The state, and to a lesser degree my wife, raised my kids from ages 5-18 while I was at the salt mines. In retrospect, as relative shares of waking hours spent by each child in a given weekday through those years:

- public propaganda centres 70%

- friends, sports, and screens 20%

- working spouse 8%

- Dad 2%

Yes, the education of one’s kids continues for years beyond when they exit formal miseducation, but I never did crack the nut of how to be in two places at once and fully counteract the effect of secular influence and indoctrination on my kids. And how to stretch one income (and prevailing thoughts on the importance of every woman having a career) far enough to make homeschooling a reality. Add to this the weaponization of culture that has painted men as doofuses (doofi?) for 4 decades, and I am at a loss of how we take back the ability to effectively influence outcomes for our kids as men.

At least I’ve seen glimmers of questioning things and thinking critically. But too little too late it sometimes seems.

“Dad” in 2025 is just the nutter that is yelling from behind the glass in the back seat of the cab as society (and the less discerning kids) speed towards all the same traps I got lassoed into. Student debt, consumer debt, tax farm style employment and ever-shrinking agency. That’s how it feels to me.

Now I’m going to shut up and go back to work.