I had to chuckle at the effort it took for some young gentlemen to get across a busy intersection while keeping their sideways hats on with one hand and their "gangsta" droopy drawers up with the other. Their vigorous waddle across the road would make any duck envious. I just shook my head and thought "kids". They survived to the other side and as they were adjusting pants, hats and catching their breath, I noticed they were not kids. At some point you would think they would want to grow up.
You would think that too, wouldn't you?
I get the feeling today more and more men want to stay boys, whereas in the past boys could not wait to become men. Some say the feminist movement beginning in the 60's immasculated the man....perhaps. Other say the lack of fathers in todays society...maybe. Could it be TV endlessly portraying the man as a stumbling, bumbling idiot? I don't know. I think it really has to do with all of these issues and others I am sure.
Passage from a boy to a man is really vague in this society. When is the time manhood happens? Some say after puberty. Some say after your first sexual encounter or having your first child. Perhaps when you graduate high school or college. Other says when you get your first job or maybe your first car.
Other societies have passage into manhood. They set aside a definite time and place for their young boys to become men. You probably have seen on television African tribes taking their older boys out to battle an animal or wrestle each other. Sometimes in involves a religious ceremony where the elders in the community come together to pronounce manhood among the boys. It can involve competition of some sort, killing a lion, or perhaps becoming circumsized (ouch!).
Even our past generations it seems did not have quite the problem as we see it today. There used to be a definite distinction between being a boy and being a man. You could see it in behavior...taking responsibility for ones actions. You could see it in dress...how many old baseball films have you seen where every man in the park is wearing a suite, tie and fedora hat? TV shows from that bygone era depicted men as smart, strong and head of the household. Today they are usually the comic sidekick to the mother or the kids.
I believe there needs to be a fundamental shift if we are going to get our "manhood" back. I believe it has a lot to do with basic Christian values. I believe that is the best place to start. The roll of the father has been so diminished in society and today there are so many fatherless children with no one to look up too. I think it is up to every individual as to how to raise their kids. I think America needs to "grow up" a bit and teach taking responsibility for itself. Boys need to know the value of their role as well as the importance of it. Hopefully then we would not have half of our population having to support the other half. If nothing else hopefully we will learn to pull our pants up while running across a busy intersection.
