11-20-24

Apparently today is International Mens Day!....really, I just found out this morning

that today is International Mens Day…..and just like that I can sense that a whole

bunch of the male versions of Rightside Ruffians are asking, “well, what do I

get?”…..do I get a day off? No…..can I skip mowing the grass? Nuh uh…..will

somebody grill me a steak? Sure, if you pay for it…..well, I say

phooey…..International Mens Day needs to have manly man stuff…..bring on the

gifts! Tell the jesters they must make me laugh! Let there be feasting and

merriment!.....I shall have mutton and tankards of ale!.....or what is more likely,

let’s just go about our days doing all the things we usually do….all the stuff that it

takes to be a manly man in today’s weird world…..

I’m going to step out into a politically incorrect place here……but hey! What’s

new? Right?......There is a war on manhood in America right now……the idea that

it is okay for men to compete in women’s sports is celebrated when in fact it is

both disgusting and embarrassing…..the US military says that recruiting failures

are because only 23% of American men are fit to enlist in the military….that’s a

very small percentage…..the war on manhood was already underway, and then

Dylan Mulvaney showed up on, of all places, a Bud Light can…the fact that a

biological male can be applauded as an influencer for prancing on video and

celebrating “365 days to girlhood” is a clear indication that something has gone

awry……. The left is trying desperately to enshrine the beta male as the role model

for a civilized society…..I say hogwash!

Let me just pause and reaffirm what many of you already know….men are

men….from the time they were born men are biologically, mentally and

emotionally different than women….it’s real, its important, and it’s just plain

okay…..I’m reminded that scripture tells us that God made man in his own

image…..he made men first, from the dust of the earth…..when God created the

earth there was only one thing that he saw and said that it was not good, and that

was that man was alone….so he created woman from Adam’s rib…..we are all

precious in the eyes of God, His own creation, made with good intention by a God

who does not make mistakes…..but He created us differently…..and He absolutely

100% created men to be men……

I read a book a while back…..it’s a small book by bestselling author Steven

Pressfield called “The Warrior Ethos”…..Author Steven Pressfield is one of my

favorite authors….he wrote the epic historical novel called “Gates of Fire” about

the 300 Spartans who stood in the face of overwhelming odds against the might

Persian army….that book is up on the Rightside website recommended reading list

at www.rightsideradio.org and it is often seen as mandatory reading in military

circles…..it tells the true tale off men who staved off overwhelming odds…..the

men of ancient Sparta…a warrior class who knew that their role was to be

men….and to stand in the gap….legend says that when a Spartan man left for

battle that either his mother or his wife would present him with his own shield and

say, “this is your shield. Come back with it, or come back on it.”….Many today

hear about the battle of the Spartans but how many know that those 300 men

changed the whole world….300 men stood in a narrow pass called the Hot Gates at

a place named Thermopylae…..300 men against a million man Persian Army led

by King Xerxes and they stopped that invading army in its tracks for days…they

were finally defeated but their fight at the Hot Gates is what caused the Greeks to

band together and become a nation….that Greek nation defeated the Persians and

drove them out….that Greek nation is the foundation of the modern western

world….that Greek nation gave us “Demos Kratos” meaning “people rule” from

which we get modern democracy….you voted 2 weeks ago because of 300 men

….Men!....men who stood in the gap and birthed democracy…..

Carry it through to modern history and time and again you will find that men have

done what men do….what God made them to do….why God made the men….but

another great book by Steven Pressfield explores these things in concept…..in this

other book, “the Warrior Ethos” Pressfield takes a chapter at a time to describe

such politically incorrect things in detail as:

- Duty Honor Country

- Having a sense of humor under fire

- The essence of Courage

- A sense of Civility and Love from a position of strength

- Providing aid and support to the weak and emboldening others

He talks about inner wars, outer wars, and how to train up young men to be old

warriors…….These attitudes…..these character traits if you will…..many of which

are learned behaviors….are not just for soldiers…..and truthfully they are not just

for men. Women can have undaunted courage….women can face crises with grace

and poise….I’m married to a woman like that. I helped raise a woman like that.

My son is like that and he married a woman like that…..But today…..today I am

talking to men. ……it’s what I know….

Understand me when I say this…..I am not saying that unless you can tote a

gun…..lift heavy weights…..and wear your hair in a conservative fashion that you

are not masculine. ……True masculinity is not defined solely by age, status, or the

outward appearance….its a compilation of more esoteric things like character, the

warrior ethos, work ethic, care and concern for others, self sacrifice, courage…….

It’s the little things sometimes……

- Like standing up to bullies

- Like speaking out for your beliefs

- Like sacrificing a little “me” time to play with your child

- Like opening the door for your wife

- Like paying your employees before you pay yourself

- Like checking on a friend in need

Again, don’t confuse this monologue with some kind of pre-conceived notion of

the poster boy for true masculinity. You don’t have to be the Marlboro Man, a

member of Seal Team Six, or somebody who knows how to spit dip without

getting it on your shirt…..You can be rough…..without losing civility…. You can

have calloused hands and still wear a tie to work every day….. You can be a father

separated from your kids and still be a Dad to them…..

True….the attitude of roughness and masculinity is often embodied in a mental

picture of harsh ruggedness….

George Orwell said: ““People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because

rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.”…..yes they do….the world

needs men…..but it may surprise you that they don’t always have to look like some

kind of move character…..like a scene from a tough guy flick…..In my day I’ve

known a lot of dudes….action guys….operators…..members of America’s elite

special operations…..first responders…..dudes with grit and determination…..and

a lot of them did not fit the visual stereotypical mold……

Even in the Bible, when he was preparing to crown the future King of Israel

Samuel was taken aback that it would be David, a small guy, the least among his

family, in the least among the tribes, but God told Samuel in 1 Samuel 16:7, “the

LORD sees not as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the

LORD looks at the heart.”

I don’t care if you’ve never earned a medal…..I don’t care if you haven’t got a

penny to your name….I don’t care if you have a physical disability….I don’t care

if you have made mistakes in your past….I don’t care about any of that…..here me

when I say that society will be better off if men act like men with a sense of

masculinity that transcends their outward appearance ….if they do it will definitely

resonate to all around them.

Conservative Christian commentator Allie Beth Stuckey wrote a piece on manhood

a few years ago….great work….she said, “The growing problem in today’s society

isn’t that men are too masculine; it’s that they’re not masculine enough…...”

Stuckey pointed out that “When men embrace their masculinity in a way that is

healthy and productive, they are leaders, warriors and heroes. When they deny

their masculinity, they run away from responsibilities, leaving destruction and

despair in their wake.” She ended by saying, “It’s not masculinity that’s toxic. It’s

the lack of it”

So buck up men…..remember you were made in the image of almighty God…the

God of the Angel Armies…..be the man!

And by the way, Happy International Mens Day…..let the feasting begin!

That’s a wrap for the Rightside Way