This article was written by a 26 yr old college student by the name of Alyssa Ahlgren, who's in grad school for her MBA. What a GREAT perspecitve..👍🏽
My Generation Is Blind to the Prosperity Around Us!
I'm sitting in a small coffee shop near Nokomis (Florida) trying to think of what to write about. I scroll through my newsfeed on my phone looking at the latest headlines of presidential candidates calling for policies to "fix" the so-called injustices of capitalism. I put my phone down and continue to look around.
I see people talking freely, working on their MacBook's, ordering food they get in an instant, seeing cars go by outside, and it dawned on me. We live in the most privileged time in the most prosperous nation and we've become completely blind to it.
Vehicles, food, technology, freedom to associate with whom we choose.These things are so ingrained in our American way of life we don't give them a second thought.
We are so well off here in the United States that our poverty line begins 31 times above the global average. Thirty One Times!!!
Virtually no one in the United States is considered poor by global standards. Yet, in a time where we can order a product off Amazon with one click and have it at our doorstep the next day, we are unappreciative, unsatisfied, and ungrateful. ??
Our unappreciation is evident as the popularity of socialist policies among my generation continues to grow. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recently said to Newsweek talking about the millennial generation, "An entire generation, which is now becoming one of the largest electorates in America, came of age and never saw American prosperity."
Never saw American prosperity! Let that sink in.
When I first read that statement, I thought to myself, that was quite literally the most entitled and factually illiterate thing I've ever heard in my 26 years on this earth. Many young people agree with her, which is entirely misguided.
My generation is being indoctrinated by a mainstream narrative to actually believe we have never seen prosperity. I know this first hand, I went to college, let's just say I didn't have the popular opinion, but I digress.
Why then, with all of the overwhelming evidence around us, evidence that I can even see sitting at a coffee shop, do we not view this as prosperity? We have people who are dying to get into our country.
People around the world destitute and truly impoverished. Yet, we have a young generation convinced they've never seen prosperity, and as a result, we elect some politicians who are dead set on taking steps towards abolishing capitalism.
Why? The answer is this,?? my generation has only seen prosperity. We have no contrast. We didn't live in the great depression, or live through two world wars, the Korean War, The Vietnam War or we didn't see the rise and fall of socialism and communism.
We don't know what it's like to live without the internet, without cars, without smartphones. We don't have a lack of prosperity problem. We have an entitlement problem, an ungratefulness problem, and it's spreading like a plague."
.@GovPritzker, I saw your post honoring lives lost in Minnesota—standing publicly, naming Alex Pretti and Renee Good, and laying flowers in their memory.
But where was that same compassion on January 19, 2025?
That is the day my 20-year-old daughter, Katie Abraham, was killed here in Illinois. She was innocent. She did not knowingly put herself in the middle of an ongoing law enforcement situation. She was not making a dangerous choice.
She was simply living her life—and it was taken from her.
You have never said her name. You have never come to where she died. You have never acknowledged her publicly.
And beyond that—you have never even responded to me.
I sent you a simple, non-political letter. Not for attention. Not for headlines. Just a father asking for clarity, for answers, and for understanding of the state’s position.
You never replied.
And now, in the wake of another tragedy here in Chicago, your public display of compassion elsewhere—while remaining silent about victims in your own state—feels deeply disconnected from the reality families like mine are living every day.
Instead, you continue to defend sanctuary policies that create the conditions where preventable tragedies like hers can happen.
This is not about politics. It’s about leadership and accountability.
When you choose to publicly mourn some victims while remaining silent about others—especially those lost under policies you support—it sends a message.
Whether intentional or not, it tells families like mine that our loss does not matter the same way.
So I am asking you directly:
Where is your compassion for my daughter? Where is your acknowledgment of victims here in Illinois? And when will you take responsibility for the consequences of the policies you defend?
Say her name: Katie Abraham.
Stand where she died. Show the people of Illinois that every life matters.
.@GovPritzker, you cannot blame the federal government for your failures. You’ve chosen to limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement and advance sanctuary policies, but you haven’t put equally strong safeguards in place to protect your own citizens and uphold public safety. You favor illegal immigrants and provide special privileges and consideration which citizens are not entitled to.
You cannot have it both ways. You don’t get to deflect blame when the consequences surface.
If you choose to sideline federal frameworks, the responsibility doesn’t disappear, it shifts squarely onto your shoulders. That means owning the outcomes, not pointing fingers when things go wrong. Right now, what’s missing isn’t just policy clarity, it’s accountability.
Leadership isn’t about ideology; it’s about responsibility. If your policies create gaps, you answer for those gaps. If your approach introduces risk, you confront it directly. Silence, deflection, and blame-shifting aren’t leadership, they’re avoidance.
So you’re either the governor of Illinois, or you’re not. Leadership means owning the outcomes of your decisions, not shifting responsibility when those decisions are questioned.
Either you take responsibility for the system you’ve built, or you admit it isn’t working. But refusing to do either erodes trust and leaves the public without clear answers from the person ultimately in charge.
And silence on cases like Katie’s only deepens the sense that responsibility is being avoided. Say her name: Katie Abraham.
🏀 ALL-DISTRICT 🏀
@DePauw_WBB The 2025-26 Academic All-District® Women’s Basketball teams, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances on the court and in the classroom.
#TeamDePauw#d3hoops
DePauw, Denison, John Carroll and Ohio Wesleyan have all earned spots in the 2026 @NCAADIII Women’s Basketball Championship field, marking the first time the NCAC has placed four teams in the NCAA postseason.
#NCACPride | #ncacwbkb | #d3hoops
Read more: https://t.co/UNGO7Z2F1c
DePauw is tourney-bound! 🪩
The Tigers are headed to Waukesha, WI, to face host Carroll in the first round of the @NCAADIII Women’s Basketball Championship!
#NCACPride | #d3hoops
.@DePauw_WBB travela to Carroll (Wis.) for @NCAADIII opening round play on Friday. The Tigers are appearing in the postseason for the 25th time #TeamDePauw#d3hoops https://t.co/JPGRkW4lVY
NEVER COUNT OUT THE TIGERS! 🐅🏀
After a historic run as the #4 seed to claim their record 10th @NCAC Title, 2x National Champion Head Coach Kris Huffman joins us LIVE tonight! 🏆
We’re talking about @DePauw_WBB's red-hot win streak and their return to the #NCAAD3 Tournament! 🔥
Show begins: 🕖 6:00 PM ET
📺 Watch: https://t.co/yitHcSGqtq
#d3hoops #Hoopsville #DePauw #NCAC #SelectionSunday #TigerPride
🏆 #ncacwbkb26 | Semifinal
FINAL: No. 4 @DePauwAthletics 75, No. 1 @DenisonSports 59
With the win, the Tigers advance to the tournament final and will face the winner of No. 2 Ohio Wesleyan & No. 3 John Carroll on Saturday, February 28, at 3:00 PM in Granville, Ohio.
The road to the tournament final runs through Granville tonight as No. 4 DePauw faces No. 1 Denison in the #ncacwbkb26 semifinals at 5 p.m. Tune in to watch it unfold. 🏀🔜
🎥 https://t.co/gnQrwQbGFD
📊 https://t.co/iMbNafGxrD
ℹ️ https://t.co/c4i3Zmbsun
🎨 Grace Ammon #OWUcorps
TIGERS WIN! @DePauw_WBB topped sixth-ranked and top-seed Denison to advance to their 10th @NCAC Tournament championship game #TeamDePauw#d3hoops https://t.co/WIe5Gf40QB