An Update on Things That Matter
On getting black pilled and figuring out what to do about it.
I’ve been a bit absent on A Moment With Mumma since the start of 2024. The truth is, I have a lot that I want to write about, as you can probably tell from my backlog of pieces I’ve mentally planned:
Those who read my posts regularly will probably be able to get a general sense of what I’m thinking from the titles there.
But honestly I’ve got to say, I’m a fair bit black pilled at the moment on where we’re at.
I don’t want to dwell on it, but let’s examine the main reasons why my optimism is waning:
Both political parties have acquiesced to running angry grandpas for President of the country. Let’s be clear: Biden is a disgrace. Trump is a disgrace. You may hold your nose and vote for one of them in the general election. That’s understandable. But to the people who supported either of them in the primary? Good riddance. I’m not voting for either of these clowns and neither should you.
Having spent 3 months in the DC area recently, the gaps in worldview between left and right are insurmountable. Don’t believe me? Try talking about the Covid vaccines, illegal immigration, or the rise in crime with someone from a liberal area. Doesn’t even have to be a “lefty”, even the rank-in-file there are terrified to consider views on these topics outside of the liberal consensus. It’s increasingly clear that there is no “United” States to save.
Culturally: education has gone down the tubes for decades, provable by the decline in test scores and the various adjustments made to try to cover that up. Between a precipitous decline in the quality of education and the effect that smartphones and the mindless drivel pumped out on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok have had on young minds, there is little hope for a renaissance in the near term.
Take all that together, and we are all collectively hurdling toward a culture of dependency rather than self-determinism. That will bring with it inevitable tyrannies of those in power (such an abuse of power is what human’s do, after all), and the inevitable collapse once the financial obligations are so glaringly overwhelming that it all falls down.
Okay, so that’s grim. But, please, tell me where I’m wrong. I’d love to know, leave a comment:
Personally though, that begs the question: what can I do?
The answer I’ve arrived at once the dust settles is pretty clear:
I can work to better myself, prepare for what is to come, and try to help those close to me in this process.
The reason why this is the answer ties back to fundamental understandings about culture, which I’ve written about here:
At the end of the day, you only (morally) control one person: yourself. At best, you can hope to influence others, perhaps strongly. But the best way to do that is generally by setting a good example. In a healthy world, this is how culture evolves to drive progress.
To quote President Camacho from Idiocracy, “Sh*t. I know sh*t's bad right now…” Our culture is off the rails with little hope of realigning. So my plan is just to prepare and to set as good an example as possible.
As such, let’s talk a bit about what I have been working on:
I am continuing to build Forward, and have made some massive improvements over the past couple months. Forward is a life management platform to manage your goals, habits, projects, and tasks all in a single place. It’s made me a lot more productive and I’m building it because I think it can help you too. Please give it a try (it’s free) and let me know what you think!
My writing will be mostly focused in two places:
The Book of Principles: short and digestible posts on a single topic or principle that is worth knowing and using to try to understand the world better:
The Human Optimization Project: discussion and tips on how to live a happier, healthier, and more productive life. This also features a strong focus on Forward and how it can be used to make quantifiable improvements in your life:
And honestly that’s going to be the focus. I’ll still post here when I can, of course. I do think there are still plenty of topics worth expounding upon politically and culturally, and this will be the place for that.
But I don’t want to just be a cultural critic, as I sit here dumping and whining about what the world has become. I see tangible improvements that can be made in helping people think more deeply and systematically (via the Book of Principles) and combatting the forces of distraction to accomplish more and feel more fulfilled (via the Human Optimization Project and Forward).
So my ask, especially if you got all the way down to here, is to join me at those three places. Subscribe to the Book of Principles, subscribe to the Human Optimization Project, and try using Forward to manage your own life. Or heck, just do one of the three for now!
Thanks in advance,
Ben