Jennifer A. Grossman (who goes by “JAG”), the CEO of The Atlas Society, has spent her career finding ways to teach America’s young adults about their freedom. She was the director of education policy at the Cato Institute. Today, as CEO of The Atlas Society, she is continuing to bring the philosophy that is foundational to our freedom to the places where teens and twenty-somethings congregate.
“We’ve had a complete revolution in means of communication, but too often our think tanks have not kept up,” says JAG. “The reason why the some on the far Left continue to call for more censorship of those with the wrong views is they know their ideas aren’t popular. They also know that freedom resonates, especially with the young. Classically liberal values of being able to speak freely and to protect oneself are still popular. It is important to find ways to have open discussions about this with young people.”
She notes that Ayn Rand’s novels “have long been a gateway drug for understanding our freedom” and “the Second Amendment is foundational to our liberty.”
But, she also explains that too often today’s pro-freedom groups don’t know how to engage the new generation. The shooting sports, for example, are more popular than ever and the NRA’s certified instructors (you can find many near you at NRAInstructors.org) are busy training millions of new gun owners, but too often this critical part of our freedom is being kept from our nation’s youth. This is because gun-control groups, and the politicians who support them, are focused on keeping the next generation ignorant about this fundamental right.
In this video interview (a print version is also running in the March issue of America’s 1st Freedom) JAG explains how she has successfully reached the next generation.