The culture wars are a dumpster fire—can ancient wisdom put it out?

Renaissance 2.0: Reclaiming wisdom with a side of sass

Oh, Modernism. The rebellious teenager of intellectual movements. One minute, humanity is chilling in its cozy little cottage of tradition, faith, and shared purpose, and the next—boom—Existentialism kicks down the door, Postmodernism flicks a cigarette, and Progressivism redecorates with abstract art that nobody understands. Suddenly, everyone’s all about me, myself, and I, as if the universe is just a really long Instagram reel waiting for a personal brand refresh.

Sure, it had its perks. Breaking free from outdated social constraints? A win. Personal freedom and self-expression? Love that for us. But somewhere along the way, humility got ghosted. The sacred? Left on read. The greater good? Yeah, nobody’s texting back.

Instead, Modernism handed us the gospel of The Self: the autonomous, self-defining, world-building protagonist of their own story. Except—plot twist—the more people obsessed over crafting their identities in isolation, the lonelier and more fragmented they became. Validation became the new oxygen, and without enough of it, people started gasping for meaning in all the wrong places—Twitter fights, self-help books by sleazy authors, ironic tattoos about nihilism.

And what happened to community, shared values, and transcendence? Oh, those were just oppressive relics of the past, obviously. But funny thing—when you bulldoze the structures that made life meaningful, you don’t end up with utopia. You get a whole lot of wandering souls with Wi-Fi connections and existential dread.

Enter the case for a Neo-Classical revival—because maybe, just maybe, human flourishing requires more than just unlimited self-expression and an identity built on vibes. Maybe meaning isn’t something you construct like a mood board but something you discover through wisdom, virtue, and, dare I say, a little humility. Instead of endlessly reinventing the self, why not root it in something deeper, something timeless? Tradition. Truth. The divine. Or at the very least, a worldview that doesn’t collapse the minute TikTok goes dark.

The cultural comeback tour is bringing back purpose, order, and virtue. Imagine a society where people aren’t just winging it based on vibes and trending ideologies but actually rooting themselves in something… I don’t know… real? Grounded? Timeless? Stay with me.

Personal Character:

Remember virtues? Those little things like courage, temperance, wisdom, and justice (not vengeance)? Yeah, we’re bringing those back. But not in a preachy, finger-wagging way—more like a disciplined, yet spiritually open embrace of being an actual good person. Think a fusion of classical ideals with a willingness to be humbled by something bigger than yourself. Less “I’m manifesting my destiny” and more “I’m aligning myself with higher truth.”

Society & Culture:

No more intellectual fast food. We’re reviving the cultural heavyweights—classical Greece, Rome, Renaissance humanism—the eras that gave us philosophy, stunning art, and civic virtue instead of nihilistic hot takes and obnoxious reality TV. This isn’t about nostalgia for togas; it’s about fostering a culture that values beauty, intellect, and duty—not as indulgences, but as anchors for a society that doesn’t want to collapse every time the next ideological fad rolls through.

Institutions:

Enough with the bureaucratic circus. Let’s talk about institutions built on actual principles—natural law, ordered liberty, and a little thing called accountability. We’re talking the best of the Roman Republic, the early American system, and other models where power wasn’t just a playground for whoever shouts the loudest. And no, this isn’t some Luddite rejection of progress—it’s a rejection of dumb progress. The kind that prioritizes empty technological advancements and unchecked social engineering over actual human flourishing.

Divine Inspiration (Optional, But Highly Recommended):

Now, for those who like their truth with a side of the sacred—this framework leaves room for divine revelation. Whether it’s the wisdom of the Christian tradition, the insights of Eastern spirituality, or just the basic acknowledgment that maybe, just maybe, there’s something higher than our own egos—this movement welcomes those seeking transformation beyond the material.

Modernity has left a lot of people feeling adrift—disillusioned by a culture that prizes self-obsession over wisdom, fleeting trends over timeless truths. This is the alternative. A recalibration. A revival of what makes life actually meaningful. Not just a moral compass, but a practical roadmap for people who are tired of the chaos and ready to build something that lasts.

What happens when you embrace this philosophy:

You take off the ego lens

Imagine you’ve been wearing a pair of smudged-up, Instagram-filtered glasses your whole life, and suddenly someone hands you Windex and says, “Hey, maybe see the world for what it actually is?” That’s what happens when you ditch the ego. Your brain stops spinning everything into a story about you—how you look, what people think, whether that barista at Starbucks secretly hates you. Turns out, not everything is about you. Mind blown. Once you get the hang of it, you start noticing how other people are still trapped in their own delusions, and honestly, it’s kind of adorable.

You let go of validation

Seeking validation is like being a dog that’s been trained to expect a treat every time it does something. But when you stop expecting those metaphorical Milk-Bones of approval? Game changer. Suddenly, you’re free. Other people, however, are still chasing belly rubs and Instagram likes like their souls depend on it. You’ll start to see them like kids at a school talent show, desperately looking to the audience for applause, while you’re just over here vibing, fully aware that you don’t need to juggle for anyone.

You practice deep self-awareness and reflection

This is the part where you look in the mirror and actually see yourself instead of just a carefully curated brand. You recognize your own nonsense, laugh at it, and move on. Meanwhile, people still stuck in their ego are like those reality show contestants who genuinely believe they’re the victim of every situation. (“No, Brittany, it’s not that everyone is jealous of you. You just suck.”) Once you step out of that mindset, other people’s blind spots become painfully obvious—and if you’re feeling generous, kind of forgivable.

You focus on emotional surrender

Letting go of control is wild because guess what? You never really had it in the first place. But the ego loves to whisper sweet nothings like, “If you just say this in the group chat, they’ll totally change their mind.” Buuut…they won’t. Once you drop the illusion of control, you develop emotional intelligence, which is just a fancy way of saying you can see when someone is spiraling and you no longer feel the need to ride the chaos wave with them. Other people, however, will continue flailing around like inflatable tube men outside a car dealership.

You break free from social norms

You stop caring about things like status, designer labels, and what your LinkedIn bio says. (Did you really optimize your job title to sound fancier? That’s cute.) When you step outside the hamster wheel of materialism and hustle culture, you start to see it for what it is: a bunch of people frantically tap-dancing for approval from an audience that’s mostly checked out. Meanwhile, you’re over here, barefoot in the grass, like some sort of Zen monk, realizing that all the stuff people chase doesn’t actually matter.

You see growth in compassion and patience

Turns out, when you stop needing to be the smartest or the most impressive person in the room, you suddenly develop this weird superpower called listening. You no longer feel the urge to dunk on people in arguments just to win, and instead, you just... let them be wrong. It’s honestly liberating. But at the same time, it makes egotistical behavior so much more obvious. Watching people bicker over whose opinion is superior starts to feel like watching two seagulls fight over a French fry—you get it, but you also kinda want to throw another fry just to see what happens.

You find clarity of purpose

Without the ego screaming at you to prove yourself, you actually have the mental bandwidth to ask, “What do I actually want to do with my time here on Earth?” And wouldn’t you know it—turns out, a lot of what you thought you wanted was just stuff you were conditioned to want. Suddenly, while everyone else is playing some never-ending game of “Who’s More Important?” you’re out here doing things that actually make your soul feel good. And not in a performative “look how enlightened I am” way—just in a real, quiet, deeply satisfying way.

tl;dr:

Dropping your ego is like finally escaping a bad reality show you didn’t even know you were on. The more you step out of the drama, the more you see how ridiculous it all was in the first place. And while everyone else is still out here desperately auditioning for a lead role in The Validation Olympics, you’re just living. Free, unbothered, and possibly even a little amused.