KevinChilds.com

I’ll go ahead and tell you that I stole the title to this little rant from an excellent book.  There’s a website too if you’re interested in knowing more about the subject.  And if you want my $.02 worth on one of the best “manhood” books, try this one.  Dang, I didn’t mean to start “the show” with a bunch of commercials.  So here’s the dizzle:

I am becoming increasingly convinced that there’s some kind of cultural conspiracy to de-masculinize boys.  First there was the lunacy creeping up from the 60’s and 70’s that “there’s no difference between males and females.”  Really?  Then, ma’am, with all due respect, go pee on a tree while standing 3 feet from it.  What?  Yeah, that’s what I thought.  No matter how literally you take the Genesis account of Creation, here’s part of it that’s pretty darn persuasive:  “He created them male and female.” The plumbing is different.   The brain function is different.  Boys are boys.

Once upon a time, my wife’s friend convinced her to get rid of all toys for boys that encouraged violence.  So she got rid of all the plastic toy guns.  Wanna guess?  Yep, my boys made guns out of everything you can imagine.  Legos fit together as pistols.  Half a broomstick = rifle and/or sword.  They even broke apart old sports trophies and “weaponized” them.

I know public schools have their hands full. Our county grieves today for the horrible tragedy of a resource officer forced to fatally shoot a student.  But it seems like the goal at school is to make sure boys are docile, passive,well-medicated inmates who sit still and listen.  And sit still and listen.  And sit still and listen.  And never, EVER act like … well, boys.  Mine got a referral and detention this week for sliding down a stair-rail.  Gasp!  Last week some of my Middle School football players were “detained” after school for playing in a stairwell.

I’ll just go ahead and say it: The world is screwed up, and one of the screwiest current things is the cultural emasculation of boys.  They need major motor movement.   They need opportunities to burp, and scratch, and fart, and poke their chests out, and compare armpit hair, and  laugh loudly.  They need opportunities to socialize as emerging MEN.  They need to flirt with girls, learn how to pursue and respect girls, stare down (and even beat down) bullies, and carve out identities as men.   They need some folks to tell them that God made them to be M-E-N.

That isn’t popular in some quarters.  Some believe children have to “learn” the differences and aren’t born with any.  And boys should take dance, and never fight back, and only play with gender-neutral non-”violent” toys, and sit still all the time.   Do me a favor.  Go Google yourself some research on how the latest generation of boys raised that way are doing with things like:  staying married, raising their own children, displaying valor  … honor … selflessness … masculinity.

Yeah, that’s what I thought.