James,
I've found myself arguing for tribalism:
I find nothing attractive or impressive about Islam, to put it mildly, save for the admittedly remarkable, rabid destructiveness and ignorance it seems to encourage. But having experienced first hand the off-putting… I can’t think of a single word to encompass this so I’ll digress:
Pallid, lukewarm, nobody can judge me but God, anything goes, unimpressive spiritual oatmeal that is modern Christianity.
I too hunger for more spineful and meaningful direction. Like many my age I’ve struggled with finding purpose when everything praises “just be yourself”.
But how am I supposed to know who I am?? Try and fail at one thing after another?
What is there to inspire from a pastor who wants his men to be dutiful sheep to shrieking harridans, or a pope who says that there is no Hell, or professors who teach that my very existence is a sin that must be purged?
Our history and culture and great works give inspiration that what we’ve done is worth remembering and saving, but who we are seems to be a question that one must answer for himself nowadays, and I think it is evident that, american individualism aside, we are not meant to answer that question alone. I think Tribalism and the need for group identity is built into our BIOS, and if Christianity and liberalism (not left leaning but the historical sense of liberalism as such) will not provide an identity that can defend all that our forefathers have built, then new tribes must be formed."
I suppose I must now find some paint and leather jackets...
-Clued
Son of a Lesser God
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Come on now man. The answers to your questions are ones that we OUGHT to be able to pass on to younger men, much less guide our own lives by.
1) "But how am I supposed to know who I am?? Try and fail at one thing after another?"
YES. No Participation Trophies. Take the attitude of "Do, or Do Not. There is no Try!" (Yoda was right on this one). You can't know what success is until you fail. I've had my share of Ramen Noodles and generic macaroni and cheese at 8 boxes for $1 and lived on it for a week. It's part of the deal.
"What is there to inspire from:
2) from a pastor who wants his men to be dutiful sheep to shrieking harridans? " Nothing. You're in the wrong building. If the spiritual leader is saying this, you got into the Church of the Poisoned Mind by mistake. Leave now. Leave the gun and take the cannoli. Out!
3) from a Pope who says there is no Hell?" The Pope is a Party commissar. A raving, unapologetic Socialist who doesn't even try to pretend he's some sort of Christian. Why would anyone but a third-world victim even listen to his ranting Marxism? You know better. Teach others to know better.
4) from professors who teach that my very existence is a sin that must be purged?" Professors? In a modern "university"? It is to laugh! What kind of an idiot listens to that stuff for 4 years and ends up with a degree in Wymyn's Studies and $125,000 in student loans, and no job prospects? Your Dynamics of Solids or Quantum Magnetohydrodynamics prof isn't going to feed you that crap on your way to an Engineering or Nuclear Physics degree ...
I know that the original question was somewhat rhetorical, as are the above answers. But your very presence here among men on this site means you already know the answers; you're just hunting for others who understand it too. We're here ....
Western civilization is unique in its emphasis on the individual. In days long gone, the broader society, Church and State provided a surrogate extended "family" that protected the European nuclear family from outside depredations. Those institutions have passed into hostile hands or faded in importance, and we of European descent will have to build a parallel society from scratch. Not everyone's going to make it.
kevinmacdonald.net/west-toq.htm
You want purpose and meaning? Pray to the unending void. Who we are is a question that one has always had to answer himself. The popes and pastors are all long on answers and short on truths. Don’t waste time sniffing around dead shadows.
You know what “our” history and culture and great works tell me? Some guys were good sculptors. Some guys wrote good symphonies. Some guys were good at thinking. But do you know why we remember Michaelangelo, Beethoven and Voltaire? Because 99% of everybody else was wrong and foolish and full of shit. Those guys were individuals, and they weren’t your forefathers.
You might as well just get drunk and fuck as much as you can, while you can. Those Muslims you were talking about all have 9 kids per family, and sharia law is gonna mean no more shots of whiskey and beer chasers for you. Now go make someone a mommy tonight!
Pope Francis seems more concerned with aligning Vatican financial protocol with prevailing international standards than any traditional Church dogma. When Pope Benedict XVI started to make moves to purge the Lavender Mafia within the Church, SWIFT blocked Vatican money transfers. The block was promptly lifted after his resignation.
fortune.com/2014/08/14/this-pope-means-business
"...You know what “our” history and culture and great works tell me? Some guys were good sculptors. Some guys wrote good symphonies. Some guys were good at thinking. But do you know why we remember Michaelangelo, Beethoven and Voltaire? Because 99% of everybody else was wrong and foolish and full of shit. Those guys were individuals, and they weren’t your forefathers..."
The 99% may be true but lest we forget who we are our 99% has done a better job of things than everyone else's 99%. This little tiny amount of better has produced everything you see a little better than everyone else and it added up. So saying we must be some perfect UberMan of flawless perfection is bullshit. Like the two Men being chased by a bear you only have to be a little faster than the other guy. If you look at it from this perspective things don't look so hopeless. Everyone just needs to do a little better. The government has to be a little better. Just a little more. I've written about several methods of doing that here and elsewhere that are not insurmountable but could add up to major increases in our well being.