By the time I was 17—this was 2007—the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were still going on, and the military was very much an option. In a town like mine, there were really only two ways out: you either went off to college or you joined the military. For me, that started to feel like the only real path. I was an unfocused, immature kid. Congressman Crenshaw: I’m going to quote you here: “The natural state of young males is apathy, self-indulgence, and laziness.” Is that true? I think we're seeing that now. If you look at a lot of young guys today—what are they doing? A lot of dab pens, sports gambling apps, video games.