Support Men's Mental Health Awareness Month—Don't Send Them to War for Starters!
By Cyan Quinn
It’s either darkly ironic or particularly poignant that the U.S. is considering sending its sons to war in the Middle East (again) during Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month.
We lost our last two interventionist wars. 2,459 Americans died in Afghanistan. 4,422 Americans died in Iraq. Over 53,000 were wounded. And over 800,000 have some form of disability.
Americans don’t want this war. According to a YouGov poll released on Tuesday, only 16% support U.S. involvement. Even among Republicans, the number is only slightly higher at 23%. But United States Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee is convinced that your opinion doesn’t matter and that God will tell Trump to join the war on Iran.
White males and their families will suffer the most.
The American military is currently 68.8% White. 84% of all enlisted Navy SEALs and Special Forces are White, while 95% of SEAL and combatant-craft crew officers are White. 72% of the Air Force is White. 77 – 81% of Explosive Ordinance Disposal (bomb disposal) technicians are White males.
Meanwhile, the Western world is failing to take care of its men at home too.
White males who make up 31% of the population account for almost 70% of suicides in America —nearly 4 times the rate of women.
In the UK, 74% of suicides are men. Whites made up 95% of those suicide deaths. Most of these men are between 40-50 and have difficulty with employment or are separated or divorced.
Also in the UK, 77% of men have suffered with symptoms of common mental health conditions such as anxiety, stress, or depression yet 40% of men have never talked about their mental health to anyone.
These don’t have to be simple grim statistics. We can actively create a policy environment that encourages male happiness by celebrating healthy masculinity and family formation.
1. Start by prioritizing the 8.5 million prime working-age White men who are currently unemployed, under-employed, or not otherwise in the labor force. Preference should be given to men in policing, firefighting, and search and rescue. Female officers are regularly unable to control male suspects as women have barely 50% of the upper body strength and 60% of the lower body strength of men. This isn’t only a matter of effectiveness and security, but women want this too. Despite decades of she-can-do-it propaganda for girls, a 2022 study found protective men have much higher desirability in the eyes of women. She can do it, but only if she has to.
2. Restore all-male social spaces. According to the Survey Center on American Life, in 1990, 55% of men could claim six or more close friends. Only 3% said they had no friends. Now, only 27% of men say they have six or more close friends and a shocking 15% claim no close friends.
Relating to the former statistic, networking through friendship and civic groups is the most important factor in job-hunting. Yet men’s spaces are dwindling. For example, the Boy Scouts of America allowed girls to join in 2018 and then lost half its membership between 2019 – 2021.
3. Encourage marriage and fertility. Married men are healthier both mentally and physically than unmarried men. Married men survive twice as long when they have debilitating diseases and earn significantly more than unmarried men. This works well for women too. Married mothers report the highest life satisfaction as of 2020. Lastly, understanding fertility should be a mandatory part of sex education. 1 in 5 American women are unaware that age affects their fertility. According to the National Survey of Family Growth 1 in 7 women in the U.S. have trouble getting pregnant or sustaining a pregnancy.
4. Promote a breadwinner economy through remigration. Masculine men want jobs—more importantly jobs that sustain a family. Both men and women still prefer men to be the “breadwinners” in marriage. According to a 2019 study by Dr. Joanna Sydra, male stress levels rise if their female partner earns more than 40% of the household income. Women want men who have jobs that can support them and their children. 56% of women with children would prefer to be stay-at-home mothers. The best way to do this immediately is through remigration. Immigration dramatically depresses wages of the native-born and since 1980, eviscerated the middle class. We can start restoring living wage jobs by reversing the trend.
A nation is only as strong as its families, and strong men make strong families. As a civilization, we should cherish them as they cherish us. Avoid unnecessary wars, prioritize their employment, encourage marriage, and celebrate masculinity.
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