Wait. Who’s in love with you? I am.

What? My orientation happens to be autosexual.

What do you mean? Like a sexy robot? No, not like a sexy robot.

Or does it mean you get aroused by cars, like Jeremy Clarkson? It means that I am sexually attracted to myself.

How does that even work? Well, I usually start by lighting a few candles and checking I’ve got fresh batteries. Then …

Stop. If you’re talking about masturbation, everybody does that. I hear. Autosexuality is different from autoeroticism. It’s more about masturbating to the idea of yourself.

I’m afraid the distinction is lost on me. You might, for example, be turned on by your own nudity. In my case I’m also autoromantic – I literally love myself.

What are you talking about? I mean I get butterflies in my stomach when I think about me.

I'm bringing up an article from five years ago today because, despite the oddity of this article, I don't think it's entirely off base. We live in an age where the love of the self is extreme to the point of it being an unspoken plague. 

However, we don't need to call it "auto" anything. This condition has been around for so long that it's literally named after a Greek god. We call this narcissism. 

In Greek mythology, Narcissus is so beautiful that he's recognized as such by both sexes and he rejects every advance until one day he finds the love of his life...his own reflection in a pool of water. He pined away and died. 

Fitting, because I see that happening to too many people in Western culture. 

We live in a very "me" focused culture. Self-care, self-help, and "me time" are pushed incessantly, and every app and social media website is personalized and algorithmically catered to your tastes, interests, and sensibilities. The rise of "anxiety" has people turning their attention inward and retreating further into themselves.

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Moreover, there's not a lot of commitment going on - and I don't just mean in relationships, which also don't exactly encourage long-term loyalty. Today's job market requires a different approach than the previous generations. Loyalty is no longer rewarded and now, in order to climb the ladder, you jump from company to company, accepting higher pay and higher titles every time. There's no real desire to help improve the place you work at, just do a good job to prove your own worth and notify the next company that you've got what it takes to be higher up on the food chain. 

Everything in our society is geared toward focusing on the self. 

And it's created something of a hollow existence. If you were to go onto social media sites like Instagram or TikTok right now, you might notice a swath of people (mostly women) who are sadly feeling unfulfilled. A subsection of them finally figured it out after a time. 

They realize they wasted years on themselves, chasing the perfect job and "living their best life" that one day they looked up and realized life passed them by. As one scientist put it in a very sad Christmas post on social media, she had published a myriad of papers and scholarly studies, but her friends had pictures of their children and grandchildren. Her life was cold and lonely and she regretted not being more focused on what really mattered.

What's the solution? 

From where I sit, and from personal experience, we need to return to promoting the nuclear family. 

Before I got married life was easy, but it was also aimless. I could do what I wanted, when I wanted, and had all the time in the world to engage in a million different experiences. But no matter how much I did things to fill my time, none of it was truly fulfilling. Even after my wife and I got married, all the travel, foodie experiences, and free time didn't really fill the gap. 

It wasn't until my son came along that I understood why that itch for life wasn't fully scratched. I didn't notice it for months thanks to the hardships that come along with having your first child, but when it hit me, it hit me like a freight train. 

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I'd never been more tired and stressed but I'd also never felt more fulfilled and purposeful. My son forced me to turn my attention outward and away from myself. Suddenly, the things life threw at me didn't bother me as much. Even my wife felt much of her anxieties minimize themselves as our son and the health and well-being of our family became our central focus. 

The nuclear family is a chain breaker for narcissism - if you allow it to be - because it forces you to consider others and not just your personal happiness. In fact, in a healthy environment, you'll actually find yourself putting your own happiness somewhere in the back. This oddly provides you with a happiness that is deeper and more wholesome. 

Left to my own devices I would probably do anything other than walk to the park to amuse myself but seeing the look on my son's face when he realizes he's gonna go on the swing creates a feeling of satisfaction that no hobby can give. 

There's a reason the left has targeted the nuclear family for destruction. Selfishness is a very useful tool when it comes to convincing someone to vote for something or create division. It allows for easy distractions and temptations for indulgences, just to name a few. 

But a nuclear family does something to your mentality. You begin focusing on your immediate surroundings more. The amount of money you spend becomes a bit more scrutinized. As your child grows older you start to look around at your community and school systems. You begin to notice the state of things and how they affect your family. 

And Democrats really don't like it when you notice things.