In respect of the modern dating environment - which appears not to be "dating" at all, as it was once universally understood - I am happy to be old and married for nearly 35 years to a kind woman who loves me.
I have heard stories in recent days from male relatives and acquaintances about the challenges of postmodern courtship (how quaint that word now sounds), and find it baffling and amusing.
Baffling, because most human beings are hard-wired to seek out personal, emotional and sexual connections with others. Amusing, because what used to be a dance between the sexes now plays out more like a tiptoed entry into a tactical minefield.
When approaching young women these days, the young men I have spoken with seem to require skills other than what was once the traditional formula for success in finding a mate: confidence, verbal facility, a sense of humor, and a genuine interest in the person with whom one is engaging.
Now, a man appears to need the skill set of a Spy who has been inserted behind enemy lines for the purpose of false-flag recruitment.
In this respect, one requires the ability to speak a foreign language (in this case, woke progressivism) without the tell-tale trace of a "foreign" (conservative) accent, whilst pretending to share the opinions and interests of the target, gradually constructing a narrative and gaining their confidence through incremental efforts, until pretense becomes reality.
No, thanks. I much preferred the honest world of smoky bars and the backseats of cars, where immovable mutual attraction met the unstoppable forces of nature.
