The Wall Street Journal reporter James Freeman in "One Tough Dentist" chronicled the story of Capt. Ben Solomon whose heroism on Saipan is beyond breathtaking. What a sad contrast with the actions in Uvalde.
What changed between 1944 and now? One telling thing is the trashing of manly virtues by our friends on the left. Boys are…
The Wall Street Journal reporter James Freeman in "One Tough Dentist" chronicled the story of Capt. Ben Solomon whose heroism on Saipan is beyond breathtaking. What a sad contrast with the actions in Uvalde.
What changed between 1944 and now? One telling thing is the trashing of manly virtues by our friends on the left. Boys are viewed as damaged girls. Martial values, courage and strength are all disparaged. No, I'm not talking about the braying bravado of professional wrestlers, overpaid athletes or rappers. I'm talking about the quiet strength of fathers, who imbue such values to their sons. To respect women. To protect them. And to sacrifice for their loved ones. Such a man would have stormed the school barehanded. Let alone armed. If you want a better America, we need to stop this insane war on men now.
“A nation of lost and fatherless boys and drifting young men is terrified that we have too much patriarchy,” Anthony Esolen writes. “Why, it reinforces my belief in the existence of demons: unassisted man could never be so blank and stupid as to fear that fathers have too much authority when boys and girls by tens of millions grow up with none at all. Only Beelzebub can explain it.”
I take your point, Bruce. To a large degree I agree. I'm going to go on a slightly different tack. From what I've been reading so far, the police units outside the school were clamouring for more automatic weapons and armour. To me that suggests not only a lack of desire to self sacrifice, but the greater correlation by police to the American military's approach to conflict - by which there is no attack unless by overwhelming force. That way success is more apt to be met and with fewer casualties of the good guys.
It's interesting to note that the writer's examples of heroism, and no doubt they were real, came from being in a more defensive posture (I am very open to criticism here). But in going on the attack, the US Army would never make a move unless they high assurance of overwhelming advantage. The fact that many domestic police forces appear to follow the same doctrine is concerning and distressing.
So the virtue of self sacrifice by men (and increasingly, women) in uniform may be waning, but I think it's been aided and abetted by the adoption of tactics that have little to no merit in policing.
Agree with your concerns. And would add that there is a vast difference between attacking an enemy position and a situation where children are in dire peril and seconds matter. We don't want militarized police. We simply want police who act intelligently and use the resources (including weapons) we give them to neutralize real threats. Such a a lunatic murdering school kids. Good grief, the parents wanted to storm the school barehanded. They should have relieved these police of their weapons.
I agree with your analysis of the demascilinization of the American male. But I think.you are quick to judge the Uvalde situation. It sounded like an ambush to.me.
Likely more than one made a mistake. And the mistake of the doors being unlocked. And.. Dunno. Likely a case where if any *one*-a the cluster-effs hadn't happened... I *hope* the facts come out.
Bruce, thank you. As a mother of 2 young men (16 and 21), I see the effects of these attitudes on my sons, who have a wonderful example of what it means to be a man. Their father is strong, principled, and self sacrificing. He works hard to provide for us and would do anything to protect us. However, the message they are receiving from "the world" is they are not important, that society would be better off without them. In fact, they are to blame for all the things that are wrong with our society by virtue of their gender and the color of their skin. How can we expect them to step up when they are told their thinking is just wrong?
Because if the shooter in Uvalde - and countless other lost boys in America - had been blessed to have a father such as your sons have, flags wouldn't be at half-staff and we wouldn't be commenting here on this subject.
You're correct. I'm 65 and it was definitely us. We decided we wanted all of the pleasures with none of the sacrifice, but what we had in the 60s-80s was not nearly as destructive as what we have now. But no doubt, our generation started us down that entitlement road, and it's gotten exponentially worse.
You're right. (67) But it was the Greatest Generation that let things slide. They should-a stomped us. I think, mebbe, they wanted us to live the carefree life they never had a chance at. ICBW, 'course.
I blame a lot of us too. My parents, for all their faults, did not let us “boom”. I never experienced what most in the 60s did. I am proud to say I raised good kids too. But, I as a member of the boomer generation, I am very sorry we did not see the error of our collective ways and get involved to reverse negative trends.
You realize he was just horsin' around, right? Just a joke. Is it worth it?
But YOu've got the right of it. One-a the main things in life is to learn "You're good enough." Parents worry so much about their kids, and each and every thing that could, and does go wrong. It turns out that if You just don't eff up royally, BIG time, things work out okay. (Book is "The Power of Bad.")
If people realized in their subconscious that they "were good enough," why would they worry about what other people thought of 'em? NOw *That's* a good chunk of freedom, right there.
I gotta be frank with You, M. Phisto. I don't recall butting heads. But that's partly by design. Judge don't have the mental bandwidth to hold grudges.
(No credit due to You, *everybody's* my friend for most part. ;-)
Thanks for recommendation. Got distracted on another comment from yesterdays article.
I actually bought the book. TY again. 72 pages and $0.62. I think I can handle that. Mebbe even read the book!
What’s ironic is with all this talk of “toxic masculinity” when boys and men commit crimes, at Parkland, Uvalde, or the streets of Chicago, none of these shooters have had good father figures or even male guidance.
So instead of toxic masculinity these boys have had zero masculinity in their lives.
Which is the principle reason for all urban violence, but the third rail if you bring it up. It's also the reason for the education gap, and why we'll never achieve organic sustained equity.
When I watched 40 foot flames in the background ("mostly peaceful protests"), the death and destruction of our country, I decided to buy my first gun, then a CCW, now training to be a sheriff reserve deputy. The question of "guns" is upon us again, and I too feel the anguish and pain of Uvalde. Why does this happen? The guns, no. The AR-15 was designed in the 1950's. The sensational school shootings did not start until the 1980's at Columbine by a couple of maladjusted teens.
Like so many current woke narratives ("men can have babies"), selfishness of traditional men all started with the earliest of woke narratives, "a woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle," the feminist mantra of Gloria Steinem.
Both the shooters in Buffalo and especially in Uvalde, lacked strong father figures in their lives (in Uvalde, completely absent). And our culture teaches girls to be all they can be, and boys to despise their own natural masculine instincts.
Feminism is at the core of what ails this country. Our world seems to have devolved into "weak men, angry women." Remember, "weak men make for hard times."
In 1988, Laurie Dann went into Hubbard Woods elementary school in Winnetka, IL and shot at teachers and children; one child died. My mother's college roommate's classroom was the first room Dann went into but Mrs. Giganti's class was on a field trip that day. For some bizarre reason, the Dann shooting doesn't make the list. Then I worked in that exact area 11 years later when Columbine happened.
Columbine happened in 1999. I live in the Denver metro and was at work downtown when it happened. Parents who had kids at the school left work in a panic as we watched it unfold on TV’s in our office.
The Wall Street Journal reporter James Freeman in "One Tough Dentist" chronicled the story of Capt. Ben Solomon whose heroism on Saipan is beyond breathtaking. What a sad contrast with the actions in Uvalde.
What changed between 1944 and now? One telling thing is the trashing of manly virtues by our friends on the left. Boys are viewed as damaged girls. Martial values, courage and strength are all disparaged. No, I'm not talking about the braying bravado of professional wrestlers, overpaid athletes or rappers. I'm talking about the quiet strength of fathers, who imbue such values to their sons. To respect women. To protect them. And to sacrifice for their loved ones. Such a man would have stormed the school barehanded. Let alone armed. If you want a better America, we need to stop this insane war on men now.
From “Awake, Not woke”
“A nation of lost and fatherless boys and drifting young men is terrified that we have too much patriarchy,” Anthony Esolen writes. “Why, it reinforces my belief in the existence of demons: unassisted man could never be so blank and stupid as to fear that fathers have too much authority when boys and girls by tens of millions grow up with none at all. Only Beelzebub can explain it.”
Thank You TY.
I take your point, Bruce. To a large degree I agree. I'm going to go on a slightly different tack. From what I've been reading so far, the police units outside the school were clamouring for more automatic weapons and armour. To me that suggests not only a lack of desire to self sacrifice, but the greater correlation by police to the American military's approach to conflict - by which there is no attack unless by overwhelming force. That way success is more apt to be met and with fewer casualties of the good guys.
It's interesting to note that the writer's examples of heroism, and no doubt they were real, came from being in a more defensive posture (I am very open to criticism here). But in going on the attack, the US Army would never make a move unless they high assurance of overwhelming advantage. The fact that many domestic police forces appear to follow the same doctrine is concerning and distressing.
So the virtue of self sacrifice by men (and increasingly, women) in uniform may be waning, but I think it's been aided and abetted by the adoption of tactics that have little to no merit in policing.
Agree with your concerns. And would add that there is a vast difference between attacking an enemy position and a situation where children are in dire peril and seconds matter. We don't want militarized police. We simply want police who act intelligently and use the resources (including weapons) we give them to neutralize real threats. Such a a lunatic murdering school kids. Good grief, the parents wanted to storm the school barehanded. They should have relieved these police of their weapons.
Petticoats push the patriarchs off of their perch, and the poor souls lose their priapic abilities!
I agree with your analysis of the demascilinization of the American male. But I think.you are quick to judge the Uvalde situation. It sounded like an ambush to.me.
You may well be correct. The facts will come out, but I fear that someone in the police line of command made a very fatal mistake.
My husband agrees with you.
Likely more than one made a mistake. And the mistake of the doors being unlocked. And.. Dunno. Likely a case where if any *one*-a the cluster-effs hadn't happened... I *hope* the facts come out.
You got a good piece-a the ball on that one, Sir Bruce.
Bruce, thank you. As a mother of 2 young men (16 and 21), I see the effects of these attitudes on my sons, who have a wonderful example of what it means to be a man. Their father is strong, principled, and self sacrificing. He works hard to provide for us and would do anything to protect us. However, the message they are receiving from "the world" is they are not important, that society would be better off without them. In fact, they are to blame for all the things that are wrong with our society by virtue of their gender and the color of their skin. How can we expect them to step up when they are told their thinking is just wrong?
Because if the shooter in Uvalde - and countless other lost boys in America - had been blessed to have a father such as your sons have, flags wouldn't be at half-staff and we wouldn't be commenting here on this subject.
You say by “our friends on the left.” I say by “feminists gone awry.”
The 1960s saw the debut of selfishness as a virtue. Before that decrepit era, at least it was in bad taste. Now it’s the norm.
I blame the Baby Boomers 😜
You're correct. I'm 65 and it was definitely us. We decided we wanted all of the pleasures with none of the sacrifice, but what we had in the 60s-80s was not nearly as destructive as what we have now. But no doubt, our generation started us down that entitlement road, and it's gotten exponentially worse.
You're right. (67) But it was the Greatest Generation that let things slide. They should-a stomped us. I think, mebbe, they wanted us to live the carefree life they never had a chance at. ICBW, 'course.
I blame a lot of us too. My parents, for all their faults, did not let us “boom”. I never experienced what most in the 60s did. I am proud to say I raised good kids too. But, I as a member of the boomer generation, I am very sorry we did not see the error of our collective ways and get involved to reverse negative trends.
“If it feels good, do it.”
“You can’t love anybody else unless you first love yourself.” Bull$hit!
I recall in Obama's first campaign for POTUS he said, "we are the ones we're looking for." That's when I knew he was full of shit.
Love God and love your neighbor and He will reveal your own worth to you. It's thrones and crowns.
You realize he was just horsin' around, right? Just a joke. Is it worth it?
But YOu've got the right of it. One-a the main things in life is to learn "You're good enough." Parents worry so much about their kids, and each and every thing that could, and does go wrong. It turns out that if You just don't eff up royally, BIG time, things work out okay. (Book is "The Power of Bad.")
If people realized in their subconscious that they "were good enough," why would they worry about what other people thought of 'em? NOw *That's* a good chunk of freedom, right there.
I could blather on..
Make a lotta mistakes. had intended to compliment You on Your insults. Yer pretty funny. :-)
I gotta be frank with You, M. Phisto. I don't recall butting heads. But that's partly by design. Judge don't have the mental bandwidth to hold grudges.
(No credit due to You, *everybody's* my friend for most part. ;-)
Thanks for recommendation. Got distracted on another comment from yesterdays article.
I actually bought the book. TY again. 72 pages and $0.62. I think I can handle that. Mebbe even read the book!
What’s ironic is with all this talk of “toxic masculinity” when boys and men commit crimes, at Parkland, Uvalde, or the streets of Chicago, none of these shooters have had good father figures or even male guidance.
So instead of toxic masculinity these boys have had zero masculinity in their lives.
Which is the principle reason for all urban violence, but the third rail if you bring it up. It's also the reason for the education gap, and why we'll never achieve organic sustained equity.
When I watched 40 foot flames in the background ("mostly peaceful protests"), the death and destruction of our country, I decided to buy my first gun, then a CCW, now training to be a sheriff reserve deputy. The question of "guns" is upon us again, and I too feel the anguish and pain of Uvalde. Why does this happen? The guns, no. The AR-15 was designed in the 1950's. The sensational school shootings did not start until the 1980's at Columbine by a couple of maladjusted teens.
Like so many current woke narratives ("men can have babies"), selfishness of traditional men all started with the earliest of woke narratives, "a woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle," the feminist mantra of Gloria Steinem.
Both the shooters in Buffalo and especially in Uvalde, lacked strong father figures in their lives (in Uvalde, completely absent). And our culture teaches girls to be all they can be, and boys to despise their own natural masculine instincts.
Feminism is at the core of what ails this country. Our world seems to have devolved into "weak men, angry women." Remember, "weak men make for hard times."
In 1988, Laurie Dann went into Hubbard Woods elementary school in Winnetka, IL and shot at teachers and children; one child died. My mother's college roommate's classroom was the first room Dann went into but Mrs. Giganti's class was on a field trip that day. For some bizarre reason, the Dann shooting doesn't make the list. Then I worked in that exact area 11 years later when Columbine happened.
Columbine happened in 1999. I live in the Denver metro and was at work downtown when it happened. Parents who had kids at the school left work in a panic as we watched it unfold on TV’s in our office.