I was listening earlier to the latest episode of J. Peterson podcast, in which he talks with Dennis Prager and Adam Carolla about their documentary "No Safe Spaces" (which I plan on watching a little later). 
And at one point, Prager, a devout Jew, pointed out something that struck me as interesting. He spoke of how rich and fulfilled his life is, and of all the things that provide his existence with meaning and relevance (religion, music, teaching, etc.), going on to explain that this is the main issue with liberal extremists today - lack of meaning.

**When the only thing giving your life meaning is a political stance, you're bound to exaggerate it as much as possible. We all need something to believe about ourselves. It also justifies the viciousness of extremists towards people with opposing views. Sensing that these other people have other sources of satisfaction in their lives, as is often the case, the extremist will bite and tear apart. A primary instinct of jealousy will turn on and crave the other's destruction.**

Of course, I don't think this applies exclusively to liberals. Not at all. In fact, plenty of people on the conservative side guilty of the same obtuse attitude, and that's a fault on their part, definitely. 


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It made me wonder, what would our world look like if all these extremists, on either side, had 1-2 other things to occupy themselves with, to give them purpose. Would it really be that easy to reach common ground? Seems too good to be true.

It also got me to thinking why America, and perhaps our whole world, at this point, is in this point, now more divided than ever before. Where did all the fulfilling lives go? Because obviously, for things to be this bad, there's gotta be a lot of unhappy people desperately latching on to a political cause for its faux, lukewarm meaning. So what happened? If we were happy before, why can't we be happy now?

## Is society structured that way, on purpose?

At the risk of sounding like a disgruntled old man, these damn kids with their phones and their Instagram seem more unhappy than ever before. And you gotta wonder if that's not on purpose.

Seems to be, because when you think about it, there's a myriad of causes. Mental health, for one, because now, all the cool kids have got some sort of affliction, don't they? Why sit down and wonder why the fuck your life isn't what you hoped it would be, when you can pay a shrink, pop a pill?

Everyone seems to have a tiny bit of ADHD, anxiety, depression, or maybe a cocktail. 

But then, how could you not be depressed when you're spoon-fed with all these platforms for self-validation that are rigged from the get-go? Think of all the girls and guys out there posting, feeling just a little sad when they only get 3 likes on their posts, or when no one views their story, or whatever. Not only is this culture contributing to depression and BIG self-image issues, right, it's also draining you of your precious, once-in-a-lifetime greatest resource. Time. Of course more and more people are devoid of meaning and satisfaction in their lives, when their *brief* free time is spent scrolling through pictures of cute dogs, big asses and vague, inspirational quotes that make you feel just a little more self-centered. Just a tad more insecure, ironically.
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Add to that the structured dismantling of family as an institution and as a value, and the economical disaster of our generation, and you've practically got your answer right there. **Yes, society really *is* structured in such a way that meaning and satisfaction are hard, if not impossible, to come by...**

...yet not impossible. And that's worth remembering, because at this point, it's only through enriching our own lives that we might have a chance of fixing what's so badly broken. Now, remember, it's gonna be up to us to hold on to these notions as hard as we can, because it's only gonna get worse from here. You're slowly being pumped empty of curiosity, self-worth, vigor, love, values, faith, and everything else that might make your life meaningful, or simply *better*. 

Remember *better*? That thing we all used to strive towards, before they told us not to worry our pretty little heads, and that everybody's a winner? Made it so that nobody ever wins, anymore. And why do you think that is? Could it be that winning or becoming better are among those things that used to give you a purpose?

And sure, many will say that a competitive attitude is toxic, or whatever, that it makes you feel inadequate. That's exactly why it was so easy to take that away in the first place. Because competing is hard, let alone winning.  But if you think this current situation you're in is healthy and designed for your benefit, think again. You are *constantly* being told you're shit at this game. **And you might play and figure out you're still shit at it, but at least give yourself a fighting chance.**