No one expects young men to do anything and they are responding by doing nothing

From the article, a quote: even those who cohabit, believe that as long as they are not married, it is acceptable for either partner to walk away at any time, and for virtually any reason.

"You put a guy in chaotic and impoverished circumstances. And then you decide not to expect anything out of him. How can anyone possibly believe this will lead to anything other than disaster?"

I think the author has neglected a hugely important factor in this. Sure, what others expect of you can influence you greatly. But what one expects for themselves is a huge factor too. This self expectation can be largely driven by what opportunities one perceives to be available to them. Some of those perceptions are influenced by others, like teachers or parents exposing the child to a possible career path. Others are what the see their peers and slightly older group doing. Among this vein...

How hard is it to get a decent job today if you have a criminal record, even a minor one, vs in the 1970s?

How have real wages trended since the 70s?

Where have the high paying (relative to working fast food, etc) manufacturing jobs gone? How many jobs require expensive college degrees now?

Enlisting used to be a widely available option. How about now? I believe it's much more selective about who they take.

It might not be that young men are expected to do nothing. It might be that society has created a system in which it is hard for young men to do anything. If you have a lack of hope because the deck is stacked against you and none of your peers are making anything of themselves, then why wouldn't most people give up? Lack of hope and reduction in meaningful opportunity is a huge problem. There are many factors behind these. But the author doesn't seem to touch on any of them.

I'm afraid that the author got it wrong. All social norms were destroyed between 1950's and now. If society desires hard working, law abiding, family loving young men, it should rebuild what it destroyed.

The only interesting point in the story was about that "expert" which publicly behaves how society coerces her now to behave but secretly raises her own children in a way that she deems better for their well-being but comes into contradiction with the norms of the day.

So yes, trying to destroy family, religion, men self esteem and purpose in life, by creating a hedonistic society with no morals will prove a disaster for Western society. A disaster which if extended for long will equate to suicide.

I wouldn't blame young men but those evil people who continuously waged war on Western civilization and tried to demolish everything good while promising freedom, justice, equality. Freedom, justice and equality nobody got.

I think that’s an interesting point. The political window has shifted further and further left in recent years. The fact is he’s not the head of the conservative moment, he’s the head of the Republican Party. There are differing factions and he promised something most in the party could support. For example, he supported states rights during the pandemic and didn’t use force. Similarly, the focus was domestic production and an improved foreign policy. Finally, there was a decent support of policies for the working class.

I’m not personally for the man, but I can see why there was support. It’s the most conservative president in decades by most measurements, though not personal life.