In my video chat with my friends (a bunch of dudes in mid 20s to early 30s) this week, a friend show off his collection of books he read over the past year. A total of 31 books from scifi novels, literary classics, political theory, outdoors/nature books, and car maintenance. Which got use discussing how we'd all probably "should" (I mean this in the least reactionary way possible) read more. We then started discussing other things we all "should" and things we all "should" know as men. Then we all kinda circled back to so much of the "man-o-sphere" is like half a step away from some real regressive and slimeball mindsets across the spectrum. Then we on to our evening gaming session (we are getting back into RTS and played 2v2 sets of Dawn of War, we are all very bad at the game).
However, it got me thinking that there is probably some value in me knowing how fix the sink or whatever. One friend mentioned he'd love to learn and do more, but everything is so cheap so much is meant to be replaced, it doesn't make sense to learn how to maintain them. Personally I find the idea of self-sufficiency (in the least "rugged man/classical masculinity" online cosplay-y way possible) to be dope, but I find that trying to learn that sort of stuff brings you into proximity of lots of nasty ideology.
Personally I think it's rad a working-class guy like my friend has time to be so well-read and manages to find time for "bettering" (again, I find this wordage to be a bit lib-y in the sense it's often used to make oneself more marketable or whatever) himself without falling into a "12 Rules For Life" sorta trap. I'd love to improve my "manliness" but would like to do so without all the toxicity of the antiquated archetypical stuff.
Sorry this doesn't make a ton of sense. Typing on my lunch break. My question, I guess, is what are some "traditional" values you think are worth "returning to" without the gross underlying traits that make them quickly turn conservative nonsense.
Short answer, "no, probably not."
Longer answer... cultures change over time. For better or worse. So as the present moves farther and farther away from the past we can take what we want from those yesterdays and bring them with us until they aren't useful anymore. And there will always (probably) be people who will fetishize something about the past and create an identity it.
The closest thing i can think of, which probably isn't actually a traditional value, is just teaching what you know to others around you. My dad drove semi-trucks for most of his life so he probably knew a thing or two about vehicle maintenance, but made zero effort to teach me any of it. My mom was really good with doing budgeting and stuff, but made no effort to teach me any of that growing up.
Both of them seemed to assume either 1) I wouldn't need to know it or 2) somebody else would teach me how. Turns out both of those assumptions are wrong.