We’re all doomed if the next generation is in charge

You may want to put your trays in the upright and locked position and make sure your seatbelt is tightened for this one.

The speculation is that Lia Thomas, the man who believes he’s a woman and won an NCAA 500-yard freestyle championship by nearly two seconds, is engaged. Here’s where it gets as confusing as instructions from IKEA on how to build a dresser.

Apparently, Thomas is engaged to marry a man who also thinks he’s a woman. And they plan to live as a lesbian couple.

By the way, Thomas hasn’t had any surgery, so he swims with a bulge. Admit it, we’ve all wondered.

What is more alarming is Thomas’ University of Pennsylvania nominated the swimmer for the NCAA Woman of the Year. That outrageous nomination was an insult to real women athletes at the school, and it came from an Ivy League school. Thank goodness the sanctioning body for college athletics looked past the obvious attempt to change the principles of biology. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: your sex isn’t determined by what’s between your ears. It’s determined by what’s in your underwear.

This is the kind of nonsense this generation is being taught in universities. Men can be women. Women can be men. People can identify with any race, ethnicity or gender they want.

Thousands of college students believe men can get pregnant. They believe Artificial Intelligence created a false narrative of the attack on Israel. They believe it’s everybody else’s responsibility to pay for their college. After all, they believe they deserve it.

According to Mike Rowe of “Dirty Jobs,” college students were asked what they ranked as the most important aspect of building a career. Businesses were asked to rank their priorities. Students said a college degree was the third most important, while businesses ranked a degree 47th.

Hard work matters.

That’s why Clay County District School’s Career and Technical Education Programs are so important. Students learn real-world skills like carpentry, HVAC, health science, auto mechanics, banking, engineering, construction and agriculture, not impulsive and misguided subjects like gender identity and antisemitism.

Have you noticed the college students who protest usually wear a mask? They’re probably making sure mommy and daddy who pay the bills or a future employer don’t recognize them.

If this is the direction our country is going, we’re doomed.

What happened to common sense and hard work? When I worked in Daytona Beach, at least 20 “women” walked along Ridgewood Avenue (U.S. Highway 1) at 2 a.m. The police department never bothered the men dressed like women because they didn’t bother anybody. They weren’t making a statement; they were making a living.

I say that because they were what they were, and they went about their business. If they came into a convenience store or a 24-hour restaurant to use the restroom, they did it and left. Nobody cared because it wasn’t a big deal. I respected them for being brave and unapologetic – all while keeping their preferences to themselves.

No parades. No press conferences. No rallies. They got what they gave – deference.

Some in this new generation are delusional. Everything has to be in the public eye. It’s not enough to want to be different. This generation wants to get in your face to make a point. They have no platform if you take away the cameras and their ability to post cellphone videos.

From now on, I won’t pay attention to any more delusional debates. I believe people have the right to believe what they want. But I have the right to ignore them.