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Surrendering Freedom for Free Stuff? What's at Stake as Millennials Embrace Socialism

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The nation's first presidential primary is now less than three months away and a recent poll shows some astonishing trends in the voting preferences of young Americans.

When asked about the upcoming election, 70 percent of American Millennials and 64 percent of Generation Z say they'll likely vote for a socialist candidate. But a Venezuelan college student is urging them to take a closer look at how socialism has destroyed freedom for people in his country.
              
Daniel Di Martino is a US spokesman for the Vente Venezuela, the only free market political party (unauthorized) in the country. He is also a student at Indiana University. On this week's episode of the Global Lane, he said American young people should learn a few lessons from Venezuela's socialist nightmare.
                
"It is really surprising that it is 70 percent of young people supporting a system like this - the one that I had to flee my country from," Di Martino said.
    
He said Millennials and Gen Z's need to understand that free things have a cost. 

"Their cost is our freedom. In Venezuela, the cost is through shortages and high inflation," he explained.
    
He says one reason for the "astonishing" poll results a lack of truthful education.
    
"It is unacceptable that one in ten Millennials or one in ten Gen Zers - people who are even younger than Millennials - think that Donald Trump has committed more human rights violations than Hitler or Stalin," Di Martino explained. "That means schools are not teaching about the Holocaust and are not teaching about the starvation in the Soviet Union..."
        
Di Martino said young Americans also need to understand that the religious freedom enjoyed in the US is not allowed in communist countries.

"Communism is the religion of state-imposed atheism. You cannot be a communist and follow God's teachings."
    
Di Martino said there are very few students at IU where he attends who are socialists. "I think most people who support this word socialism think it is free things."

And once he is given the opportunity to explain what socialism has actually meant for people in Venezuela and elsewhere, minds are changed and fewer young people refer to themselves as socialist.

"They are just against the status quo, so they need to be provided with an alternative," Di Martino explained. "It's something that needs to change if we are to keep this nation free."
     
Hear more from Di Martino on "The Global Lane". It's on the CBN News Channel tonight at 9:30PM Eastern.

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About The Author

Gary Lane
Gary
Lane

Mr. Lane currently serves as International News Director and Senior International Correspondent for CBN News. He has traveled to more than 120 countries—many of them restricted nations or areas hostile to Christianity and other minority faiths where he has interviewed persecution victims and has provided video reports and analysis for CBN News. Also, he has provided written stories and has served as a consultant for the Voice of the Martyrs. Gary joined The Christian Broadcasting Network in 1984 as the first full-time Middle East Correspondent for CBN News. Based in Jerusalem, Gary produced