I’ve been to several family events this year and have noticed maybe more than usual that nerves are frayed. The stress of the news, or more specifically, the summation of political beliefs played out on the world stage of the present, is a bit too much for people, and they want to talk about anything but the conditions of our times. The small talk at family gatherings that might only happen once or twice a year has been, “Hi, how’s little Billy. How’s he doing in school? Is he playing in sports?” That kind of thing. These days there is a lot more to it. It might go something like this, “Hi, how’s little Billy? Oh, Billy is now Beth because he identifies as a woman. Well, how’s school? Oh, you had to pull Beth out of school because of the mask and vaccine mandates and homeschool he/she. Oh, he’s a girl now, so he can compete in female events in sports, and he’s winning everywhere. Well, I guess that’s nice. Pass the gravy.” Small talk obviously isn’t enough for the trouble of our times and the old rules of engagement, in not talking about religion or politics just isn’t enough anymore. And I don’t think it should be. Instead, what is needed in these family gatherings isn’t more passive acceptance of the world around you but leadership. If there is one thing that young people need more of now than ever, it’s leadership from their elder statesman. That doesn’t mean they’ll be excited to hear it or that they’ll hug you for the advice. But someday, they might thank you for it. Whatever the case, we have a republic, not a damn democracy, and the success of that republic depends on the intelligence of our society. And that intelligence cannot have a chance to grow if the older people do not show leadership to the younger generation.
I do not go to family events looking for trouble. I don’t impose myself on anybody, anywhere, really. But, I think I’ve wanted all my life to be the age I am now, someone who has lived a lot of life and has some experience to share with people who need more experience in life. And I think it is disingenuous not to be the most authentic person you can be as a role model for those young people. After all, isn’t that the meaning of life, to come into the world, experience life in all its variables, and get something of a guide of how to go about it from the previous generation? I think if we are being honest that we can say that one of the most detrimental introductions of progressive thought over the last century has been this ridiculous notion the youth is all that matters as we turn our elders out to sea to be processed and erased into the soil that grows the next batch of crops. This approach ignores the wisdom that older family members can provide to the youth, leaving them to seek their direction in life from government figures and worthless celebrities and ultimately their own personal downfalls. Life and its condition are all about the decisions that young people make for themselves given all the countless options they have, and they do need help to see what decisions are good or bad.
It always pains me to see young people making the same bad decisions that have been made since the beginning of time. The young flower of a girl, for instance, who is fully in bloom. All the little bees out there want to pollinate her. She shows up with a new bee every year during this period, each time with a new tattoo, another year of smoking cigarettes out of sheer rebellion to how she was raised, and body piercings reflecting the Earth First primitivism that they are taught in public schools these days. They expect you just to sit there and not say anything because nobody is supposed to be judgmental, especially older people who have already lived their lives. When I see this kind of thing, I feel a need to say something about it and do it. Yes, it causes trouble, but I keep getting invited to these family things despite it. The kids need guidance and told that they are going through a temporary thing. Once some bee pollinates you, and you start popping out kids, and age starts wrinkling up your skin, nobody will want to be around you for those reasons anymore, and if you don’t have a developed intellect, you will be in deep trouble. Alone and thrown away in the world, nobody who loves one of these young people wants to see that. A life ruined by bad decisions early in their life. So I would propose that the rules about talking about religion and politics at family gatherings during the holidays were made up by the same idiots who made up the rules for Covid and put Joe Biden in office. They didn’t know what they were doing, or maybe they did, and wanted the opportunity to ruin the lives of the youth to destroy our nation from the inside out. Either way, leadership is always needed to be our authentic selves. To give those kids an opportunity to make better choices in life by imitating you. So the worst thing you can do as a leader in your family is to follow the rules of some social tyrants who want the destruction of America, starting with the family. Part of the maintenance of a republic isn’t just in voting and picking good candidates as representation. Often, it begins at the family dinner table during holidays.
It is OK to have the youth mad at you, especially if you have given them contrary information to the flow of the political universe that is coming at them through popular culture. Many of the rules we all follow over family gatherings have proven to be much more destructive than the Biden administration, and it’s time to stop following those rules and give young people something better to follow, even if it causes great conflict in them during the process. The purpose of family is to grow people into productive lives of fulfillment, and dancing away from conflict is a sure way to give them the wrong impression that government or popular culture is more powerful and influential than that wiry uncle at the dinner table or bombastic grandparents. They always seem to have a new story to tell. Character is more important than following some social rules that have been imposed on us by people who want what’s worst for us and that if we’re going to see a resurrection of what’s good in our country, it starts in our families, not at the next Trump rally. It would be my advice to all, even more now than ever, to not shy away from telling kids not to drink. Not to do drugs. To not get stupid-looking tattoos that will make you look like an idiot when you are older, which is most of their lives from 30 to 80. To pay attention to politics and to have an opinion. And that if they have a penis, not to compete in women’s sports. Let the girls have the trophy, compete with other men; otherwise, the victory doesn’t mean anything. They can roll their eyes and be upset. They can hide from your judgment. But you know what, they’ll thank you later. Your advice may be the only good advice they will ever hear, so don’t hold back on it.
Rich Hoffman
The Gunfighter's Guide: 