You’re Not Allowed to Quit
We’re in a really interesting place in history, a place that only happens once every four generations. We are in the Hard Times caused by Weak Men part of the cultural continuum. Times are tough, and the longer this goes on, the worse the future looks if I’m being completely honest. Lots of people out there who want to quit, but I’m here to tell you: You’re Not Allowed to Quit.
A Little Background
I’m a recovering alcoholic of almost four years now. If you’re interested in finding out more about me, you can read all about my story, what ultimately changed my life, my experience in recovery, and a story of recovery and purpose as told by the band Beartooth (and myself). I’ve dealt with my fair share of setbacks, “trauma”, and hard lessons throughout my 39 years on this planet.
I’m no stranger to having to overcome hurdles and obstacles to get where I feel like I need to be, and ever since ditching the booze, I’ve had to relearn how to cope when life doesn’t go my way which feels like it’s happening more and more often recently. I don’t have it all figured out, but what I do know is that you’re not allowed to quit life, there are too many people counting on you to continue the fight.
Life is Hard
Life is hard, and no matter what your parents do for you growing up it’s next to impossible to ever really prepare you for everything life is going to throw your way. Job loss, financial ruin, addiction, failed marriages/relationships, being priced out of certain areas of life like home ownership, etc. Life is full of disappointment, hardship, and your personal expectations being entirely too high. The trick isn’t to shield yourself from these bad things happening, it’s to learn how to cope and deal with these things when they happen. Because they will happen no matter how much you try to hide from them.
In addition to life being hard, it feels like people are doing their best to make it harder. We’ve got manufactured nonsense riling us up day after day, inflation stealing our purchasing power, government officials shipping our tax dollars to faraway places so other countries can kill each other, a border disaster that I don’t know we’ll be able to get out of sans massive deportations that’ll never happen, and a market bubble that will almost assuredly destroy the lives of a good portion of our population when it bursts. It’s a lot, and it’s a lot of unnecessary nonsense that does nothing to improve the lives of Americans. Period.
The Last Four Years Have Not Been Great
If you feel overwhelmed or financially strapped, you’re not alone. Here are some stats that matter. Don’t let the government gaslight you into thinking things are great right now, they’re not.
Last year 25% of Americans said they could not afford to buy the food they needed. That’s 87.5M people who went to bed hungry many nights in 2023, the highest of any of the G7 countries.
Credit card debt surpassed 1 Trillion dollars last year. This year more Americans are putting less and less money towards that new debt because they don’t have the cash to do so.
From 2021 to 2023 Americans added 360B dollars to their credit cards due mostly to inflation and trying to keep up with rising prices. This debt is financed at almost 23%.
From January of 2021 to today, CPI shows inflation at roughly 19.6% (yeah right, CPI is curated to make administrations look good, and always has been). That means for every $1000 you spent in 2020, you’re now spending $1196 for the same things on average (it’s much higher than that though). Side note, when they announce the CPI, give it two weeks and look for the revised (right) number, it’s ALWAYS worse.
Unemployment is sitting at 3.8%, down from 6.7% in December of 2020. Sounds great, right? Well hold on a second, Covid shutdowns cost the American people something like 14.6 million jobs which drove unemployment up to a high of 14.8%, which was well up from February 3.5%. 3.8% still isn’t where we were before Covid shutdowns. One of the fastest-growing sectors is government jobs, which are up almost 100% year over year. Kinda hard to call that a win honestly. Side note here as well, when they announce the unemployment numbers, wait 2-3 weeks (sometimes a month) for the revised (right) numbers because they’re always worse.
The housing market is insane right now. Great credit will get you a 7.6% rate, and nationally median home prices have gone from $329,000 in 2020, to $495,000 in 2024. When I was looking to buy back in 2022, starter homes were selling for around 400k, and if you weren’t coming above asking in cash it was hard to even get a seat at the table for many people. And somehow, prices have only continued to rise along with interest rates, it’s nuts.
Kids are more miserable than they have ever been in the history of the United States. You can check out this episode of Strength Coach Rants where I touch on the studies that showed 6-% of those under 18 feel hopeless right now.
Our National Debt currently sits at 34.6T and is only rising every second of every day. That’s $103,000 per citizen. In the time it took to write this sentence, it grew by another $400k. It costs us 870B dollars per year (as of right now) just to finance this debt. This is one of the many reasons your money is worth less and less every single day.
While enjoying more freedom than ever, women in America are unhappier than ever.
There were 48,000 suicides last year in the US, and 108,000 overdoses. Doesn’t seem like a huge number, but when you add them together it makes these two the number three leading cause of death in America (just ahead of Covid and right behind preventable injuries). These are deaths of misery.
We’re fatter than ever, and almost 50% of the population is diabetic or prediabetic.
We’re on the verge of WWIII (this article actually makes the argument that we’re already in it) whether you want to believe it or not. That’s not good for anyone.
The new Title IX rules handed down from the Biden Administration ensure your daughters never get a fair shake in sports. Don’t shoot the messenger, it’s a fact.
The stock market is quite literally the worst metric of success for an economy so please stop believing that the economy is roaring. Check your bank account and grocery bill, not the hedge funds if you want to know how the economy is doing.
As a country, we’re fatter, poorer, more addicted, and more miserable than ever. And if that wasn’t bad enough, we’re in an election year so it’s only gonna get a whole lot worse! Wherever your political loyalties lie is fine with me, I don’t care, everyone is entitled to their opinions and their lived experiences but you can’t tell me we’re in a good place right now. The data just doesn’t support it.
All that being said, it’s not the end of the world (although there’s some strong evidence that it might be). I know I’ve painted a pretty grim picture here, but this article isn’t about the depravity of our culture, or how awful things are, it’s about digging your heels into life and breaking through all of the obstacles in your way and we’ll get there eventually. But first, more bad stuff.
Our Culture is Awful
I don’t know where it started but many say it started in the 60s with the whole “free love” movement. We now have fallen so unbelievably far that we have women fighting for men to be able to compete against other women in sports. It’s insanity, and you’re not allowed to say anything about it or you’re labeled the crazy one. Crazy.
Promiscuity, drug addiction, alcohol addiction, rampant divorce, fathers abandoning their children and responsibilities, abortion, SSRI use, violence, child/adult sex trafficking, porn, materialism, it’s all rampant in our culture. We’re more free to act however we want to than we’ve ever been, and somehow more miserable than ever. We’re constantly looking for dopamine hits, and we’ll find them in everything from sex, to porn, to shopping, to social media, to food, and drugs/alcohol. It’s killing us.
We don’t even really date anymore. Hook-up culture has ruined our children and their understanding of relationships (I say our children, my daughter in one so hopefully we can turn things around for her). Men use women, women use men, and very few people are looking to not just get theirs and move on. It’s turning people off to relationships, and marriage. This is bad.
People aren’t having kids because they either think they can’t afford them, or two don’t want the responsibility. We have a culture where people are content ending their bloodline because extending it wouldn’t be too inconvenient for them. It is WILD.
The thought of religion makes people fly off into a fit of rage like you believing in a higher power somehow infringes on their ability to exist. Talking about the nuclear family which has been the backbone of every society since the beginning of forever, has become taboo as well. Wanting to settle down and have your 2.5 kids and family dog with a white picket fence in a nice home will throw certain people into a tizzy. Like you having a family and home is a crime against those who do not. Now I’m not saying that you have to get married and go to church, you’re free to live your life however you see fit. What I’m saying though, is that if you did, you’d feel a lot better and more content.
Historically, religion has offered a base of morality and community for people, something we lack today. Also historically, nuclear families are how civilizations continue to thrive, again something that we lack today. We’re on the verge of negative population growth. Negative population growth means we’re not able to maintain the same services and standard of living we have now. There won’t be enough people to support the infrastructure we currently need to survive. Our culture doesn’t support the notion that religion and family are a good thing, and it’s killing us.
With all this going on, it often feels hopeless that things will get better, but you have the power to change that NOW. Raise your kids in a loving environment, show them hard work, teach them that degeneracy isn’t happiness, show them coping that doesn’t involve escaping with booze/drugs, and give them room to fail softly. They used to say kids are the future, and they are. They’re the ones who are going to have to live in the filth that we’ve allowed to grow within our culture unless we change it.
We Need Change
I stated at the beginning of this article that we’re currently in the hard times part of the cultural continuum (sorry Boomers, it turns out you guys were the weak men), and it’s true. But that just means that it’s time for strong men (and women) to usher in a new series of good times. The world needs you, your family needs you, and our culture needs you. Now, if history teaches us anything it is that it doesn’t ever actually repeat itself, but it does often rhyme. And that means the millennials everyone loves to hate, are in a position to be that strong generation that brings about the good times again.
The problem? We’re not allowed to. Look at the presidential election right now. We’re voting for either a Boomer or someone from the Silent Generation. It’s 2024, and our two choices (RFK doesn’t count, he’s just a disruptor but he’s also a Boomer) were born in 1946, and 1942. They’ve both lived past the average life expectancy for a man in the United States, neither one of them has put the keys into the ignition of a car, been to a gas station or a grocery store, or had to decide as to which bill gets paid this month in at least 50 years (if ever). The average age of our House of Representatives is 58 years (really not old), but the average age of those in the Senate is almost 65, about the retirement age of their constituencies.
Senator Grassley is 90 years old. NINETY. Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell is 82 years old and has stopped functioning more than once when talking to the press. I’m talking about total blanking, not moving, not talking, and looking dead behind the eyes for a full few minutes. He’s in charge of the Republicans. Dianne Feinstein was 90 when she finally passed and had no idea where (or who) she was when she was casting votes on the Senate floor. I’m 39 years old, and as of today, there are two congressmen my age or younger. Two. One is 39, and the other is 37.
Now I’m not saying age should be the deciding factor for any job. Someone good at what they do can do their job well into their 80s or 90s even if they remain competent and physically fit enough to do the job. But, can you say with a straight face that the people in Congress or the White House are doing a good job or even an ok job? Do you feel like they truly represent the people of the United States in any capacity? Your answer is probably no. That, or you’re lying.
This generation of politicians refusing to pass the reigns on to the next generation has destroyed our economy, our culture, and overall the lives of many Americans. The generation of politicians that subscribed to Modern Monetary Theory, that has put us into 34 trillion dollars worth of debt, that has printed money so they could spend money on things that don’t help Americans (that your kids’ grandkids will still be paying), who enacted no-fault divorce nationally (thanks Reagan!), who spent hundreds of billions destroying people’s lives on both the war on drugs and the war on poverty, who have told the next generations that they’re entitled (really? lol) and just need to work harder, etc. have refused to let go of the reigns of power. It’s really the first time in history that this has happened. It’s honestly like they’re actively trying to make the world a worse place every chance they get. They’re awful.
I’m absolutely not saying to vote for the youngest among us either, there are plenty of awful and selfish politicians in their 20s, 30s, and 40s. But if we continue to put the same people into positions of power who have always been there, we’re going to continue to fly down this shit slide further into misery. If they say the definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over again expecting a different outcome, then we’re literally insane with our voting habits.
Our politicians also don’t care about us. Now, I know you’re probably sitting there saying “Yeah but MY party does”, and in saying that you’d be completely wrong and somewhat delusional. They don’t care about you and the sooner you recognize that fact, the sooner we can start to move forward as a culture, and a society.
Think about it, the Republicans have been in a position to codify immigration changes and haven’t when given the chance, and Democrats have had super majorities where they could have codified Roe, and didn’t. They’re ALL in a position to simplify the tax code, but they won’t because their donors benefit from the nonsense we have today. They don’t want to fix these problems, because then they can’t run (and raise money) on these issues. Your life is harder because they want to be able to get reelected every 2-6 years. Make sure to tell them thanks next time you either give them money or more importantly, your vote.
It’s Not All Bad
As I mentioned earlier, this article isn’t meant to push you over the edge. My goal here is really to let you know that you’re not alone in how you feel. It seems like you’re the odd one out when you say “Hey, maybe biological males shouldn’t be able to play sports against girls”, or “Maybe overtly sexual books shouldn’t be in elementary schools”, and “Should we really be giving Ukraine 300B (yes 300B!) dollars right now when we have people who can’t pay their bills?”, or “Why does everything cost so much right now?” They even have publications writing articles on how inflation isn’t happening, or that it’s good, or even that it’s your fault. Don’t let them gaslight you.
And you’re not alone, as much as it feels like you might be with the way the media portrays it. Most people think propaganda is like what we’ve seen in movies. Like the big Russian signs from the USSR, the old NAZI signs, or the Uncle Sam posters of the first world war. But the most effective propaganda is the kind that’s meant to isolate you and make you feel crazy, or like you’re the only one who doesn’t think the way they want you to. It’s effective, and the hive mind we fall into as a species eventually leads us toward whatever their goal is. You don’t want to be the weirdo or the outcast, so you’ll eventually comply. Don’t fall for it!
Times are tough right now. Mentally, emotionally, and physically we’re all spent. We just came out of a global pandemic that shut down the entire world and isolated many of us away from experiences and the people we love. Many saw loved ones suffer and pass away during this pandemic, whether it was due to the virus or the isolation we all felt during that year or so. When we came out of it, we all got hit in the face with some of the worst economic times that many of us have lived through. You can fight me on it, but it is substantially worse right now for many of the people I know compared to 2008. We just haven’t seen the unemployment yet, but it’s coming whether it’s from the economic landscape or AGI that they’re saying could cost as many as 100 million jobs worldwide. At any rate, being employed is great and all, but when your money is worth less every day, it’s hard to keep your head above water.
But here’s the thing, you’re not allowed to quit! Too many people need you. The world, our culture, your family, your children, or even just your pets. Hell, that barista at Starbucks might look forward to seeing you every day, they need you too! We’ve got an epidemic of men quitting, they’ve even legalized it in Canada with their MAID program. Don’t ever fall victim to the notion that death is ever better than a life of suffering. I don’t know where we went wrong, but this mindset is gross and leads people down some awful paths. You don’t get a redo when you ragequit life.
This really turned into something I wasn’t ready for it to turn into when I first started typing this morning. I just found myself getting more and more angry as I typed. Putting everything down on paper makes me realize how far we’ve fallen, and how much those around me are hurting. We’ve seen it in the numbers at the gym, we’ve seen it in our bills both at the house and at the gym as well. Our expense is up almost 20% from when we first opened the doors just THREE YEARS AGO.
Originally this was an article about not getting to quit life, but honestly, you can’t quit the fight. The fight to make the world a better place for your kids, the fight to create a culture and civilization that survives and thrives, the fight to set the table for your kids to have it better than you had it, the fight to allow your kids to see healthy relationships as an example so their relationships can thrive when they grow up, the fight to make the world a better place than we inherited it. Like actually better though because every generation says this, and then proceeds to make it worse.
People are hurting right now, and I know they say “DoNt MiX bUsInEsS aNd PoLiTiCs” but pointing out how badly our government is screwing us isn’t political. That, and it takes strong men to turn the tide, I don’t mind dealing with the ramifications of that when the future of our culture and people hang in the balance.
While this article turned out much more doom and gloom than I originally anticipated, just understand that you don’t get to quit. We’ve got to find a way out of this, and it’s going to take strong men and women to right this ship. So roll your sleeves up, get ready to sweat and work hard, and let’s all get to work because we don’t get to quit. There’s too much on the line.
