[PIF]

Fixed it.
—
Not really because you crossed out the point, changing the sentence to something not meant. Its not about serving in the military, its about how does a boy know he is a man.

[central_va]

What BS. The party line is all of a sudden young men are too fat, dumb and lazy to serve in the military. CYA poppy cock. The real reason is that the DOD WENT WOKE and no normal person wants to enlist for that sh!tshow.

[Billthedrill]

The problem you're describing is very real indeed. Male Rites of Passage (and associated physical hardship, even if contrived) have been recognized as necessary by many more cultures than the modern Western one, the latter having discarded them for reasons that are not altogether clear. That these are that universal suggests a fundamental need that is a bit more than a social construct. And the evidence you offer is very clear to those of us who have gone, say, to Boot Camp and emerged another person, and to the many in our former lives who noticed the difference afterward.

High school graduation served as a substitute in a society where it was the last step in structured childhood for most. Why that is no longer the case is a bit of a mystery, although it may be no more complicated than that people have ceased to treat it that way, or perhaps it's the reverse. Still trying to wrap my head around that one, maybe it's a little of both.