America Online, at that time, hosted a message board called the Great Debate, where many issues were discussed, including gun control. Several high-profile anti-Second Amendment types were known to frequent that debate, and to my lasting pride, I was part of the group of Second Amendment activists who countered them and eventually drove them in confusion from the board. That group formed an email community called the Wild Bunch, of which group I remain a member today, almost 30 years later.

Around that same time, I got interested in talk radio. We were living in Denver at that time, and while the mighty Rush Limbaugh was broadcast on Denver's KOA at 850AM, the morning slot belonged to the 800-pound gorilla of Denver conservative talk radio, Mike Rosen. Mike has now mostly retired from talk radio but still writes a regular column for the Complete Colorado website.

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Now, at 80 years of age, Mike is still active and still setting the example for us younger pundits; his most recent piece chronicles the decline in patriotism among young Americans, and it's troubling to read. But Mike approaches it with his customary hard analysis of the facts.

The conventional definition of patriotism is love for and loyalty to one’s country. A 2023 survey published in the Wall Street Journal found that only 38% of respondents thought patriotism was very important to them, down sharply from 70% when that question was first asked in 1998.While 59% of seniors 65 and older feel that way today, only 23% of adults under 30 do.

I vividly remember America’s 200^th birthday in 1976.  Patriotic activities and celebrations abounded across the country leading up to a grand finale on the glorious Bicentennial Day.  What has doused that American spirit? The American left.

It’s been a long slog but I’d trace its roots to the 1960s and 70s with the emergence of what came to be called the “New Left.”  Violent political demonstrations from Vietnam War protestors and bombings from the radical Weather Underground were a fertile breeding ground.  A major ideological inspiration for the New Left was Herbert Marcuse, a German philosopher in what was called the Frankfurt School in the 1920s, a collection of Marxist academics and intellectuals who sought to take Karl Marx’s theories to a higher level and perfect its imperfections.

In 2001, I had just released my book on the radical animal rights movement. "Misplaced Compassion" (while rather outdated now) raised a fair amount of controversy, and I was fortunate to spend two hours in the studio with Mike following its release. He was in person just like his persona on the radio: Direct, to the point, brooking no nonsense, polite to those who were polite to him, occasionally brusque with those who were not. Callers who disagreed with Mike or his guest were moved to the front of the queue, and we dealt with them first, as that makes for more interesting radio.

From years of listening to Mike Rosen, I learned some important lessons not only in live debate but also written punditry:

• Have your ducks in a row. When you know you're going into a discussion, marshall your facts in advance. Anticipate any counter-arguments and be prepared to address them.
• Stay on topic. Leftists love to do what I call the "liberal two-step," where they will take a discussion on a topic that they aren't well-informed on and do a lateral arabesque into a topic on which they are on more comfortable ground.
• Hold them to account. Make them answer the questions. I remember the many times, after trying to hold a caller to account, Mike would snap and bark, "Answer the damn question!"
  
• Be as dispassionate as possible. Emotional arguments aren't the best arguments. Logic, facts, and truth are the best arguments.

Now I'm "in the business" myself, here at RedState, and scarcely a day goes by but that I think, in the course of writing up a story or a piece of commentary, "How would Mike go about this argument?" I didn't agree with him 100 percent of the time, but I always respected his skill, and I try to follow his example, not only in making an argument but in realizing that nobody has to agree with me 100 percent of the time, either.

So, thanks, Mike. You continue to counsel and inspire me to this day.