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Thursday, June 2, 2016

Manliness



Apparently, manliness is not what it used to be. Let me dig up my old curmudgeon hat, yell at the kids on my lawn, and share a few thoughts.

In a recent article they were talking about how fewer and fewer of today's young men rate themselves very highly on the manliness scale. Of course, it's all in how you define what it is to be a man.

When I was growing up it was being able to stand tall, look someone in the eye and a good firm handshake. Your word was your bond. Women were treated with respect. Crying was reserved for rare occasions, like when a broken bone was poking out. A man knew his way around tools, firearms and fishing poles.

I was lucky enough to enter the Fire Service at the tender age of 18. There are few jobs today that make such good use of testosterone, strength and daring.

Of course, I wouldn't top out on the so called “manliness scale” they were using either. I'm not afraid to change a diaper or nurture children. There's nothing wrong with reading good poetry. You don't have to be all womanly to realize that a particular paint color brightens up the room. Being able to wash dishes, cook good meals, and do laundry are all useful skills for living.

Maybe some of young men's confusion about manliness is a lack of role models. I learned it from my dad. Too many young boys grow up without good male role models. Most of the dads on TV are bumbling fools.

Some poor deluded fools thing manliness is all about drinking too much and fighting. Sorry guys, having some self control is a better gage of manliness.

-Sixbears

14 comments:

  1. Agreed. I've seen some REAL men that some folks would consider pansies, but they spoke the truth, stood up for what was right and would take an _ss-whippin' rather than back down on a principle. Some, not all, of the macho crowd would cow-tow to anyone they thought was rougher than they were. On rare occasions, one of the "pansies" would explode and beat the living hell out of one of the macho dudes. I always kind of enjoyed that.

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    1. Too many "men" are all bluff and bluster.

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  2. Good post. You might enjoy this particular website. It's got a lot of good articles. The podcast ain't bad either.

    http://www.artofmanliness.com

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  3. Hear, hear, Sixbears ~

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  4. Six Bears I want to send you a private message...would you post your email?

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    1. sixbears@hotmail.com

      It's posted at the bottom of the blog page but nobody ever finds it.

      Delete
  5. You are so right. Boys used to look up to their fathers for guidance and knowledge on lessons for becoming a man.
    Now-a-days most boys are raised by single women who have no clue as to what a real man is.

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    1. If they are lucky they have other male role models they can learn from, like a scout master.

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  6. My Dad was a perfect example to a son growing up. He passed way too soon, at the age of 60. His brother lived to be a hundred. Go figure??

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    1. My dad passed at 80 and it was way too soon. Looks like you had one of the good ones too.

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  7. when i teach sunday school i always tell the class that self control is the cornerstone of civilization.

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  8. A daughter with a good father has a perfect example of qualities to look for in a life partner. It's a lot to live up to. ;)

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