Three things about the above video. 1) I disdain “AI slop” as a general principle. 2) It is unironically a bit funny that the guy in the video dresses like me, drives an older paid off truck and literally does/did as I have done – I get the implications of that when one combines algos and AI 3) there is “there there” in the big story the video presents, it is nuanced and complicated and the facts, that are facts can be and are taken and used wrongly – what is said there, what is happening among men my age needs to be filtered through a lens of true truth before it is accepted.
I will say, because I see it, there is a lot of talk like this geared toward younger generations. “Walk away, you are worthy,” etc., etc. The problem is, a young person rarely if ever has the wisdom to know where a real boundary line is based upon higher first principles, natural moral law juxtaposed against duty and all that. Some video content creator or Bettter Help flunkies telling a person to merely “look out for oneself” is not in alignment with higher principles; it is a lie, and it is dangerous.
At the core of what the video above is speaking to is not that; it is not about the guy in the red shirt. Rather, it is about the world and people around him. My take is that the guy in the video was like all humans: imperfect, sinful, and he made many mistakes. But the story, as presented, is that he did his duty; he did his best despite being a flawed human. Just like the stories told to the young that “they are worthy and everything bad in their lives is someone else’s fault, and they need to walk away” I am positive there are many men over 50 that might look at a video like the one above and merely template and excuse for themselves. But I am not speaking of those people.
I need to update my “funny card” I hand people that ask me “what do you do” out there in social situations. People still stuck in the idea of working the system always seem very intent of asking you to give them a title….I have in the last years merely handed them the card below and smiled. I need to add “Hen Rancher” to the card and order more, I think.
In any event. I have much I regret. As Willy Nelson said, “regret is just a memory on my brow, there is nothing I can do about it now”. He is half right. A person takes it to the Lord and seeks forgiveness, because we could never earn forgiveness or fix all of our failings. You apologize to all that you can and that deserve it and even those that do not in many cases and you let it go. You thank God that the fool that did the thing you regret is not who you are now, hopefully you are not. But regret is just one of two things: first, it could be your conscience telling you that you have not done your part to fix what you broke, or second, it could be the devil trying to “keep you down” in self-loathing. That is it, you use first-principles thinking, you figure out what the big story of this or that event was that you regret, you accept your part in it, fix what you can, give the rest to the Lord, and move on. To paraphrase Mr. T, I pity the fool who thinks they are perfect and that all of their regrets are someone else’s fault. Own it, learn from it, accept your part, and be better.
That is all. I suspect I have already written all the rest of what I think about that video here someplace or in a book. The short of it is, yes, a person who has acquired enough wisdom to understand enough about how the world works and how people behave and can also think in a first-principles way might just decide to transition into the guy in the video.
Bottomline – it is good and proper after a man has done his duty in life to simply say – “I have boundaries, I see the nonsense, and I do not accept it, here I am, I can do no other”
What would I say to young people about the world?
I would say it is all a lie, and there is truth – figure out which is which and you are on a good path. It is of course more complex than that. We are born in this world to do the thing we were made for. Duty is indeed the sublimest word in the English language to quote Robert E. Lee. A person must do their duty which begins and ends at living as best as possible according to the rules of the cosmos, the natural moral and civil law as a baseline for being an acceptable neighbor, citizen, parent, child, worker and or boss. This is the baseline that makes society, culture and even history worth writing about and recalling possible. Clearly, we are humans; we will fail at that at times, but this is the base objective standard.
If this is true, then 90% of what content creators, cults, clubs, modern evangelicalism, psychology, and current culture tells us is right is in fact wrong (much of it). This is the hard part that one cannot simply tell another; I can only say, start and end with first-principles thinking. What are we told of how things are supposed to be, both in the natural order (the book of nature) in what our conscience truly tells us, from proper historical example (learning truth over time the hard way).
Here is the rub. It is all a lie. Work, politics, most of the 501 (c) business church stuff*, self-focused “psychology”. It is a lie, and when you participate in it you are forced to lie. Also, we have duties; we live in a world we are told not to love. A father is supposed to provide and protect. A child is supposed to honor a parent. We are supposed to be “good neighbors,” and all of that can be turned into a lie, and the notion of duty can be used as a weapon to force compliance when what is morally justified is either rebuking or outright rejection of the thing people tell you to accept.
I think there is a much more optimistic way to present this. Young twenty-year-olds, especially the males I have encountered or observed, seem to know all the brutal truth – they know it much better than a thirty-year-old millennial. However, without sounding corporate or dismissive, I think these facts are just that, facts. This is the world; this is your challenge. I think there are ways to be more authentic in a real way, to be free AND do your duty at a much younger age. It took an adult-life of doing things that I did not agree with of being silent when others simply said “just be normal or get along; do not notice this moral truth over there,” to realize that is not the way. I will ponder this as I “herd hens,” and perhaps soon I will find the ability to write an optimistic and positive message to the youngest adults out there who face a world and economy that has stopped lying and merely told them to embrace the suck. I think there are many things a person like that should know in order to live a happier and more real life aligned with true truth.
* To be clear, I am not dissing on The Church, nor on Christianity, and not even on organized Christianity. Rather, I mean the weaksauce, love-the-world, toddler-fied version you find in almost all evangelical circles. I have written about this much, but if you have not read that, I am not saying you need to make up your own Christianity, nor am I suggesting you do not need Christ, because you absolutely do. Here is what I think about that.
In the meantime, here are my general thoughts on how a person ought to tackle life in this post-modern world.
- You need Christ, full stop. Figure that out.
- Do not love the world. Yes, having friends, fitting in, “being normal” all have uses, but these are far less important than having real people in your life (even if those real people are few, and they probably will be).
- Evaluate everyone and everything through first principles. To do this, you must understand what the Revealed Word says (avoiding the traps of those that read it while loving the world), you should understand the cosmic order (what the “book of nature” tells us about how the created order is supposed to function), and understand the moral and civil natural law.
- Loyalty is important, but far less important than a principled life. Criminals are often loyal to one another. We have circles, blood is indeed thicker than water but all relations in this life must be evaluated through how that other person deals with first principles (family get more free passes but not a lifetime worth).
- Finding people that can both think morally and be loyal to their people and do their duty regardless of the cost is worth more than gold. Do not confuse associations that are in your club with true loyalty.
- The system is designed to chew you up and use you. Older generations paid that price and received a pittance of a reward (it looks extravagant to a youngster, perhaps). A twenty-something will not have this luxury. Place loyalty in people, real people, not institutions.
- All institutions have and are failing, and this will continue. Religious, social, economic, political. You live in the world and must engage with these, but they are failing. You have to understand what this means and how you manage it.
- Most youngsters have already made mistakes (their type of degree, trusting in a corporate job, etc.). This is fine; do not hold regrets; move forward with knowledge.
- In the big picture, it does not matter a whit what others think of you – so long as you base your actions on first principles, are civic and moral and do your duty; the opinion of others does not matter – neither accolades nor insults, neither matter.
- Do not believe the memes that old school decency does not matter. Have a firm handshake, be kind but firm, direct and candid. Show up and do what you say you will; do your best (but do not become a slave; know the difference).
- Put away childish things and dress and act like a man. You do not need to dress like the “performance Polo Cult”, do not be a basic toddler man like the rest of the world. Dress for the occasion, be a gentleman, and “do not give a care what others say”.
- Stop spending money like a fool on stuff that others have! Full stop.
- Learn to do things with your hands. Learn to fix things.
- Pick up heavy stuff AND do not become a shallow “gym bro”.
- Pick the right woman to marry (see point 3, pick a first principles thinker, that does not love the world, and is loyal to the right things). Lead her and love her; she is just as influenced by all the foolishness as you, perhaps much more. Women, by nature, have a harder time in the current era and are more susceptible to the world’s pressures.
- Do not assume for one minute that the job you have will last past next week. Live and think that way, not in fear but in a realist way of living. Prepare for that, always.
- Establish boundaries. Live in true truth, accept that you must engage in the world but do not compromise to it or anyone. Full stop.
- Never allow anyone to weaponize “duty” against you – do your duty but do not allow people to tell you to play along and be nice and use “duty” as the cudgel.
- Accept when you are not wise enough or lack sufficient experience to know an answer.
- Be humble in your youth; a young man who is both wrong and certain he is correct is a dangerous fool.