We Lost America When We Traded Marlboro Reds for Strawberry Cheesecake Vapes

Once upon a time, America was a nation of rugged individualists—men and women who built this country with their own two hands. These were people who knew that freedom wasn’t something handed to you; it was something earned through blood, sweat, and tears. They didn’t ask for permission to live their lives. They didn’t wait around for handouts. They smoked Marlboro Reds because they knew life was tough—and they were tougher. But somewhere along the way, we lost that spirit. We traded in our Marlboro Reds for strawberry cheesecake vapes, and with that trade, we lost our grit, our individuality, and our very identity as Americans.

Let’s be clear: this isn’t about smoking. It’s about what it represents. The Marlboro Red is more than just a cigarette; it’s a symbol of the rugged individualism that built this country. It’s for the man who knows life is hard and doesn’t expect it to be anything else. It’s for the woman who understands that freedom means taking risks, not playing it safe. It’s for every American who believes that the American Dream is something you chase, not something you’re handed.

Phillip G. Richardson: Real Estate Market Insights is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

But today? Today, we’ve become a nation of people who would rather vape strawberry cheesecake—because God forbid we should ever feel uncomfortable. We’ve traded the grit and determination of the Marlboro Man for the sweet, safe, and sanitized world of the nanny state. We’ve become a society that’s more concerned with avoiding discomfort than with embracing the challenges that make us stronger.

Think about what that says about us as a country.

Our ancestors didn’t shy away from hard work; they sought it out. They didn’t look for the easy way out; they looked for the toughest, most demanding path because they knew that’s where the real rewards were. They didn’t need a nanny state to coddle them or protect them from life’s challenges—they faced those challenges head-on, with courage and conviction. But today, we’ve traded all that in for a world where the most important thing is feeling “safe” and “comfortable.” We’re more interested in being taken care of than in taking care of ourselves.

Look at our education system.

There was a time when school was about challenging students, about pushing them to their limits so they could discover what they were truly capable of. But now? Now it’s about making sure nobody feels uncomfortable, that nobody’s “triggered,” that everyone gets a participation trophy. Safe spaces, trigger warnings, and lowered standards—this is what passes for education in America today. And what do we get for it? A generation that’s been coddled into submission, that’s afraid of adversity, that doesn’t know how to handle real challenges because they’ve never been asked to face any.

And it’s not just education. Look at our workforce. There was a time when Americans took pride in their work, when they understood that success was something you earned, not something you were entitled to. They worked long hours, not because it was easy, but because it was necessary. They didn’t need game rooms and nap pods to get through the day—they needed a job well done and the satisfaction of knowing they’d earned their paycheck. But now? Now we’re more concerned with making work “fun” and “comfortable” than with actually getting anything done. We’ve traded hard work for bean bags and game consoles, and we wonder why we’re falling behind.

Even our approach to fitness has been infected by this nanny state mentality.

There was a time when getting in shape meant pushing your body to its limits, when it was understood that strength came from struggle, that pain was just weakness leaving the body. But today? Today we’ve got fitness apps and gadgets that promise maximum results with minimal effort. We’ve turned exercise into another consumer product—something you can buy off the shelf, instead of something you earn through hard work and dedication. We’ve traded the sweat and struggle of the gym for the sanitized, air-conditioned comfort of the yoga studio.

And what about our entertainment?

The great American stories of the past were about struggle, about facing adversity and overcoming it. They were about real people dealing with real problems, about the triumph of the human spirit. But today, what do we have? We’ve got reality TV shows that offer us a fantasy version of life, where everything is scripted, where nothing is real, where the only thing that matters is who’s trending on Twitter. We’ve traded the grit and grime of the real world for the glittering, artificial world of Hollywood, and we wonder why we feel so empty.

This same mentality has even infected our politics.

There was a time when our leaders understood that the role of government was to protect our freedom, to create opportunities for us to succeed or fail on our own merits. But today, politicians promise us safety and comfort, cradle-to-grave care, and a nanny state that will take care of our every need. They tell us that we shouldn’t have to struggle, that the government will take care of everything. But here’s the truth they don’t want you to know: a nation that prioritizes safety over freedom isn’t free at all. It’s a nation of sheep, not of Marlboro Men.

Benjamin Franklin warned us about this when he said, “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” He knew that freedom isn’t free—that it requires sacrifice, courage, and yes, a little discomfort. But somewhere along the way, we forgot that. We started choosing the easy path, the comfortable path, and in doing so, we lost the very thing that made America great.

We lost America when we traded Marlboro Reds for strawberry cheesecake vapes.

But it’s not too late to turn things around. We can still reclaim our grit, our strength, our freedom. We can choose the hard path, the real path, the American path. Because that’s what it means to be an American—to face life’s challenges head-on, to embrace the struggle, and to emerge stronger on the other side.

It’s time to put down the vape pen, reject the nanny state, and start rebuilding the America we’ve lost—one tough choice at a time.

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