naturally follows from the first: Conservatives are not doing enough to persuade young people. Part of this can be attributed to a complacency borne out of the belief that as a matter of course, foolish young liberals will transform into wise old conservatives.

Wrong.

Millennials show no sign of growing more conservative over time like the Boomers did, and there’s little evidence to suggest Generation Z will revert back to the mean. There’s nothing inevitable about generational ideological shifts — they must be earned, not counted upon. I’ve presented my own vision of what I think conservative students can do to make a difference on their own campuses, but their efforts won’t be nearly enough. What is needed is a concerted effort by conservative organizations, publications, and politicians to appeal to America’s youth, an effort that goes beyond sloganeering and providing fan service to those…