The Manhood Project

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   The Manhood Project came out of my informal discussions with other men about manhood. It also came as a personal quest. One which I am still on and will be I am sure for the rest of my life. 
   I asked men what they thought about manhood. What they needed to claim “manhood”. I asked about rites of passage they experienced. I asked these men if they agreed with me that the lack of manhood has become a leading problem within our society. The answers opened up a new window to a world I am just now learning is much bigger than I dreamed possible. Now, I am getting input from around the world. Churches, industry executives, foreign cultures, and women...women who experience first hand the down sides of poor manhood. 
   All mostly agree the symptoms of social failure are not the cause. Through our discussions, it became glaringly obvious we have a “manhood crisis” in our society...a cancer.  The evidence is everywhere and mounting. Let's look at some direct social evidence.
   We begin at home. The family unit is dying. I and many others believe the family unit is on “life support”. Divorce has become so easy to obtain that you can marry today and be divorced tomorrow. without any loss. Our prisons are full of men who openly state they lacked fathers and positive male roles growing up. Gangs have replaced the family unit for our young boys and even our young girls. Gangs are growing at an exponential rate and the reason is clear. The feminist movement and media promote “single motherhood” without taking up the cause for manhood in the child's life. Gay rights have turned into an "alternate lifestyle" for men instead of something that needs to be studied and corrected. Lest we forget that the “Progressive Movement” has a stated goal of “gender-normalizing” our society. Under their implied definition, men can no longer be real “true grit men", but some weaker sex I certainly can't recognize. To reverse these critical trends we will need a true vision of manhood.If not we have a run away cancer. 
   The evidence is in. A crisis is tearing apart what's left of the good fabric of our developed society from within. This crisis is like a cancer, eating away at the mental development of our youth - male and female. The cancer is showing up in bad behaviors of all kinds including anger, lack of self control and lack of commitment. Its effects are bad choices for a lifetime for those who have not yet achieved manhood. This cancer is just not exposed for the “beast” that it is...and this beast is growing. Greed, power, money and personal freedom appear to be to be the new rules. We need a return to manhood as a means to rebuild our society. We need a return to the positive traits of true manhood.
   Society blames this lack of true manhood on many symptoms including; bad home life situations, unavoidable circumstances and poor decision making. Our media news look for the explainable symptoms we all will accept...while avoiding the real issue that caused the symptom in the first place. What was the true failure? A lack of character. 
   These symptoms, while true, avoid the underlying cause or causes for these symptoms. Just look at any paper or news channel to see the decline of manhood in action. Sure, occasionally we get a hero story here and there. But, these stories are few and far between except during a crisis. Instead of being the norm, they are now the exception. Isn't it ironic that when we have a real national crisis such as 9/11, we look for the real men who will roll up their sleeves, put themselves in harms way and resolve the crisis. In order for real men to be available in the next generation, we will need a vision of manhood that builds on those desired character traits.
   I fear manhood is slipping away. Gone are the days of black and white TV shows with names like The Lone Ranger, Andy of Mayberry, Father Knows Best and even Zorro. They are out of the mainstream, resigned to a cable channel dedicated to old shows. These shows were not afraid to show men in strong male roles doing what was right even when it meant an apology, self sacrifice, or even death.
   Ever notice how Politicians point to this or that condition as a benchmark and tell us that society is doing just fine. "Don't watch what they do, don't worry about how my actions are going to effect you, just listen to the spin I say."
   Society is not doing well at all. It fact it is going negative and the acceleration is mounting.
   Homes without fathers are becoming the norm. Fatherless young boys and men roam the street looking for identity. Identity they usually find in the form of gangs. Girls are caught up in this new identity model as the objects of the gang. It's a fact that children in a fatherless home experience dynamic instruction. In some cases men come and go out of their mothers lives with some regularity. False start marriages, flings and affairs are not what these young children need to build strong character.
   Young male character development is happening by accident or at the end of a fist. Our jails are full of examples of men old and young who never received the right kind of character training needed as a young boy.
   Young girls and female young adults are not immune to this condition. They too are also suffering from a lack of definition. Do women have examples of Godly male role models they someday will use as a yardstick to measure their own future husbands' character? How about knowing when their current interest is worthy of their time, or their love?  I think they need a clear measuring tool to make these decisions.In comes the Manhood Project. 
   Poor self image is the leading cause of drug usage. Drug usage is a mental pain reliever...it makes everything alright. On the street, young men and women quickly learn that a puff of this, a pop of that, or a push of this, makes the pain go away.  What is lacking in their character to say no to drugs and mean it? What is lacking in character that prohibits addressing the source of the pain? Can we identify with a different role model than Ceech and Chong? In this project we will set out a standard of manhood character worthy of consideration.
   This cancer is allowing ungodly men...men of poor character, to rise to positions of power in media and in politics. These same men of poor character are already yielding their power on our youth through misguided liberal policies that will cost trillions over the next decade and promotion of gay lifestyles across almost every media outlet. They perpetuate poor character conditions as the norm. They seek to show humor through situational bad character. If the media was held accountable or gave a hoot about society, their own legacy as filmmakers would set a different bar height for male character. One that could be used as a model for generations.
   Few groups including the church, government or society give this crisis and its undying cause more than a nod, series or sermon.
   Churches preach of the sanctity of family and offer plenty of examples of good fatherhood including the best father of them all...Jesus Christ. Somehow the masses have trouble relating His holly divine spirit and teachings to fatherhood here on earth. The church translation is either missing or ineffective on the masses. 
   Governments promote underfunded programs for fatherless children including programs akin to Big Brother and Big Sister programs. There is plenty of money for underprivileged children programs from food, to clothing and housing. There is even money to address fatherless homes and promotion of fatherhood. What is missing is the basis of fatherhood and that is manhood. Its hard to be a good father when you don't know what it means to be a true man....a Godly Man.
   Society has attempted to take up the slack using sports and community programs. Boys and Girls Clubs and inner city youth programs run largely by fees, donations and fund raisers. These places of sanction for our youth need our blessings and our support. They need all the help we can give them. They also need the achievement of true manhood as a quality goal for your men.
   Are you convinced yet that we have a crisis? Are you convinced we have a cancer we seem to have no control over? Can we name it? Can we put a label on it? Try this on... 
   It is the loss of what it means to truly be a Man...a Godly Man.
   If you accept the current conditions then "we have no crisis". If you reject the current conditions, then we have a serious crisis. Many feel the loss of manhood is a crisis and if left unchecked,  it has the power to pull down society to an unrecoverable level. Perhaps to a place where we will have lost manhood forever except in books and films.
   Who is going to teach our sons what it means to be a man? Will it be you? Will it be mom? Will it be their older sister? How about the man who comes by to see mom on occasion? Or the gang member down the street who is look for a new recruit? Who is going to teach our young men to be men? We need a vision of manhood and a training tool. We need a vision of manhood that society can embrace. Through demonstrated acts of positive character, men can once again regain there role in society.
   This is the journey of a lifetime. Come with me on the journey. Provide your input on the subject. Give words that define positive male character. Male or Female, here is a chance to make a difference.