Let me start this discussion by saying that I DO stand for equal rights (knowing there are major issues in our country in that area), I absolutely consider myself a feminist through and through, and I am an unapologetic supporter of open discussion. However, I cannot address every issue of every people group in one sitting so please understand that I am not ignoring the plights of the issues of others. Sorry folks I've never been good at multitasking!
I was blessed with a great relationship with my parents who have provided me with a foundation in which I am aware many people in my generation never got to experience and for that I am thankful. From a young age I have been taught to never apologize for speaking what I believe is the truth when I see it needs to be said so if what I say offends you, sorry but I'm not sorry.
Alright, now we can get into the juicy stuff I wanted to throw down! Gentlemen, listen up. This article is about things that the men our generation need to change, we will be doing this in a list because I am a hot mess and struggle with staying on topic!
1) We need to change the stereotype of the father who leaves their family.
I've had plenty of people who I have talked to that are in the midst of an unplanned pregnancy (both men and women) that are my age. The fact that it has become "normal" for a man to walk away from a family he created leaves no room for justification, needless to say, it is a disgusting plague in our society. To my fellow male millennials, it is up to us to put value back in the family unit, too many of us know the scars that come from having a parent walk out for this to ever be acceptable.
2) Command respect, not Demand.
Shockingly, most people have no idea what the difference commanding respect and demanding respect is. Men, commanding respect comes from the actions we portray, both to ourselves and to others. We absolutely have to stop putting each other down, I have a very strong belief that our culture will not survive another generation of accepted pessimism and the ruthless sarcasm that we show to each other. The great generations of men that have come before us show that the way to hold the respect of others is to first and foremost show respect for yourself and your fellow man. The same goes for how we treat women, if you treat someone like they are less than their value over time they will believe they are worthless. In many heterosexual relationships, the male's perception of their partner is what gives their partner their sense of value in the relationship. If you want to be a man you need to know how to treat a woman, in a relationship, in such a way that she has confidence in herself because of how much respect you hold for her.
3) We absolutely need a best friend.
This is absolutely almost a solely American issue that began before the Cold War during the Red Scare. Men today, typically our parents' generation, have the lowest rate of deep connections with other guys than in any point in recorded American history. The reason for this is because during the Red Scare and the Communist Witch Hunts many people believed that homosexuality was a tool used by the communist countries to uproot American culture. This lead to an almost systemic decline of men having a deep friendship with other men for fear of being accused of being a homosexual and ultimately a communist. For most of us today that seems far fetched but things were, needless to say, cray-cray. Thankfully this fear has a noticeable decline, mostly credited to fictional characters having sidekicks like Batman and Robin, Spongebob and Patrick, etc. It is a scientific fact that men suffer more preventable depression in our adult years due to loneliness, so yes this is a big deal, I mean people have actually died because of this.
So fellas, mi amigos, and other ridiculous names, we need to stick together, support each other, not isolate one another, and most importantly we need to strive to give the next generation of men a good example of what to be.
