I recently returned to the US from a trip to Latin America. I go every few years, and it always opens my eyes a little bit to my own situation in the First World West.

Americans in general talk a good deal about social justice, usually from a place of how it personally affects us (or how we think it affects us). Whether it's MRA or Feminists or Occupy or something else, we complain without recognizing just how good we have it. This does not dismiss legitimate issues, of course, but a quick trip to see well-to-do tourists dicker with impoverished street vendors provides a quick lesson in class stratification, and a drive through the shantytowns surrounding any major city south of Texas will refresh one's appreciation for basic infrastructure.

And if you have ever wanted to see the carousel on display, just check out the American party scene in Mexico. Relatively rich (or living on credit), young, drunk and entitled, these nymphomaniacal princesses put on miles fast. Many return home to boyfriends who will be none the wiser. Certainly none of them will brag to their Beta Bux suitors of their triple-team exploits in Cancun when the Wall approaches.

As with every other market, the greatest profits in the SMP are shared by the wealthy few. The scraps are fought over by the rest.

I see these injustices and the conclusion I come to is a kind of resigned hopelessness. It's just too fucking big for one person.

The Red Pill means many things to many people, often aligning with their own viewpoints. Some come here and claim that TRP is Objectivist, while others claim that it is Marxist. Within the same thread, I have seen Christianity held up as the ultimate in Red Pill philosophy and the worst of Blue Pill dogma. All of these arguments have merits! But that is because the Red Pill is really none of these things.

If there is any political philosophy that ties to TRP, it would be Realpolitik. Realpolitik is simply the art of recognizing the world for what it is, rather than what we would like it to be, and acting pragmatically based on the realities of one's own situation.

Like it or not, the world is unfair. Nowhere is this more evident than in sexual relationships, where in my younger years I used to lament that "there is no justice in this world" when seeing a hottie ride around with Tattooey McNosepierce in his busted up Oldsmobile. It serves no purpose to delude ourselves otherwise, and it rarely helps to rage about it.

The biggest lie we tell ourselves as a society is that Love is pure and overcomes all obstacles. Where TV has replaced the church in this role, we are indoctrinated with Oneitis - that enough effort and affection will be returned with lifelong happiness. Yet I challenge any man to say that he hasn't been burned by his affection (and his desire for affection), or become despondent or angry at being rejected or betrayed by a girl.

Who here has never sworn off women as more trouble than they are worth?

This is our first encounter with the cognitive dissonance that makes up the Blue Pill. We are promised happiness in return for our effort, and when that bears rotten fruit we feel betrayed. That anger, without understanding, is dangerous.

The movie Fight Club is talked about quite a bit in this sub. Aside from the fact that we are breaking the first and second rules, there is another Ed Norton movie that is in many ways is more powerful, but gets less attention because of it's controversial subject matter. Without giving spoilers, American History X is about an idealistic neo-Nazi faced with the fact that the world is more complicated and nuanced that he was led to believe. He grows up in a poor and dangerous neighborhood, and his elders simplistically blame the "others" for their troubles. Joining a gang, he becomes a figurehead in his community, drunk on the adoration of his peers and the rush of confrontation with the "enemy". Eventually, however, he sees the man behind the curtain; as with all such movements, it has little to do with morality and everything to do with power. He is then violently brought to heel when he calls out hypocrisy to it's face.

At his lowest moment, the main character's mentor asks him a simple question:

"Has anything you've done made your life better?"

Another lie we like to tell ourselves is that we as individuals can make a difference. This was the hardest of my youthful ideals to let go.

It is easy to see wrongs in the world, make assumptions about their causes and say "This is how it should be." In fact, there are many organizations ready to take up the energies of a young man who feels the need to right wrongs. Armies, religions, political and social justice movements - all standing by with a broad array of solutions for whatever you think ails society.

You can rage against the machine and stand in the street and get gassed by the police for your efforts, but in the end, who benefits?

The answer is: probably not you.

This is what separates TRP from MRA and other political or religious ideologies. TRP proposes no solutions; it only tries to lay bare the truths of manhood and masculinity in the modern age. There is no "Red Pill Movement" - only men talking uncensored to other men. Ironically, this is what makes it as disruptive as it is.

My own first encounter with TRP was about three years ago in an article where a man asked a very simple question: all things being equal, why do women get the kids and house in a divorce and the man has to support her lifestyle? Why don't men ever get the kids and house and the woman have to support him?

A few months later, another article with another question: why "women and children first?" In a post tribal society, what makes a man's life worth less than others?

These were givens in my old world, but once put to the question I never stopped thinking about them. Did I do anything about the social implications of these issues? No. But the questions themselves, and the fundamental hypocrisy it exposed, changed my mind forever.

Indeed, this is the very idea that gives me hope: that men will continue to encounter these thoughts in the wild and question the axioms they have been living by their entire lives. They think, then they talk, and thus become beacons of rational thought to the other men in our lives.

The Red Pill is hard to swallow. There is wisdom here; hard, stark wisdom. What you do with it is up to you, but try not to stay angry, and don't be too quick to blame one thing or another as the source of your ills. Most importantly, recognize that you can't really fix things - the world is big, and it takes a lot to move it. Rather, ask yourself what you can do to make your life better using this wisdom.

You can't do much to change society, but when it comes to changing your own life, you are very, very powerful.

What better cause to take up than your own?

Good luck, brothers.