Young people have been feeling trapped in a pit of economic hopelessness. They rent everything, accumulate debt, and see no path to success that’s even like the faltering efforts of the generation before them. Much of this malaise is the result of Democrat party priorities. Hate on white men, feminize everything, shift to a centrally planned economy, spend every generation into debt, and bully anyone who dares to suggest this is a bad strategy or that it doesn’t work.
We know it doesn’t work, and last November, a significant number of people living in this version of America voted for something else. They picked Trump. They want him to make changes that make America a place where they can apply effort and succeed.
Young men of all races, but especially whites, are holding their breath to see if they used that vote wisely. Young men of color are likewise throwing in the cards they were dealt, looking for a fresh hand. Even young women are finding that the feminists’ promises lead to a lonely, angry, and wholly unfulfilling lifestyle.
We’ve got trad wives, traditional women who stay home, cook, raise kids, and stay involved in the community to protect those interests. We have men married to them who are feeling more fulfilled because they have embraced the traditional role of provider and caretaker. These couples are happier, having more and better sex, and if we can keep the trend going, and find a way to an economy that supports those lifestyles and values, we’ll begin to undo decades of damage from progressive social engineering.
And they are rumored to be adopting a much-improved and old-school brand of parenting.
Enter the resurgence of authoritative parenting, which The Wall Street Journal has labeled as “F*** Around and Find Out” (FAFO) parenting. It’s when parents hold the line on boundaries and don’t intervene when the consequences of a child’s poor behavior come to bite him or her in the derrière. Here are some examples of this style in action:
- Your toddler continually throws his toy out of the stroller. After you warn him not to do it again, he inevitably does, and the consequence ensues; the toy is left where it was thrown to the ground.
- You cut off phone privileges for your teenage daughter after she breaks a rule regarding phone usage.
- You make your children go to piano lessons even after they’ve decided they don’t like it because a) you’ve already paid for it, and b) they need to learn to follow through on their commitments.
This style of parenting builds resiliency in kids, particularly when paired intrinsically with building a strong relationship along the way. Children learn to trust you by knowing you’ll hold the line on boundaries, and they’ll also learn to trust themselves because they know where the boundaries are.
Not everyone will be on board or even get there from here, but given the other cultural shifts toward more traditional male-female roles and family, it is encouraging. The issue, I suspect, is not whether they find these choices more fulfilling and pursue them, but whether enough of them will have the patience to allow the dramatic changes President Trump is attempting at the Federal level to improve the economy in a meaningful way.
Breaking things is easy. Fixing them is a lot harder, and requires more patience and perseverance. If the army of young people who voted in 2024 for something different stop showing up to vote in 2026, 2028, and 2030, breaking it all harder and faster will be the first thing the Democrats make time to do.
Permanently, if given the opportunity. Long before the kids raised on FAFO parenting will have a chance to do anything but watch the nation burn.
