"I definitely agree with the core premise and that is that men who offer little compelling to women have to look no further than the mirror to understand why."

This truly is the core premise because it solves all the problems you mention (more below).

"I do think you understate a big problem which is that women with friends, cats, and vibrators aren't (at least at the societal level) happy women. 80% of the women who end up childless say that it was not *intentional*"

But are they unhappy? I think the research tends the other way."

Men are definitely trending in the wrong direction (at the societal level), but it could easily be argued from the data that neither are women."

We live in a diverse technological world. Men are screwing the pooch by turning conservative and dropping out of school. Women are putting themselves in a better position by doing the opposite.

"If you chase a narrative of success and get there to find yourself unhappy...did you chart the right course?"

That's a hard one. People don't like to be told they're on the wrong course by someone else. They have to find it themselves.

"What's undeniable is if they sought to be the men they hoped to marry, the data says they've succeeded. We've now got the problem of figuring out if what we're doing isn't resulting in happiness and is pushing us toward demographic decline, what should the new course be for both women and men. This one ain't it."

Back at the beginning, I mentioned the solution to all the problems. Because there is one: guys need to cowboy up and become the kind of men who succeed in the modern world instead of longing for the one gone by.

Nature tells us the truth, and it's that when the females of a species have preferences, males must adapt.

If I can address the younger generations for a moment: One of the things that drives me bonkers about this whole dustup is that young men act like they get to choose their mate. That's not how it works, boys. You be the best you that you can be and try to attract a woman. If you fail, then you have to change. Not her, not the apps, not society. You.

I wrote a comment the other day that I believe for every man, there is a woman somewhere who could love him. I got the response, "Yeah, an obese 3/10."

Hey, if we're going to chop women up into a 1-10 scale, then we do it to men as well. If you're a 3/10, that's what you should expect to find as a partner. If a single man won't consider women on the lower end of the attractiveness scale, then I think I know why he's single.