Gen Z, Free Inquiry, and the Future of Civic Discourse
Truth prevails when there are no sacred cows in the public square
GEN Z, FREE INQUIRY, AND THE FUTURE OF CIVIC DISCOURSE
Truth prevails when there are no sacred cows in the public square
Pamela Denise Long
In every era of American life, the political center of gravity has shifted as new generations have come of age. Today, we are witnessing a significant transition in the body politic—from those shaped by the Cold War and its aftermath to a generation raised in an age of global connectivity, instantaneous information, and decentralized thought leadership via the internet. This shift is most evident in the perspectives of Generation Z—the cohort born between 1997 and 2012.
The story of Gen Z’s political awakening cannot be fully understood without first acknowledging the influence of their parents: Generation X and Millennials. Many Gen Xers, shaped by post-Watergate skepticism and the explosion of personal computing, taught their children to question everything. For many Gen Xers, “because I said so” may have worked to secure their obedience to grandparents and parents, but in politics, it was never enough. This is not mere contrarianism; rather, it is an ingrained value tied to constitutional free speech and a gradual erosion of the strength of “because I said so” as a motivator.
Like a social contagion, Gen Z inherited this ethos at scale. They did not choose to distrust institutions; they learned distrust at their parents’ sides, who themselves had lived through political betrayals, economic devastation, and the collapse of the authority and trustworthiness of traditional media. But unlike prior generations, Gen Z’s worldview is shaped not through a handful of national broadcast networks or major newspapers, but through millions of digital touchpoints: livestreams, first-person narratives, and viral social media posts. Everyone knows that Twitter/X now sets the media headlines.
Nowhere has this rapid shift been more visible than in the global conversation around Israel and Palestine. Since World War II and the Holocaust—the systematic murder and removal of millions of Jews under Nazi Germany—the global consensus in American education and public policy has been the imperative to never forget and never allow such horrors to happen again. This historical lesson, along with Christian reverence for the Holy Land, shaped the attitudes of Gen Xers and Millennials toward Jewish revitalization and global support for Israel. Yet Gen Z’s relationship with that narrative is evolving in a way that diverges from tradition.
Criticism of the Israeli government, its officials, and/or Zionism is neither new nor necessarily uninformed (although of course it very well can be), but until recently, such criticism had rarely gained sustained mainstream traction among American youth. The events beginning October 7, 2023 brought renewed and elevated scrutiny. For many in Gen Z, some responses to Hamas’s attack and to Israel’s retaliation—especially labeling any critique of Israeli policy as “antisemitism” or “support for terrorism”—felt like an attempt to shut down inquiry rather than engage with evidence and context.
Political appointments and U.S. funding of foreign nations are distinct points of pushback. For example, in May 2025, President Trump nominated Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun to serve as the U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism. Kaploun’s is an ambassador-level role within the State Department. While Kaploun has not been confirmed by the Senate and has not assumed the office, public attention surrounding his nomination intensified amid broader government discussions about monitoring or regulating social media content and universities for antisemitism. For many Americans, particularly younger generations raised to value constitutional free speech, this moment has raised legitimate questions about where the line should be drawn between combating hate and constraining lawful political inquiry.
Importantly, Gen Z on the whole does not reject the moral imperative to condemn the Holocaust or to respect the dignity of Jewish life. Rather, this generation is reacting against what they see as a continued—and bipartisan—normalization of political frameworks that protect power at the expense of inquiry and accountability. Truth and peace go hand-in-hand.
While there is certainly a great deal of propaganda to be found on social media, it’s also true that as never before in history young people are able to watch relatively unfiltered video and testimony from conflict zones delivered by individuals on the ground—and contrast that with sanitized, institutional explanations. The gap between the two cultivates doubt and demands explanation. Rightly so.
This evidence-based skepticism is rooted in a deeper generational commitment to rigorous dialogue and open inquiry. These principles mirror the communications strategies in the founding of the United States and subsequent American civic life, until the rise of cancel culture. Truth and authentic diversity of thought are essential to the preservation and perfecting of our nation. Those principles thrive not in enforced silence, but when people are encouraged to engage with uncomfortable ideas in good faith. Gen Z, perhaps more than any recent generation, expects public servants to model—not suppress—rigorous debate and transparent reasoning.
Whether one agrees or disagrees with Gen Z’s conclusions on any given issue, their method is consistent: measure real-world outcomes, elevate under-heard voices, and challenge narratives that demand passive acceptance. Freedom of speech must prevail, always.
When images and reports from Gaza show disproportionate civilian casualties, or when policies appear to entrench imbalances of power rather than promote fair security, or when leaders turn out to be the very thing they railed against, this generation (and their parents) interpret those as data points that reflect the experience of real human beings, not abstractions. They see it as noticing, not bigotry. They see it as value-consistency, not disloyalty. In short, there should be no sacred cows that are above reproach.
This is also why Gen Z’s moral evaluations extend beyond a single geopolitical issue. They juxtapose concerns about economic instability, climate change, and civil rights with their understanding of human dignity and procedural fairness. In Gen Z’s moral calculus, justice is not negotiable, intangible, or compartmentalized. There is also a pragmatic dimension: Gen Z has come of age in what feels like a perpetual crisis—economically, socially, and politically. They have watched institutions stumble on pandemic response, climate policy, economic inequality, and foreign policy, too. These experiences reinforce the notion that accountability does not come from unquestioning deference to authority or shaming for the audacity to inquire.
The broader generational transition—Gen X’s skepticism, the Millennials’ media evolution, and Gen Z’s piercing inquiry—highlights a profound change in civic engagement. Where older generations prioritized stability rooted in conformity, younger Americans demand transparency, evidence, and ethical consistency. They are not inherently anti-Israel or anti-Jewish or pro-Palestine; nor are they afflicted with “mass formation psychosis” about political personalities. They are anti-double standard and pro-truth.
If there is one lesson from this generational shift, it is this: robust public discourse rooted in evidence and free inquiry is vital to a functioning democracy. Questioning narratives does not weaken resolve; it strengthens understanding. Gen Z’s insistence on seeing before believing reflects a commitment to principles taught to them by a generation that urged them to think for themselves.
Whether policymakers (and media gatekeepers) like it or not, this emerging generation is shaping a dynamic political center of gravity—one that prizes transparency, equity, and accountability above rhetoric. That shift deserves thoughtful engagement, not dismissal. Asking questions in order to gain nuanced understanding is the most direct route to informed free speech and civic engagement. That is the way forward. As the Gen-X parent of a Gen-Z voter, I’m pleased that we both understood the assignment.
Dr. Pamela Denise Long is a former Newsweek contributor, principal consultant at Youthcentrix®, and Republican candidate for U.S. Senator in Illinois. She is an award-winning business consultant, and political commentator featured on The Griot Politics/Black News Channel, her Newsweek column, FOX News, Breitbart, AM 560 The Answer Chicago, WVON 1690 am Chicago, Epoch TV, and more.
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Denise appeared on the Free Black Thought Podcast in July of 2025 in an episode titled “The Republican Party Is My Party.”
Editors’ note: A version of this article previously appeared on Denise’s Medium page.
I was thinking as I read about Gen Z why many were overrepresented in chanting "from the river to the sea." From person on the street interviews many did not know what they were chanting. Moreover, chanting may be both an exercise in free speech and an exercise in slogan-thinking (or non-thinking). I am left with an interest in digging deeper about the variations within the broad category of "Gen Z." Of course, being a pre-Baby Boomer myself may make me suspect.
This is an interesting perspective, as always on FBT. However, I do not agree with the author that "younger Americans demand transparency, evidence, and ethical consistency." Some do, of course. No generation can be described with categorical certainty. But the ones she defends, such as campus protestors against Israel, clearly live by demands closer to the opposite of "transparency, evidence, and ethical consistency." As joe.nalven2 points out in the nearby comment, the kindest observation that can be made about most young American campus protestors is that they don't even know the meaning of the words that come out of their mouths. I spent a lot of time observing the recent Gen Z protests, often in person, and there was no "evidence" or "ethical consistency" on offer. There was only blind hate, fed mostly by lies, conveyed in blinkered and shameful slogans.