THE PAST AND THE PRESENT ARE THE PARENTS OF THE FUTURE
DEAR READERS
This is the birthday month for me and I want to celebrate
the future of young men. I have two lovely sons – one will be 40 next year and
we are celebrating his birthday next July in Lviv Ukraine, the other son will
be 11 next year and will finish his middle school and enter grade 7 in a high
school.
As the old sages say: “the past and present are the parents
of the future”. So, in the past, for the young men the future was mainly entering the military
and die for your country and then the future of these men ended on the “Flanders Fields”. The present political correctness or what I call war on men because it is mainly focusing on men and it has
created an environment of blame that is leading to a possible victimhood culture
where young me are heading to escape from this “witch hunt”.
The writer Lisa Marchiano states: “Personal or collective
attitudes that create an invitation to victimhood and infirmity can alter what
we expect for ourselves. Embracing a status of oppression or affliction can be
helpful, as it marshals needed care. However, when held onto too long, it can
invite disengagement from life, and an avoidance of one’s fate. Worryingly, it
also has negative implications for personal mental health, as it may foster a
sense of helplessness." She adds that:
“Some current cultural trends award increased social status
to those perceived as victims. Sociologists have posited that a new moral
culture of victimhood is developing on college campuses. In such a culture,
being a victim raises one’s standing and confers virtue, in part because it
mobilizes protection and support from powerful third parties. The increased
status of victimhood may account for the rise in “digital self-harm” that
researchers have identified when teens cyber-bully themselves.
Victimhood culture rewards us when we are aggrieved,
helpless, and weak. It therefore encourages us to experience ourselves as being
at the mercy of external forces beyond our control, which, as we have seen, may
have negative consequences for mental well-being”.
How can a free society like Australia and Canada stop this
so called ‘cultural wars’ against men of all backgrounds? For example; Last
week in Australia illiberal censors tried to stop Nigel Farange (a British
politician) from speaking at a popular gathering by describing him as a racist.
They failed. They attacked cartoonist Mark Knight depicting the angry Serena
Willimas giving a big temper tantrum and blaming the umpire Carlos Ramos for her
loss to the Japanese player Naomi Osaka. Much negativity is depicted in the social media
about Dr. Jordan Peterson, the Canadian professor for openly challenging the
self-appointed ‘culture warriors’. This virulent movement is creating a bad
future in the minds of young men and as early as 12-year-old boys are suffering
of extreme anxiety.
An October 2017 New York Times article entitled “Why Are
More American Teenagers Than Ever Suffering from Extreme Anxiety?” looked at
the rising tide of teen anxiety in the United States. Increasing academic
pressures, the advent of smart phones, and ubiquitous social media use were
explored as potential contributors to increasing teen anxiety, but the article
implicated another factor as well – school cultures that enable young people to
avoid those things that make them uncomfortable. Special educational plans
address student anxieties by allowing kids to leave class early, use special
entrances, and seek out 'safe spaces' when they are feeling overwhelmed. A
therapist interviewed for the Times article worries that these kinds of
“avoidance-based” accommodations only make anxiety worse by sending the message
to kids that they are too fragile to handle things that make them
uncomfortable.
That is the ‘solution’ that children are adopting not only
by feeling outside the flow but also unconsciously registering the general hate of the
anti-male culture today.
What is the actual clear choice for a better future? Jonathan
David Haidt, an American political psychologist and Professor of Ethical
Leadership at New York University's Stern School of Business offers ideas for
resolving this crisis of youth today: He suggests that we need to open young
minds to the wonder of new and challenging ideas that support and help counteract
against the many ‘false news’ and blaming games. He developed the OPEN MIND app
to stop the victim mentality that creates so much anxiety in the young men. He
is behind the Heterodox Academy that has called upon 1,400 academics that are
standing for free thinking and positive psychology.
Such projects are aiming at developing greater resiliency in the young people thus allowing them to navigate the present world more freely.
I recommend the LetGrow.org web page set up by Lenore Skenazy to connect free
thinking parents and teachers to the possible new future for our world.
Creating a society in
which we are encouraged to confront anxiety and face difficult realities
matters not just for the mental health of individuals, but also for our
collective well-being. In the world that soon awaits us, humankind will
desperately need those individuals willing to rise from their beds. The challenges
that loom ahead will require us to set aside timidity, weakness, and victimhood
and claim instead agency and boldness, no matter how grim the odds.
Lisa Marchiano
See youtube speech by Dr.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3H20jwYq8WI
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