Here is my advice on learning C++. Don't learn it first. Learn C first, become good at it. Then ease your way into using certain functionality of C++ in your code, and so on. Don't try to bite it all off at once. I've been developing in C++ for over 30 years now, and I'm still learning something new about it.
Look at it like Mathematics. You learn Algebra, and Trig, but Calculus is a something different. If you don't have a solid understanding of the previous, you're not going to understand the symbolic manipulation of Calculus. It then gets worse from there as you go into Differential Equations.
IMO procedural and imperative programming should be understood before trying to grasp polymorphic, object-oriented and functional programming. There is a lot of abstraction, and training of your mind to abstract is a process.
Be careful, there are purists that exist out there, and they will scream and complain, but ignore them. Don't let others control how you think. A late professor of mine once told me something I thought I understood, but it didn't hit me until years later.
"Any program written in any language that produces the correct results is a correct program."
As long as it does what it is supposed to do, it doesn't matter how you get there.
Also, code purity is myth, and those seeking it are believers in mysticism and false aesthetics. There is good code organization, but when you're up against deadlines, good luck keeping it organized.
This memory safety issue is important, don't get me wrong, but it is completely over blown. SpaceX built incredible rockets and systems in C/C++. We have external tools to check for these issues, and they still need to be used with Rust.