Well, they are gone, and here must I remain,
“This Lime-Tree Bower My Prison”
This lime-tree bower my prison! I have lost
Beauties and feelings, such as would have been
Most sweet to my remembrance even when age
Had dimm’d mine eyes to blindness! They, meanwhile,
Friends, whom I never more may meet again,
On springy heath, along the hill-top edge,
Wander in gladness, and wind down, perchance,
To that still roaring dell, of which I told…
Modernity certainly is a lonely prison. According to YouGov, millennials are the loneliest generation in America. The report doesn’t take into account our isolated and exiled grandparents and great-grandparents rotting in dually expensive and incompetent nursing homes. I’d wager they’re pretty lonely, too. Evidently, all the social media validation in the world isn’t comparable to genuine friendship and community.
The poll of 1,254 adults, aged 18 and older, found that 27% of millennials have no close friends, 25% have no “acquaintances” and 22% (or 1 in 5) have no casual friends at all. This compares with 9% of Boomers and 15% of Gen Xers who reported having zero friends. Also, a third of the 20- and 30-somethings reported feeling lonely frequently or always, compared with 20% of Gen Xers and 15% of Boomers.
In an unsurprising sociological study, a large percentage of the Empire’s citizenry report having shrinking personal networks and fewer relationships. The average Weimerican has only one close confidant (probably for good reason – confidants report you to the thoughtpolice), the same study revealed. And, the leading reason people seek counseling is loneliness. Another study has found that in these United States, adult, white, heterosexual men have the fewest friends of all groups. Furthermore, loneliness among men is thought to be a contributing factor to their higher suicide rates today. Add in that they’re almost universally despised in the approved meta-culture and you’ve got a rather nasty recipe for civilization decline.
Another study reports that more than three in five Americans are lonely, with more and more people reporting feeling like they are isolated, poorly understood and lacking companionship. Corporate workplace culture, which replaced an authentic culture and community, has contributed to our collective loneliness. The report, led by the mega conglomerate Cigna, found a nearly 13% rise in loneliness since 2018. Trends are, generally speaking, effective predictors. And, this is a nightmarish omen for a functional society, but understandable for a dysfunctional one.
Loneliness doesn’t manifest itself out of thin air, nothing works that way. It derives from several conditions and environments that produce such an outcome. In modernity, we no longer have family, real friends, and a place to belong. When you transform your natural community to a commons of alienated strangers, you will feel alone. Now, we have a current plague (a gift of globalism and the Chicoms), mandatory social distancing, a culture war on the past, opioid deaths, forever wars, massive consumer debt, and an artificial, fragile nation.
First comes the loneliness. Then, the despair follows.
Look to your people. No one else will.
Deo Vindice.
The man who never was.
