Friday Funnies: The Turducken Dance

It may sound like a small gripe, but when did looking like you do not care become the norm? What is even more striking is who it shows up in. Young, single women. The group that, not long ago, took pride in presenting themselves well. Now you see the opposite. Little attention to appearance, little attention to health, little evidence of discipline in how they care for their own bodies. Poor diet, no exercise, and an overall posture of disengagement. It gets dismissed as rebellion or some cultural statement. I do not buy that. What I see, as a woman, is something much simpler. It is easier to give up than to do the work. Easier to opt out than to invest in yourself. Then comes the next step. Blame men for not measuring up. Raise standards while lowering effort. Walk away from dating. Walk away from marriage. Convince yourself you do not need a family. Replace it with a tight circle of friends and a pet or two for companionship. And call that independence. It is not independence. It is retreat. And it is profoundly sad. What used to be called indulgence has been rebranded in softer language. Permissive parenting. Gentle parenting. Soft parenting. The labels sound thoughtful, even compassionate. The outcomes tell a different story. Expectations lowered. Boundaries blurred. Rewards handed out with little connection to effort or achievement. Whether it is children or even pets, the impulse to placate has replaced the responsibility to teach. Across homes and classrooms, a cultural shift has taken hold. Comfort is prioritized over discipline. Validation is handed out in place of accountability. Standards that once prepared young people to function in the real world have been quietly dismantled. We now have a generation of young adults for whom an easy A is the norm. Not earned through mastery, but granted for showing up. Participation, not preparation. Presence, not performance. At the same time, they are being told a story. From social media, from peers, and too often from the adults around them. That being unwell confers status. That victimhood brings recognition. That hard work is for those who failed to game the system. That society owes them. Not just opportunity, but outcomes. Resources, money, subsidized housing, endless concessions. The able-bodied are told their role is to provide, not to build. To redistribute, not to create. This is not the old “me” generation. This is something different. A worldview that assigns moral authority to grievance and treats dependency as virtue. The result is predictable. Young adults who are unprepared for the demands of real life. Unprepared for responsibility, for resilience, for the basic discipline required to sustain a career, a relationship, or a family. And deep down, many of them know it. Because opting out is easier. Easier to lean into anxiety, depression, or disengagement than to confront difficulty. Easier to remain on the couch than to step into a world that demands effort. For many, especially young women, the consequences are already visible. Delayed families. Fragile relationships. Metabolic disease. Careers that never quite launch. This did not happen by accident. It traces back to parenting. To the choices made, repeated, and normalized over years. Perhaps this generation will recognize what was lost and choose differently when it is their turn. Perhaps they will rediscover the value of discipline, responsibility, and earned success. Have a great weekend everyone! JGM