There is nothing in my mind that demonstrates just how soft our society has become than looking at old pictures of dudes working back in the day and then looking at dudes from the last couple generation's production run of western society, myself included. Though I'm no weakling, a honest look in the mirror and a moment of honest reflection makes me realize just how soft I am compared to the men of the past.
Could I carry bricks on my shoulders all day? Or ride a headache ball up a 1000 feet in the air in order to build a brick and steel building by hand? Or pour molten iron into sand molds all day? Or shovel coal to feed a hand fire boiler for 12 hours? Or climb 200 feet in the air and then shimmy out on a yard arm of a clipper during a hurricane level storm during the winter time? Like all men, I believe that I could do these things but will never know because our modern society has taken away the need for men to be men and to do the hard work of the past.
Our tough guys of the past have now become financial planners and managers (whatever that is) or information technology professionals and we over indulged in entertainment. WE are a nation of watchers and no longer a nation of doers. Our society has put down it's tools, strengths, curiosity, and character in order to be bound with the chains of comfort, panic porn propaganda news cycles, conspiracy theories, and convenience. We have become soft, uninspiring, and boring. We have shirked off our responsibility to be the men that God created us to be and we blame other people or groups of people instead of looking in the mirror and seeing the one who is to blame for our downfall. Yes, there are outside influences that have contributed to this downfall, but we are ultimately responsible for the choices that we make. Yes, life is hard and we don’t usually have the opportunities to do what we want in the manner that we want, but there is always something that you can do, even if it’s just a small thing. Yes it is true that society no longer needs men to do the things that we once did, but that doesn't absolve us of the choices that we make and the life that we live. There is still hard work to do and with the world heading for a dark place, life and work will only get harder and if you’re not mentally and physically prepared then you won’t be able to help those who can’t help themselves.
We may not have the need to do the hard things of the past, but we have ample opportunity to find hard things to do, things that get us off the couch and help to build us into the men that we once were. Strength of character does not come from watching people live their lives. Strength of character comes from challenging ourselves, failing at the challenge, getting back up again, and then overcoming the challenge. Then we have to do it again and again.
Instead of watching a UFC fight, go join a Jiu-jitsu school and train, maybe even compete in a tournament (no... you're not too old to train martial arts). Instead of watching baseball, go join a softball league and play softball. Instead of watching any of the car shows on TV or YouTube, go build something or join a small engine club or volunteer at a museum where work is being done. Instead of watching YouTube videos of people shooting guns, go take training classes and learn how to actually shoot and then go shoot in a competition. Instead of watching music videos, go buy an instrument, take music lessons, and learn how to play the thing. Instead of watching people paint a portrait or draw a picture, go take a class, buy some art supplies, and get to work. Instead of reading what some clown writes on the interwebz, create a substack profile and start writing. Find whatever it is that you need to do in order to challenge yourself and then go do that thing. Then fail at it, overcome the failure, and do it again and again. Define what success looks like and keep doing that thing until you succeed and then take a step to the next level and repeat the process.
We, the men of our society, need to start working past what our current society and culture tells us to be and we need to take responsibility for our lives. Put down the false pride and machismo, the excuses and the blame. Confront the guy in the mirror. Pick up a book, some tools, a musical instrument, a Gi, or whatever it is that you need to pick up in order do whatever it is that you want to do and do that thing to the best of your ability. It's all on us to do these things and our children need to see us doing it. They need to see us fail and then get back up and do it again. They need to know that it is ok to fail and to get back up and keep going, but they also need to know that it is not Ok to quit when something gets tough to do.
It took generations for us to get here and it will take a while for us to get back to where we should be but we have to start somewhere and now is as good a time as any. Start by getting out of your comfort zone and go do hard work. Find others that are doing the hard work that you want to do and join them. Our future depends on us doing this and it is on us alone to do, no one is coming to save us or help us.
As always, thank you for your time and for reading my work. Comments are always welcome. If you have an interest in what I write then please feel free to subscribe. Subscribing is free and you can cancel at any time. I hope that you have a blessed day.
Kind Regards,
Nate
This is truth! Thank you!