The Fight – Clear and Present Danger

I write about “The Fight” a good bit on this site.  I urge men everywhere to realize that we are in a battle for souls.  Most of the time, the battle is spiritual – fighting demons, spiritual unrest and concupiscence.  Sometimes, however, the battle is physical.  In this video, the persecution of Christians shows us that the battle is a clear and present danger.  The persecution of Christians in America is far from as brutal as these persecutions of Christians by Muslims in Nigeria, but still real.  In no way am I attempting to compare the two forms of persecution – clearly, the are different.  However, there’s nothing to say that they can’t become as real in America as they are in other parts of the world.

If you can’t view the video, click HERE for the link.

Men, we MUST first learn what it means to be a man, then jump into action!  We are called to action!  Without TrueMen who step up, lead and fight, mankind will continue to suffer.  We cannot sit around and wait for this sort of hatred to permeate our culture any more.  Step up and do something!  How, you ask?  How can I possibly help these poor, defenseless people in Africa?  Start at home, so that it doesn’t happen here.  I’ve been known to joke on occasion about a “Muslim Invasion”, that I want to be armed and ready to respond to this sort of thing.  It’s not funny any more.  How ready are you if this were to happy in the US?

A note about the traffic on my site: in February 2010, my site was visited by people living in 36 various foreign countries.  6 of those 36 countries were African countries.  This is more real for them than me.

In Response – Not the Point

I recently received a comment on one of my posts, “That Blue One’s the Boy One”.  The commentor, as you can read below in red, misses the point.

The color examples don’t make any sense. Attributing color to gender is arbitrary. It’s not an instinct. It’s learned. Before the 20th century, most babies were dressed in white because it could withstand hot washes. In the 1920’s in the US, pink was for boys and blue was for girls. Pink was considered a watered down shade of red, think blood and blue was considered dainty because it was the color of the sky and water. The French dressed girls in pink and the Germans dressed boys in pink. It’s meaningless. Think dresses are for girls?  Not in this country. Most boys wore dresses in the late 1800’s because fabric was scarce and they grew out of pants too quickly. As for your “men and women are different” arguments, the scientific research has shown that there are more within-group differences than between-group differences for men and women aside from a few physiological differences. The reason that there is a difference is because society has created different rules for different genders. From looking around your website, I guarantee what I am writing won’t make a difference and you probably won’t give it a second thought, but it goes against everything that we know about our society. This site seems to be a giant amalgamation of stereotypical and baseless opinions. It is well-designed though and the layout is phenomenal. I hope that some healthier examples of masculinity, fatherhood and mentoring make their way to your site in the future.

Allow me to respond to Jerrod.  First off, thanks for the comment.  Secondly, you’re missing the point in the first half of your comment.  It wasn’t about the color, which I clearly stated in my original post.  You bring up some other points that need clarification.

1. The “men and women argument” isn’t my argument.  I’m merely stating what others (namely, John Paul the Great; one of the greatest philosophers and peacemakers in human history) have already worked out extensively.  To say that there are “more within-group differences than between-group differences” is quite simply, false.  Your scientific research is flawed.  If you’d like to email me personally, I’m happy to take a look at what you are using as your source(s).
2. What you wrote is very important to me.  What you wrote is, in part, why I have this website.  I’m interested in bringing to light the truths of manhood so that our society can return to a properly functioning society.  As of now, in our post-modern society, we do not function properly as a whole.  This is mainly because males fail to live up to TrueManhood.  I’m working to change that.  You say that my website “goes against everything we know about our society.”  You’re correct, I’m working to fight the culture we live in.  Sin rules our world, and in order for society to thrive, we must fight our tendency toward sin.  To say “what we know about our society” implies that what our society does/thinks is correct.  What we think is correct, is not.  Our society needs conversion of heart to the source of life – Jesus Christ.
3. As for the site being a “giant amalgamation of stereotypes and baseless opinions”, I disagree.  My articles are based in Catholic truth, the fullness of truth.  That’s a giant topic, so I don’t guess we can get into it here.  I’m fighting the stereotypes of what is expected of males in our society – just read any of the articles I write about commercials we see.  I’m guessing you probably haven’t really read many of my articles, or maybe that you don’t understand them.  My apologies.  And yes, while my articles are opinion, they are not baseless.  My opinions are in line with the Church (many bishops and priests support my website) and are rooted in the understanding of virtue as a way of life.  If you’re interested in reading more about virtue, type VIRTUE in the search box and get to reading – there’s lots there.  Specifically, you can check out “TrueManhood’s Guide to Virtue”.
4. I appreciate the comments about the layout and design.  I work hard to keep the sight going.  (And, I’m always working on new stuff, and want more comments of what everyone is hoping for!)
5. Finally Jerrod, from your last sentence, I’d like to know what you think is a “healthier example of masculinity, fatherhood and mentoring…”  Thanks.

Man up!

The Death of Masculinity Article

I came across this post and thought it would be good to post.  (Find it HERE.)  It backs up what I write.  Virtue men, virtue!

Man up!

The Death of Masculinity

Masculinity is dying a quick death. It is attacked from all sides, for example:

-Radical feminists say that being masculine is anti-woman.

-The feminized man is esteemed (esp. those who have a same sex attraction).

-Fathers are portrayed as blundering idiots in media.

It doesn’t help that some modern cultures (e.g., China , Muslim countries, etc) revere the masculine to the detriment of women, just as our own did not so long ago. This is a macho-only kind of mentality which is truly harmful (warning: graphic images) to women and girls.

So, what is a man to do? Our modern world swings between two extremes that both tear down true masculinity – on the one side is the overly-macho crap and on the other is the emasculated feminization of masculinity.

The answer lies in the root of the problem, which started “in the beginning.”

Adam was given the commission by God to “to cultivate and care for” the Garden of Eden and all that was in it (Gen 2:15). Adam messed up soon after. He fails to protect his wife, because he is a coward. He then blames his wife and in doing so he relinquishes his masculinity. Notice that after giving up his masculinity he quickly falls into lusting after his wife, which is why they have to cover themselves – to protect themselves from the lust of the other.

We still suffer from the same issues.

The modern man has also relinquished his masculinity by failing to have self-control. The modern man is an emasculated macho fool who has given in to his pornified passions and lives a sterile and contracepted life – he bears no fruit, literally and figuratively.

These issues are not only killing masculinity, they are also killing femininity. Because only when masculinity is truly lived properly will femininity flourish.

So, where do we start? We start with discovering what a real man is NOT:

A real man is not emasculated ninny.

Neither is a real man a testosterone infused sack of passions.

A real man is this -> a man who desperately seeks to follow in the footsteps of THE MAN.

He will be courageous in the face of danger.

He will fight for and maintain self control.

He will put to death his lusts.

He will be in control of his emotions and yet not afraid of them.

He will find himself in losing himself.

He is humble, but sure of the gifts God has given him.

He is gentle when he should be and rough when necessary.

He is a man of strength of character and his word means something.

He fulfills his promises.

He isn’t ashamed of his Lord or either of his mothers.

He will put life in the proper order – 1 – God; 2 – His wife (if he has one); 3 – His children (if he has them) 4 – Others; 5 – Himself

A real man isn’t afraid of his masculine traits, but embraces them as a gift from God. He doesn’t abuse them, but understands the way to use them in service of God and others.

It is time we men resurrect true masculinity.

Tuesdays with Daddy – “That Blue One’s the Boy One…”

It’s funny to see how a child’s mind works, and how profound a simple statement can be.  Today, while walking through a gigantic multi-purpose store, my daughter spotted a rack of cheap summer-time rubber, bouncy balls.  You know the kind… they stack them from the floor to the ceiling, with all different colors.  The balls themselves are poorly made and wobble through the air because of the poorly designed air hole placement.  Regardless, she noticed that something was different about the balls in the rack.  She said, “That blue one’s the boy one, that pink one’s the girl one.”  I informed her that she was correct as we zoomed past the balls heading towards much more important things – the outdoor section.  As we continued on, she noticed lots of other toys that were specifically for boys and specifically for girls.

She had no idea what she was saying.  All she knew was that boys play with blue things, trucks, beasts and get dirty and that girls play with pink things, dollies, host tea parties and despise getting dirty.  This isn’t something we teach in our home, it is a natural instinct of a child.  (Yes, there’s a lot of pink in my house for my two daughters, and lots of dolls, stuffed animals, dress up clothing and tiaras.  However, there’s also toy cars, bats and balls, a fireman costume with ax and plenty of time to help Daddy around the house on various projects.)  It brings up a point that’s frequently mistaken in our society.  The point is that there’s a difference between men and women!  John Paul the Great, the late Pope, spoke often about men and women having “equal dignity, but different roles”.  It’s evident to children; maybe we need to return to a child-like way of living.  Innocence, simplicity and freedom.

The point isn’t about the color, although you won’t find me in a pink or purple shirt.  The point is that there’s a difference and as men, we must fulfill our role.  Women have a role that they were created for and we have a role we were created for.  When men fail to fulfill their role, women typically respond with an attitude of service and want to step in to fill a gap, but it’s not right for them to do so because it’s not what they were created for.  So men, live a life in relationship to what you were created for: provider, protector, leader.  More on this in the future.

Man up!

What We’re Up Against

Have you seen this one?  It ranks up there with the Carl’s Jr commercials, if you ask me.

This Bud Light commercial paints a picture of the “cultural man”… and the rest of us have to fight this stereotype in order to function as gentleman in society.  Don’t get me wrong… I enjoy playing sports, spending time with my buddies, letting my wife have some time with her girlfriends and so on… but how insulting to be depicted by these guys.  What am I talking about?  Well, take a look, then continue reading on so I can explain what I mean.

• First, a TrueMan doesn’t leave his wife (or girlfriend) by being a wink-and-shooter-guy.  He properly respects her, tells her he loves her and gives an affectionate sign of that love, being sure not to embarrass her in front of her guests.  He doesn’t perform offensive PDA, but shows that he’s secure enough to kiss his woman in a public setting.
• Secondly, why can’t this neanderthal match his clothing?  Are men so inept that they can’t figure out what shorts go with what shirt?  Granted, he’s going out to play a game, but I think Bud Light purposely showed that this guy is fashion-illiterate.  They wanted to paint the whole picture.
• Next we dive right into the heart of the commercial… the beer.  “Ugh, me like beer.”
• Then, as if men aren’t smart enough to hold an intellectual conversation without talking about sex, sexual connotations and sexual innuendo.  Another classic case of “cultural manliness” – which states – “If you want to be a “real man”, you have to like lesbians and want to see them thrusting on each other, even when there’s no lesbians around and thrusting is used not as a verb but as an adjective in the sentence where thrusting was used.”  How ridiculous.
• And, a TrueMan never hits on other women! Regardless of whether his wife/gf is sitting right next to him!
• Obviously, you must have beer to have a good time! (Sarcasm.)  “It’s a sure sign of a good time.”  (Don’t get me wrong, I like an ice cold beer, but what a stupid sentence!)
• Then, to cap it all off… as the young lady wastes her time talking to this unkempt, itchy, poorly groomed sap, he demonstrates the typical “cultural man’s” outlook on life… “If it moves, I’ll do it.”  Again, not smart enough to understand what she’s saying.

The thing that frustrates me about these sorts of depictions of men is that people begin to believe that they’re true.  Now, some men are quite neanderthal.  Some men aren’t capable of having an intellectual conversation.  Some men don’t know how to treat women.  Why glorify that?  Why do women settle for these men?  Instead, why don’t we (all of us) hold men to a higher standard of behavior?

Man up!

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