I'm sure many or most of you have seen the headlines by now.  In a not so unexpected move in today's political climate, Hasbro announced that Mr. Potato Head toys would be re-branded as "Potato Heads" in a misguided effort to, as one article puts it, "break away from traditional gender norms."

Now, for some time, I've wanted to write about the forced politicization of previously non-political entities.  I thought about it even more after hearing of the whole "be less white" fiasco with Coca-Cola.  Though greatly tempted to transfer my passionate thoughts onto paper, I held back for a time.  However, this recent announcement by Hasbro was the final "woke" straw that broke my proverbial back of restraint, standoffishness, and procrastination.

Photo credit: Hasbro, via Twitter.

When innocent children's toys are unnecessarily politicized with agendas that pose great harm to kids' well-being, then yes, I'm definitely going to speak out and let loose.  No more procrastination here.  That's a habit I'll gladly kick to the curb if I feel that I should speak out to protect children.

To be blunt, I do pity the kids of today.  No, that isn't sarcastic pity or anything of the sort.  Indeed, I'm being genuine.  In many ways, their upbringing is and will be quite different from those of past generations.  They'll be bombarded with leftist propaganda and widespread brainwashing tactics, and they'll observe a mass politicization of businesses, movies, videogames, and other entities that were previously considered neutral.

Being 25, I'm one of the last few who were allowed to grow up in a relatively normal America.  As a kid, I didn't have politically correct nonsense shoved down my throat 24/7.  If I or my family wanted to enjoy one of the various forms of entertainment, we could certainly do so without said entertainment being laced with heavy political rhetoric and propaganda.  If anything, entertainment was an escape from the political realm, and we didn't have to see obnoxious woke ads for razors, restaurants, candy, or a variety of other products.

Now, however, our zeitgeist and political and social environments are quite different.  The amount of propaganda and blatant lies now imposed on children is tantamount to serious child abuse, and it deeply concerns me.  Children are being told they can simply switch sexes with the snap of a finger; that LGBT lifestyles are fully "normal"; and that conservatism, Christianity, and "whiteness" are existential problems that need to be crushed swiftly and quite brutally.  With the left controlling so much of our society, they've had all the needed resources to enact this brainwashing scheme, and they're quite dedicated to their immoral and repugnant cause.

Yes, while it is true that we've been in an ongoing culture war for some time, the war's significance and seriousness have been greatly magnified due to the left's fervent, ongoing attempt at stealing our children away from us.

I don't have children yet, though I do plan on having kids in the near future.  I know that in our current time and environment, I'm going to have to do all I can to teach them the truth, when to recognize lies and the everlasting relevance and solidity of God's word.  I'd advise similar strategies for all current and future parents.  Children are not as resilient as some have been led to believe.  Indeed, that's a popular and quite dangerous psychological myth.  The truth is that kids are impressionable and can be molded by those seeking to harm and brainwash them.

We must do all that we can to protect them and carefully guide their growth, development, and well-being.  While it's arguably a cheesy and tired saying, children really are the future and many on the left do recognize this.  That's why there's such an effort to mold them into little obedient leftists in the hopes of destroying everything that makes our nation and society so great.  I don't know about anyone else, but I'm not going to let that happen.  I'll certainly have a long, drawn out verbal and intellectual battle on my hands, but I'll stand firm.  I hope other parents and concerned citizens will stand with me.

Landon Freeman is a writer, political enthusiast, and advocate for Christian apologetics.