The Dangers of Art Club and the Importance of Gratitude

On November 21, 2023, during Thanksgiving week, Kim Monson examines the threat of gender ideology targeting children in schools with parent advocate Erin Lee and documentary filmmaker Kevin Lundberg, then explores the vital role of gratitude in preserving American liberty with essayist Allen Thomas.

Documenting the Transgender Contagion in America

Start listening at 10:00 – Hour 1

Former Colorado State Senator Kevin Lundberg produced the Art Club documentary after recognizing the Lee family’s story needed to be told on film. With decades of experience in media production, Lundberg created the 84-minute documentary available at artclubmovie.com, featuring expert commentary from journalist Alex Newman.

Lundberg explains how multiple forces have converged to create what he calls a “transgender contagion” affecting families nationwide. The pharmaceutical industry profits from lifelong hormone treatments, the medical establishment has been captured by affirmation-only protocols, and progressive ideology seeks to replace parental authority with state control. He traces these patterns back to Marxist efforts to destabilize the family unit.

The documentary expands beyond the Lee family’s personal story to examine the broader cultural forces at work and provides resources for other parents facing similar situations. Lundberg emphasizes that the message must take priority over production values, and notes that the Lee family’s daughter herself insisted the story be told.

“Don’t let your craft get in the way of the message. The message is the most important thing.”

– Kevin Lundberg, Former Colorado State Senator and Filmmaker

Gratitude as the Foundation of a Virtuous Republic

Start listening at 2:00 – Hour 2

Essayist Allen Thomas explores why gratitude matters for preserving American liberty. He identifies remembrance as the foundation of gratitude, explaining how reflecting on the past, including mistakes, allows citizens to appreciate what they have been given and avoid repeating errors. Americans have become complacent about the gift of their founding, taking for granted freedoms that most of the world has never experienced.

Thomas connects gratitude to the core civic virtues the Founders believed necessary for self-government: self-reliance, self-restraint, self-assertion, and civic knowledge. When citizens possess these virtues, they naturally think about their posterity rather than consuming resources meant for future generations. The Founders created an amendment process precisely because they acknowledged their own fallibility and wanted to give future generations a way to correct mistakes without revolution.

He observes that gratitude and hate cannot coexist, which explains why so many Americans have lost appreciation for their country. By cultivating an active posture of gratefulness, citizens can combat the progressive consolidation of power and pass on both liberty and thanksgiving to the next generation.

“Gratitude is an active trait. It’s an active virtue. It takes more than just a momentary glimpse and a glimmer.”

– Allen Thomas, Essayist

How Schools Target Vulnerable Children with Gender Ideology

Start listening at 2:00 – Hour 1

Erin Lee shares her family’s harrowing experience after her 12-year-old daughter was invited to what was called “Art Club” at her Wellington, Colorado school. The club turned out to be a Gender and Sexuality Awareness meeting run by an outside activist who taught children about LGBTQ terminology, puberty blockers, and instructed them to keep secrets from their parents.

Lee describes how her shy, introverted daughter was specifically targeted after indicating on a survey that she had no friends at her new school. Within a 90-minute meeting, her daughter was “glitter bombed” with rainbow flags and transgender labels. The family spent a dark year navigating Colorado’s laws that allow 12-year-olds to access mental health care without parental consent, and that prohibit licensed therapists from questioning gender confusion.

The crisis deepened when her daughter left a suicide note, unable to reconcile the transgender label with her true identity. Only when her father had an honest conversation asking if she truly wanted to pursue this path did she break down, admitting she wanted out of the confusion. Lee now advocates for parents to teach their children that safe adults never ask them to keep secrets, and that they are “fearfully and wonderfully made.”

“It was truly an indoctrination session and our daughter was so vulnerable and so clearly a target for this kind of ideology that she very quickly adapted it.”

– Erin Lee, Parent Advocate