A few nights ago, Tucker Carlson began airing a series about men in America. The coinciding with “Women’s History Month” was chosen deliberately. He laid out all the issues men are dealing with – suicide, falling behind in school and the economy, lower testosterone, etc. Jordan Peterson, one of the few academics that dares to deviate from dogma, joined him.
We’ve been talking about these issues for years, long before even people like Tucker Carlson began covering them. We know the problems. Has there ever been a concise list of solutions? I don’t think so. I’ll make the attempt here.
Note that these solutions are largely of the mental and spiritual variety. As Tucker pointed out, men in America have had their minds and spirits shot through with nonsense that drags them down. These demons must be exorcised to lay the foundation for other solutions.
1. The Return of a Classical Education
Jordan Peterson hinted at the importance of this. The education system has failed men by design. When not cramming facts that will be forgotten into students’ heads, the schools are brainwashing men and women alike about how evil masculinity is. No emphasis on morals or character development is given in the schools. It wasn’t during my time and it’s gotten much worse since then.
This is the first and foremost thing that needs to change. Men are isolated from their past. They’re deprived of any vision of how to be great in the future. They’re not imbued with any guide to a strong, proud, and moral character. The result is a shell of a man.
These were all the elements of a classical education. The Classics were taken out of the schools in the mid-20th century. It isn’t a surprise that since then, we’ve seen snowballing insanity in our society. Unfortunately, the Classics won’t be returning to the classroom anytime soon. It’s therefore up to us, the people, to reintroduce them to society, and not wait for some institution to do it for us.
People like Quintus Curtius are doing a good job with this with his translations of the likes of Cicero and Sallust, but much more needs to be done. Cicero’s On Duties in particular needs to be taught to the youth. If it won’t be taught in school, we’ll have to popularize it.
The Classics contain all the necessary elements to build a strong, proud, and ethical character. They inspire great deeds and the work to achieve them by emphasizing on the importance of memory and posterity. This in turn gives the individual a sense of purpose and accountability. All of this needs to be brought back.
Fathers should teach these things to their sons. They need to become more prominent in the culture too, through guerilla marketing and other methods that come straight from the people. These ideas have made some strides on the internet, but more effort needs to be made to popularize them.
It starts in the home, and like Jordan Peterson said, if you’re the parent of a child being taught the postmodern dogma, remove your child from the class.
2. Group Exercise and Diet
We can again use the Classics as a guide to helping men in America. Physical education has declined in schools over the past few decades. When I was going, we maybe had one or two hours a week. It’s gotten worse since then. It’s little wonder why obesity among children has increased.
Group exercise isn’t just important in children. Adults don’t get enough exercise either as a result of the office job economy. Group exercise is even rarer, since the dominant form is working out alone at the gym or in your home. It’s in contrast to the ancients, who instilled daily exercise, often of the group variety, in both children and adults, depending on the polity, of course. Sparta was different from Athens, for example, which was different from Rome. But the importance of exercise and group exercise was recognized. Children in Rome went outside the city to train with their fathers as part of their education.
This spirit needs to be brought back. Tucker Carlson mentioned the lowering of testosterone levels and their association with depression in men. Since testosterone increases with physical activity, is it any wonder that its decrease has led to lower testosterone levels, a possible result of which is the increased depression and suicide we see?
If the institutions won’t bring this back, then it’s up to the people to popularize it. Men in America should not only exercise, but get involved in group activities like the martial arts training you see above to solidify the work and hold themselves accountable. It also helps that such training is a tremendous confidence booster, which is one thing that men in America certainly need.
Also, diet needs to change, with men holding each other accountable. It’s time to kick soy out of America! Eat cruciferous vegetables to decrease false estrogens. Eat lean meats to increase testosterone. You are what you eat.
3. Brotherhood Organizations
Male-only spaces have been cannibalized over the past few decades of political correctness. The only prominent ones remaining are college fraternities. It’s no surprise that those have been under assault over the last few years, most notably with the infamous A Rape on Campus hoax. The desperate attempt to undermine these organizations is more surprising because of how ineffective they are. At best, they promote the obnoxious model of permissible masculinity that turns men into boys and gives boys no positive example to grow up to.
Instead, we need to promote something closer to the likes of the Templars and Hospitallers. These were organizations with missions to be carried out by pledged brothers. Hierarchy and rituals kept the men in these organizations motivated, active, and ready to prove themselves. The ethos fostered by these groups made a band of brothers.
In 21st century America, the structure and mission of these organizations would be different. The bonds of brotherhood and the purpose behind them are what would remain. This step is still only in the conception stage, but promoting the existence of these kinds of brotherhoods of men is vital in improving men’s confidence and quality of life. The support network they would provide can act as a stopgap if their members are failing, but that network could also help to encourage success in business, physical fitness, and more. They would promote the kind of community that has been lost due to the advancement of technology and political correctness.
4. Business Networks
There’s no better route to confidence and happiness than owning your own business. It’s what America is supposed to be all about. It’s also more important than ever for men to find independent ways to support themselves, given the “me too” hysteria now in full swing. Expect inquisitions in the workplace to heat up. I just saw a commercial for the new “Me Too Attorney” network. Lawsuits will soon come from simply looking at a woman the wrong way. Already in economic trouble, this is the last thing that men in America need. It’s imperative that business and other useful skills be passed to today’s struggling population so that they can make a good living and avoid inquisitions and witch hunts. The disappearance of jobs with guaranteed stable incomes has hurt men more than women.
Whether freelancing or starting a bigger business, promoting the skills, knowledge, and networks to create ways to make money independently is of vital importance. Many networks, like SCORE, exist for this purpose, but there isn’t one that caters to men in America who might be lost and need the guidance.
This is something the dissident sphere on the internet has talked about for a long time but progress hasn’t happened. There’s no infrastructure in place. It’s up to the people to create these kinds of networks, which can be linked with any fraternal or brotherhood organizations.
Talking about the solution is the first step to acting on it.
5. Change in Culture
Masculinity has been steadily stripped from culture in America. It must leave boys growing up confused as to what their purpose should be. It was present, but muted in my time. It must be much, much worse today. There are fewer masculine role models in the real world, but they’ve been taken out of the culture also.
We can’t rely on Hollywood to reverse this trend. Hollywood is a chief part of it.
Change in this area, like all others, comes from the grassroots. It’s up to us to create works of art and culture that emphasize the masculine virtues and the triumphs possible through tough quests. If we can’t rely on the institutions to create and promote things like The Odyssey, we must do so ourselves.
I’ve made the attempt with The Red War.
Before The Red War comes out, read Stumped. The knowledge of persuasion that you’ll get from it will make you more confident.
