In the last article, I pointed out that we've hit a record number of suicides in this country. I also pointed out that the left wrongly tried to blame this on guns because that's what their ideology/theology wants it to be. But guns have nothing to do with it. Let's talk about what is causing this, because I'm pretty sure it's the same thing that's causing a massive spike in mass shootings.
Let me start by noting Kyle's response in the comments, which I thought was thoughtful and really put a finger on it. He blamed the loneliness of modern society (please correct me if I've misunderstood you) deriving from a society that no longer offers the unifying forces of traditional values. Instead, it pushes values which drive people into single lives without families or the attitudes and skills to maintain them. Other aspects include the drive away from religion and with the substitution of materialism.
I agree.
Modern society has broken down the institutions that gave people a place to "feel part of something." That's bad for humans. Marriage has been shown over and over and over in study after study to be better psychologically and health-wise. People who are married are simply better off and happier. Their kids are better off in every category. Kids make life better too. And yet, the feminist left has spent decades undermining marriage. They want women to be economic engines and they know that marriage and children disrupt that. So they paint men as abusers, children as a burden and motherhood with disdain. They've made divorce easier than marriage, and abortion the most fundamental of rights for young women. All of this has cheapened families and made them harder to get, leaving people lonely. Television adds to this by putting out the most obnoxiously narcissistic values as normal through reality TV, teaching people to behave in ways guaranteed to disrupt families and friendships.
Then you have the undermining of religion, which provides community and comfort in bad times. It also provides the code that tells us how to live our lives in fulfilling ways. There is the undermining groups like the Scouts to weaken societal bonds and make friendships harder to find. There is the undermining of police to make the streets more dangerous and keep people scared and hidden indoors. Work from home is killing our last regular human contact.
All of that makes us increasingly lonely. But that's only half the picture...
Our culture machine (Hollywood, advertisements, books, celebrities, social media) pushes false expectations. Even the worst losers in our films and books and ads are surrounded by friends and wealth and respect most people don't have. Social media is ten times worse. It presents a fantasy ideal as normal, leaving people deflated. What? You don't vacation with movie stars on a yacht or fly on private planes? You've never been alone on a Moroccan beach? You don't have dinner parties with a dozen rich friends? Your parties aren't packed with young hotties? Loser. Even the mommy bloggers sell a level of perfection in their diets and housekeeping and consistent happiness no human can achieve (they don't actually achieve it either, they lie about it). By comparison, 99% of the human race compare as utter losers. That's not good for people.
Then it gets worse.
For about a decade-plus now, the left has been pushing hard on an ideology of hate called 'Identity Politics.' The idea is to unify non-white men under a banner of hate aimed at white men. They push this in every aspect of their lives too. So imagine if you are a young black kid. The world lies before you. The future is bright... only, everyone you know from black 'leaders' to your liberal white teachers to every talking head to characters in films tells you that white people will not let you succeed. They hate you because of the color of your skin. Even friendly white people secretly hate you. In fact, their hate is so ingrained that they aren't even conscious of how secretly they hate you. They hate you so much they plot against you. White cops are going to kill you if they get the chance -- heck, even worse, brainwashed black cops will too. Doctors use your kind for experiments. Employers cheat you.
How does that make you feel?
Young women are told men want to rape them and beat them. Hispanics are told the same thing as blacks (A line from Blue Beetle: "It used to be we had the wrong side of the tracks, not they want that too."). Affirmative action is actually meant to keep Asians out of college.
And it keeps coming in other ways too.
Environmentalism: The world is dying. We're killing it. If we don't stop somethingsomething it will be too late in3 5 10 15 years. The ice caps will melt. Your city will flood. The polar bears will die. Oh, you had a fire? Global warming! A heat wave? A cold snap? Global warming! YOU are destroying the world! Why won't you change?!! Don't you care?
Guilt trips, hate and paranoia are shoved on people 24/7. Fear. You will lose your job if you don't conform. The world is dying because you like baths. All the black/white people you see hate you. Why won't you save the world from you? Add the fear that you will never have friends or family. Add the feeling of failure when you watch the internet or television and you see the fake-perfect lives being shoved into your face. Is it any wonder suicides are up? Is it any wonder some guy becomes unhinged and shoots up a building full of people of a different race or gender or a school full of kids who mocked them? Have you realized how many films promote gun violence as an heroic solution?
This is what the left doesn't want to talk about when they whine about guns. Their behavior is unhinging society and if it isn't guns causing these things then it's time for serious self-reflection, something most people do not like to do. So it's better to blame guns than to admit that I've harmed my kids by preaching the end of the world to them, by making them hate, by taking away their hope, and by isolating them.
Thoughts?
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Let me start by noting Kyle's response in the comments, which I thought was thoughtful and really put a finger on it. He blamed the loneliness of modern society (please correct me if I've misunderstood you) deriving from a society that no longer offers the unifying forces of traditional values. Instead, it pushes values which drive people into single lives without families or the attitudes and skills to maintain them. Other aspects include the drive away from religion and with the substitution of materialism.
I agree.
Modern society has broken down the institutions that gave people a place to "feel part of something." That's bad for humans. Marriage has been shown over and over and over in study after study to be better psychologically and health-wise. People who are married are simply better off and happier. Their kids are better off in every category. Kids make life better too. And yet, the feminist left has spent decades undermining marriage. They want women to be economic engines and they know that marriage and children disrupt that. So they paint men as abusers, children as a burden and motherhood with disdain. They've made divorce easier than marriage, and abortion the most fundamental of rights for young women. All of this has cheapened families and made them harder to get, leaving people lonely. Television adds to this by putting out the most obnoxiously narcissistic values as normal through reality TV, teaching people to behave in ways guaranteed to disrupt families and friendships.
Then you have the undermining of religion, which provides community and comfort in bad times. It also provides the code that tells us how to live our lives in fulfilling ways. There is the undermining groups like the Scouts to weaken societal bonds and make friendships harder to find. There is the undermining of police to make the streets more dangerous and keep people scared and hidden indoors. Work from home is killing our last regular human contact.
All of that makes us increasingly lonely. But that's only half the picture...
Our culture machine (Hollywood, advertisements, books, celebrities, social media) pushes false expectations. Even the worst losers in our films and books and ads are surrounded by friends and wealth and respect most people don't have. Social media is ten times worse. It presents a fantasy ideal as normal, leaving people deflated. What? You don't vacation with movie stars on a yacht or fly on private planes? You've never been alone on a Moroccan beach? You don't have dinner parties with a dozen rich friends? Your parties aren't packed with young hotties? Loser. Even the mommy bloggers sell a level of perfection in their diets and housekeeping and consistent happiness no human can achieve (they don't actually achieve it either, they lie about it). By comparison, 99% of the human race compare as utter losers. That's not good for people.
Then it gets worse.
For about a decade-plus now, the left has been pushing hard on an ideology of hate called 'Identity Politics.' The idea is to unify non-white men under a banner of hate aimed at white men. They push this in every aspect of their lives too. So imagine if you are a young black kid. The world lies before you. The future is bright... only, everyone you know from black 'leaders' to your liberal white teachers to every talking head to characters in films tells you that white people will not let you succeed. They hate you because of the color of your skin. Even friendly white people secretly hate you. In fact, their hate is so ingrained that they aren't even conscious of how secretly they hate you. They hate you so much they plot against you. White cops are going to kill you if they get the chance -- heck, even worse, brainwashed black cops will too. Doctors use your kind for experiments. Employers cheat you.
How does that make you feel?
Young women are told men want to rape them and beat them. Hispanics are told the same thing as blacks (A line from Blue Beetle: "It used to be we had the wrong side of the tracks, not they want that too."). Affirmative action is actually meant to keep Asians out of college.
And it keeps coming in other ways too.
Environmentalism: The world is dying. We're killing it. If we don't stop somethingsomething it will be too late in
Guilt trips, hate and paranoia are shoved on people 24/7. Fear. You will lose your job if you don't conform. The world is dying because you like baths. All the black/white people you see hate you. Why won't you save the world from you? Add the fear that you will never have friends or family. Add the feeling of failure when you watch the internet or television and you see the fake-perfect lives being shoved into your face. Is it any wonder suicides are up? Is it any wonder some guy becomes unhinged and shoots up a building full of people of a different race or gender or a school full of kids who mocked them? Have you realized how many films promote gun violence as an heroic solution?
This is what the left doesn't want to talk about when they whine about guns. Their behavior is unhinging society and if it isn't guns causing these things then it's time for serious self-reflection, something most people do not like to do. So it's better to blame guns than to admit that I've harmed my kids by preaching the end of the world to them, by making them hate, by taking away their hope, and by isolating them.
Thoughts?