Hello, readers.
I’m about to share something that I typically wouldn’t do outside my close circle.
Shall we get started?
The Only Social Imperative
I’m currently 44 years old. So, if you look at it positively, that means more than half of my peers are no longer here.
The people here might be surprised to find this out. I’ve never shared my birthday before, and I always tell the office managers to skip the cheerful emails when February 4th rolls around.
Everyone has their quirks. For me, celebrating feels a bit contrived, and frankly, it distracts from what really matters. When people ask directly, I usually say my birthday is 1982, and just leave it there.
If it weren’t for the women in my life, I think I might have simply floated along. Once, I spent an entire year believing I was 37, until my wife announced to everyone that I had actually turned 37. News to me.
Yeah, it put me in a bit of a sour mood that day. Honestly, birthdays seem somewhat trivial, especially with everything modern medicine has accomplished; they’ve really lost significance.
Maybe if I were a fisherman in Alaska, I’d take a break for Memorial Day. Instead, I work on a laptop in Northern Virginia, USA, in 2026. Is anyone really shocked that I’ve made it another year? Big surprise!
This morning, as I was saying goodbye to my daughter—who will be 4 in March—she dashed over to a stranger dropping off her kid.
“Today is my dad’s birthday, so we’re going to the bakery!”
Her excitement was infectious; she couldn’t keep it to herself.
The stranger smiled at her, then looked at me.
“Happy birthday!”
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Having a child changes everything. Nowadays, in this culture, it sometimes feels like an act against the norm. From various perspectives—cultural, national, human, and universal—having children is not just about survival; it’s also about hope, resilience, and serving something bigger.
On a personal note, I honestly think that if you’ve never had kids, you’re somehow missing an essential experience. (Of course, this sentiment doesn’t touch the painful reality of infertility.)
On a broader level, fertility rates are a crucial benchmark for mental well-being.
But wait, you might argue that many in sub-Saharan Africa have large families, much like historically impoverished groups.
Sadly, in those contexts, children often become a form of insurance; the more you have, the better your chances for family survival. Kids grow up and eventually work—it makes sense. Plus, higher infant mortality rates often lead couples to have more children as a safeguard.
Just as one extreme can highlight poor health, the converse can show a different type of dysfunction.
In a thriving society, it would be troubling if we mirrored either the reproductive struggles of pandas or the carefree promiscuity of bonobos, who engage in sexual activity without a thought towards family.
If my views on life and society were somewhat shaped before parenthood, they were crystallized afterward, almost sharply so.
The crux of it is straightforward but harsh.
What’s beneficial? Policies that support families.
What’s detrimental? Anything that doesn’t.
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It’s a bit misleading to assert that all individuals on the modern left don’t value family; many do. I know plenty of liberal friends with multiple kids, which likely reflects their values.
However, as a collective, it’s hard to disentangle the outcomes from the overall values.
For instance, looking at photos of Black families from the 1950s and ’60s can provoke deep thoughts. It’s apparent to anyone paying attention that despite various policies since then, Black families haven’t benefitted in any meaningful way, despite good intentions.
The well-known economist Thomas Sowell is quite blunt about this:
“Historically, most Black individuals improved their situations without any political assistance before the introduction of civil rights legislation in the 1960s and subsequent welfare policies in the 1970s,” he writes, critiquing LBJ’s initiatives that gave rise to the welfare state.
Sowell also argues that the welfare state had a negative impact on Black communities.
“Even though, at the start of the 20th century, many Blacks had only recently emerged from slavery, broken homes became more prevalent in Black communities by the end of the 20th century compared to the middle of that century.”
“Black families endured centuries of oppression, yet were ultimately undermined by the liberal expansion of welfare policies,” he summarizes.
Clearly, this outcome was not the intention of those involved. When conservatives propose cutting welfare programs, liberals often react by highlighting the struggles of overburdened Black mothers.
Still, it’s necessary to separate individual intentions from the broader group outcomes.
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Raising kids in today’s digital world comes with its share of challenges, mainly due to the internet and its access to all kinds of harmful information.
One of the more unsettling aspects about the internet is how it brings to light the mental health struggles of women in the aftermath of third-wave feminism.
Forcing everyone to expose their thoughts online offers a revealing look into women’s mental health. Simply put, it’s not a good scene.
Adolescent girls, I think, should really avoid social networking sites. They aren’t beneficial.
Adults are struggling too. With each revelation from nurses or teachers expressing their mental health issues, usually linked to societal pressures, it’s alarming how few share perspectives that contradict mainstream leftist beliefs.
Often these discussions are sparked by news articles that align against conservative views. Some women who once identified as progressive have expressed profound shifts in their thoughts after engaging with traditional partners.
Many women, perhaps having waited too long for various reasons, typically pushed by a leftist narrative, find themselves regretting their career-focused choices over family-building.
Free Press recently explored these women’s experiences.
Essentially, the cumulative effect of leftist ideas on women’s minds results in many recognizing, in their late 30s or early 40s, that they may have made poor choices.
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Nothing exemplifies the adverse effects of leftist ideologies on children better than the movement pushing for young people to undergo drastic medical procedures that fundamentally change their identities.
There is some positive movement toward reversing these trends. The American Medical Association recently advised that surgeries on minors should ideally be stopped.
Progress!
In a surprising shift, the American Medical Association now concurs with the American College of Plastic Surgeons that gender reassignment surgery should generally not be performed on minors.
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The fallout from leftist ideologies on children is severely damaging. One major issue is the debt stemming from seemingly “free” education. Yet, public primary and secondary education is perhaps not as concerning.
As we’ve previously mentioned, in numerous cases, education policies may seem more about political gains than genuinely helping kids. Forget literacy; let’s mobilize protests!
(Political groups that dissuade childbearing often demand that ideological agendas be instilled in others’ children.)
Following the principle that what benefits families is good, and what harms them is bad, there’s nothing worse than harming a child.
Leor Sapir, who has studied sex changes in minors, estimates that over 5,000 young girls may never have the chance to breastfeed their future babies.
This analysis of U.S. insurance claims indicates that between 2017 and 2023, at least 5,200 teenage girls underwent surgical procedures related to gender affirmation.
The actual numbers could be even higher.
These outcomes starkly illustrate how ideals that are meant to protect marginalized groups often backfire, ultimately harming their ability to build families.
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For years, I’ve maintained that eventually, Santa Claus would sit my kids down and clarify: he isn’t bringing the gifts—the hard work of their father provides those.
My daughter is full of wonder and imagination, eager to believe in something larger than herself.
For most kids in the West, the faith in parents tends to be the first priority, followed by the belief in Santa.
Every year, I adorn my lawn with bright lights that spell out “SANTA” in big letters.
She may not read yet, but she recognizes the message. She knows I’d never put that belief at risk.
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No social obligation is more crucial than family formation and childbirth.
The actions taken by modern leftist ideologies have shown the consequences. Individuals at various levels are increasingly tied to the state and political parties rather than family. That’s the new reality.
Children often become subjects of medical systems for the rest of their lives, struggling moms fall deeper into reliance on state support, and women without kids face growing mental health challenges as they adopt risky lifestyles.
For those on the right, all policies must be evaluated through one lens.
It’s not about promoting America first; it’s about prioritizing American families. Will this approach nurture the children of the common person?
If yes, that’s good.
If no, that’s a problem.
