The "Last Men" Are Your Friends

Should they be?

I can never sleep well in South-Eastern summers. Everywhere I’ve lived has had either no AC or very poor circulation. Recently it’s also made my joints and back ache particularly badly, which always dampens my mood. Therefore, this will probably be some of my more somber writing.

    Whenever my health fails me I always end up in a slump. I spend a lot more effort than most on staying fit so having a bad back and a bum leg sometimes feels like a ball and chain that someone else deserves. While I try not to dwell on it, common occurrences such as watching a land whale use an electric wheelchair at Walmart or knowing people who don’t have a daily ritual of going outside makes this task difficult. These aren’t thoughts that one should think, feeling sorry for yourself is a waste, but there are times when I falter.

I have often wondered why I think in the manner that I do. What makes life in our times so unbearable for me. When I was younger I fell into some of the more simple explanations, blaming the rich, or the government or even imagining grand conspiracies. The truth is, regardless of how this started, we’re all to blame for its maintenance.

The first question these thoughts always bring is what exactly am I against? Technology? Liberalism? The internet? The “system”? To be clear, there isn’t one precise answer, it’s more of a vibe than a concept. Life in the modern world, (and I don’t mean technologically modern), feels stifling. It’s not restrictive in the rules exactly, all you have to do is keep enough income to have basic necessities, and you can survive without these although it will be less pleasant in some ways. It’s not even particularly restrictive in terms of social acceptance, you can get away with saying or doing most things. No, it’s really the opposite of all of these things. Modernity seems obsessed with the promotion of the lowest things. Not only do we believe we’ve reached the end of history, we would prefer that we were all shining examples of the last man. In fact, to strive for something else is weird. That role is reserved for people on the T.V. Hell, to do so seems almost insulting to everyone else. It’s like you’ve placed some sort of value above another one. Horrible stuff! 

I used to think that having a violent childhood had simply detached me from the more “civilized” nature of modernity, but I have since met others who think like me who didn’t share that experience. I don’t know exactly what makes men like me think the way that we do, but I know there are severe differences between the character of those who do and those who do not. The purpose of this essay is to both draw this distinction more clearly and to present the beginning of a course of action.

What follows may sound like a child’s fantasy, or at least it will sound a little “LARPy”. Please be patient, you’ll see where I’m going with all of this. 

I would prefer to have been born in some kind of “Mad Max”-esque martial society than our own. Although that universe in particular doesn’t appeal to me, I’ve always been drawn to post-apocalyptic narratives, and, (if you’ll permit me the tangent), it’s somewhat of a shame that they’re never done well, although I think this is a product of the kinds of people who produce television. These genres are very popular with modern youth, and while some of it is Marxist fantasy, there are very real reasons behind this. Growing up, if I had been completely honest when asked, I would have told you I wanted to be a warlord when I grew up, and I am not alone in this. I’m not a particularly violent man, I very rarely break the law at all, and I practice great restraint when it comes to the use of force in day to day life. This isn’t the work of some criminal scum who just wants the ability to commit crime more easily. No, I think this is the secret fantasy of a large number of young men. 

The world we live in simply sucks for men like me. It’s devoid of all reality, the entire thing is one big charade. Most of our people spend their entire free lives dedicated to fantasy, whether it be television or video games. Our entire economy is focused on placebos and substitutes for reality, we exist detached from our nature. There are others who have written in-depth on the idea of our detachment from our nature, but I believe you either understand this fact conceptually or you don’t, so I won’t be spending much time on it. 

I believe that the issue really lies in the idea of what living really is. Is it simply the act of being alive, or is it more than that? Does being exist on a spectrum between zero and infinity? I argue in the affirmative. The minimum is simply existing, but there is an infinite range of the undefined being beyond that. 

Like many contemporary issues, the question then becomes, “Ok and?”. I cannot give you a rational argument why you shouldn’t simply waste away. I mean really, why should you be expected to have a single goal? At best, I can pull statistics on depression and anxiety, but if we really want to boil it down, why shouldn’t you just be depressed? It takes less work at least. I mean when it reeeaallly comes down to it, why should I not paint my office wall with my brains right now? Can you give me a rationalist argument, or is your stance on suicide just some silly little gut instinct that says you should continue to be rather than not to be? I mean can you quote me a source that says suicide is bad, or are you just going to argue off of feelings? Facts don’t care about your feelings duuuude. I am very serious; if your only action right now is simply being, then why are you doing it at all? 

Most people aren’t at that level. Most aren’t total NEETs, (Not in Education, Employment or Training), they’re just spiritual NEETs. There is a minimum level that can be maintained. You can just work and come home and play video games or watch tv. Sure, you aren’t going to attract the best woman doing that, but there are lots of tard-wives out there so you’ll probably find something to mate with. Hell, pick up a weed habit, or drink your days away. Or don’t, alcohol might make you feel something. Better to just be addicted- I MEAN use technology for 8 hours a day. Or don’t even do that, just maintain homeostasis and pick up a cute little hobby. Collect some Funko Pops. I mean do you have a source that says the bare minimum is somehow a bad thing?

No, I do not have a source that says that doing the bare minimum is a bad thing. There is no rationalist framework which would ever allow me to tell you that the bare minimum is somehow wrong. I would love to be one of these Whatifathist-minded mid-wits who thinks that the world simply won’t allow you to survive if you do the bare minimum, but that’s just not true. Although I do think we’re riding the tracks towards bad times, the rail line spans the continent and we’re still on the East coast. No collapse in our lifetimes folks, leave it for your kid’s kid’s kids.

To really get to the point, are men with what I suppose can be called vitality, (and please don’t read this as me advocating for some sort of “vitalist” ideology), even needed anymore? Warfare is growing more technological by the day, so the most real profession is dying. Vitality and ambition are important for economic growth, sure, but the economy will survive without it. After all, women can be CEOs, they’re just not quite as good at it.

There is not a single rational argument as to why you shouldn’t be Nietzche’’s “Last Man”.

The entire world is designed in a manner which directs you towards the bare minimum. The great leveling may not be over, but it’s damned close. Your default diet is poison, both for your body and mind. Your entire world is built around avoiding physical exertion. Almost all of us were raised primarily by our mothers, and then educated by women. All of your entertainment may as well be engineered to reduce ambition, (when it isn’t literally engineered for this purpose). Every source of dopamine under the sun is within arm’s reach for most of your day. And yet, if you’ve read this far, somehow it still isn’t awesome. Somehow, the magical fantasy land we live in isn’t all that great. Even for those who do the bare minimum, something is just off. Better to avoid reading too much into it, go watch a video with your favorite porn-star. After all, I can tell you porn causes depression, but I can’t give you a source to say why being in a slump is bad.

The truth is, I’m tired of arguing about why people should do more than the bare minimum in life. I feel like I shouldn’t have to, but whenever I forget that there are those who exist like this, someone will give me a moralistic argument about why they shouldn’t be expected to exceed the standard. And y’know what? They’re right. I shouldn’t expect anyone to exceed the bare minimum if I can’t produce a single rational argument about why they should. I mean, I don’t even have one single source.

Despite my lack of sources and data, I hold these truths to be self-evident. For me, mere life is meaningless. If your mind is naturally oriented towards something higher, you should strive for it. If not, then you and I will never really be able to understand one-another. I’m surprised you’ve made it this far in the essay. You are welcome to stop here, as the rest will likely be incomprehensible.

So what is one to make of all of this? Firstly, we exist in a world of unambition, one which actively detests ambition in fact. Secondly, we exist in an ambitious state. This keeps us in a constant world of contradiction, one which is best eliminated.

This brings me to the title of this essay. The primary thing limiting you from being more, or rather, more being, is surrounding yourself with influences which occupy time and energy needlessly. For example, how likely are you to remain fit if you fill your kitchen cabinets with processed cheesy crackers? More to the point, associations change one’s personality. There’s an old adage that your personality is a combination of the seven people you associate with the most, and while it isn’t exactly true, it’s true enough to convey the gist. Therefore, one’s ability to rise above the bare minimum will always be hampered by friends who just want you to come over and smoke a bowl, or hang out on “Discord” and play video games for a few days straight. Why read a book man, boooooooring, let’s play another video game with the same class system, quest lines and boss fights as every other video game of its genre. You will never be able to solve the contradiction that I mentioned above if you are constantly surrounded by these kinds of people.

The truth is, you’ll probably never be surrounded by people with ambition, they’re just a rare breed. If you’re like me, that was a hard reality to accept growing up. Personally, I surrounded myself with losers for years because I didn’t realize that being alone wasn’t so bad after all. Despite being surrounded by friends, I was miserable. The worst kind of loneliness is being surrounded by people whom you can’t relate to. These kinds of people will drag you down.

In reality, being alone isn’t so bad. I don’t mean romantically, (young men are too obsessed with romance and women, Hallmark is a scam), I mean in terms of male friendships. The best scenario is to have a small group of friends who are as close as brothers, but failing this, it is better to be isolated than to waste your time with losers. To be clear, there is always such a thing as a casual associate, but it’s important that you don’t treat them with more importance than they deserve. 

Therefore I can only recommend one course of action: detach yourself from old friends who have become nothing. If you have a friend past 25 and they’ve never held a relationship down, bad sign. If you have friends who play video games to excess, it's a bad sign. Weed smoker, bad sign. Fat? Bad sign. Take these things seriously, America’s human capital is slop. Best not to be dragged down by it. 

I cannot give you a rational argument as to why you shouldn’t be the Last Man, or waste your time with him, I simply know it. If you don’t, that is no longer my problem.