‘The War on Children’: They Are Coming for Our Children

Sen. Rand Paul speaks to Robby and Landon Starbuck on the corrupting effects of social media on children. Robby Starbuck

NR | 2h 21 m | Documentary | 2024

A groundbreaking documentary, “The War on Children” (TWOC), from husband-wife duo Robby and Landon Starbuck, exposes the assault on children and childhood. In the first of a two-part review, we look at what is happening and who’s responsible for this war on our children.

The Starbucks depict left-liberal lobbies mainstreaming the destruction of traditional values: morality, truth, family, marriage, the innocence of children, and the primacy of parents in a child’s upbringing. With the breathtaking narrative of a true-crime procedural, TWOC unravels the depravity of America’s progressivism, the cost of ignoring or trivializing that depravity, and practical ways for troubled parents to protect themselves and their children.

A gripping montage of actual op-eds, news bulletins, research papers, websites, social media, children’s textbooks, and TV shows frames the sexualization of children, their spaces, their bodies, and their minds as a “cultural revolution” that’s “remaking parenting and education.”

The Starbucks call it a “social contagion,” spawned and sustained by corporations, companies, activists, academia, media, celebrities, the judiciary, health care, Big Pharma, and Big Tech. Use the wrong language in some states, and you may end up imprisoned.

Sample this: Patrons of the Gay, Lesbian, & Straight Education Network (GLSEN) website include Disney, Hollister, and Nickelodeon; others, such as PetSmart, Gucci, Calvin Klein, CBS, WME, Goldman Sachs, and Walmart, are from a 2022 GLSEN white paper. Never mind that there’s little that’s “straight” about GLSEN’s advocacy.

Professional drag queen Veronika Elektronika speaks with Robby and Landon Starbuck on the corruption of children. Robby Starbuck

TWOC shows how malevolent people, principles, policies, and practices are forced on entire populations by President Joe Biden’s administration—the same administration that empowers Rachel Levine, Assistant Secretary for Health since 2021.

Ms. Starbuck calls Levine “a confused man.” He’s the first openly transgender four-star officer in one of America’s eight uniformed services and considers gender-reassignment surgery part of the “mental health care” armor to prevent suicide or depression among children. TWOC spotlights, perhaps unsurprisingly, the Pentagon and Department of Defense medical community enabling the sex-change epidemic.

Democrats Critiqued

Are the filmmakers correct in critiquing Democrats for enabling and empowering a once tiny, vocal minority? Yes. They needn’t now be as vocal. They’re no longer a minority. TWOC doesn’t state this, but it needs stating: As stated in Out for America, nearly 75 percent of all LGBTQ+ elected officials are Democrat. That includes all three governors, nearly all of the dozen reps in the U.S. Congress, over half the mayors, over half the representatives in state legislatures, and well over half those in the judiciary.

The film does explain, though, that when some states legislated to protect children from the “trans phenomena,” as stated in the documentary, Democrat-led states hit back with bills sheltering children who migrate to trans-friendly states for gender-affirming services, and not reuniting them with parents. Worse, the administration’s “community schools” offer “gender-affirming” services by stealth, disguised as “health care.”

TWOC confirms that gender ideology—starting with the seemingly innocuous surrender to the LGBTQ+ tyranny of pronouns—has consequences. Interviewee Rep. William Lamberth, House Majority Leader of Tennessee, who championed banning sex-change and drag shows for kids, says that biological sex differences protect civil liberties. It’s the collapsing of these differences that erodes those liberties.

Unlike typical exposés, TWOC shows (and names) its talking heads. They’re not blurred to protect confidentiality. That’s a sign of hope. An expanding swathe of people are willing to put themselves on the line against powerful lobbies, for the sake of America’s children.

Do the Starbucks invite accusations of bolstering a predetermined position instead of being neutral and open-minded? Perhaps. After all, they state their position, favoring the innocence of children. But how’s that different from documentarians who routinely confess or express their biases? Consider David Attenborough admitting his love of nature, Carl Sagan his fascination for space, Jacques Cousteau his love of the ocean, or Al Gore his contempt for global warming deniers.

The Starbucks want to protect children and to equip parents to do just that. So, of course, they’re not neutral. As much the interviewees as interviewers, they’re telling their story, too. And it must be heard. Not that they didn’t try quizzing opposing perspectives, it’s just that the other side lacked clear or convincing answers.

Granted, what happens to and between consenting and law-abiding LGBTQ+ adults is protected by rights legislation. But forcing this culture on other adults and on children, and penalizing or excluding those who don’t comply, shouldn’t be.

False Equivalences

There’s a related issue that the Starbucks might want to cover in a future film. LGBT+ propagandists wield dangerously false equivalences, arguing that if people are allowed freedom to mutilate their bodies for cosmetic reasons, then why not use that freedom to assert that what they feel is their identity?

This ignores two truths.

First, no matter how ill-advised, women seeking liposuction or breast-enhancement still want to feel better, as women (not men). Balding men seeking hair replacement want to look better as men (not women). Neither is altering their legal status or pretending to alter their biological status in the public sphere. Neither is forcing their thoughts, words, and actions beyond their bodies, demanding public compliance and homage.

Second, children aren’t allowed these freedoms any more than they’re allowed other freedoms granted to adults: marriage, voting, driving, and substance use or abuse. A minor accessing hormonal treatments, puberty blockers, and surgery isn’t the same as an adult opting for a nose job or facelift. None of what’s being normalized is in the same ballpark as a teenager opting for a new hairstyle, nail polish, nose ring, or tattoo.

For their courage in capturing voices throughout North America with such clarity, conviction, creativity, and urgency, the filmmakers deserve the best awards there are for documentaries.

Part 2 of this review of “The War on Children” continues here.

You can watch “The War on Children” on MoviesPlus or Rumble, via Apple TV, Roku, and Android TV. 

‘The War on Children’ Documentary Director: Robby Starbuck Running Time: 2 hours, 21 minutes Release Date: Feb. 2, 2024 Rated: 4 stars out of 5

Would you like to see other kinds of arts and culture articles? Please email us your story ideas or feedback at [email protected]