Matt Walsh’s blog post, “Dear son,
don’t let Robin Thicke be a lesson to you.” is an absolute must-read.
In this debacle of commentary
surrounding the recent Miley Cyrus MTV stunt, which is taking center stage as
the world is about to erupt in World War III (duly noted by Walsh), the
conversation has centered largely on Cyrus’s behavior, with no mention of Robin
Thicke’s culpability.
Walsh writes: A 36 year old
married man and father, grinding against an intoxicated 20 year old while
singing about how she’s an “animal” and the “hottest b***h in this place.” And
what happens the next day? We’re all boycotting the 20 year old. The grown man
gets a pass.
Dear son,
Don’t let Robin Thicke be a lesson to you.
Don’t let any of these pigs and perverts you see on TV be a
lesson to you. They treat women like garbage; they possess no chivalry, no self
control; they are disloyal and dishonest; they spend all day pursuing pleasure
at the expense of others, and they encourage you to do the same. You might be
tempted to follow suit. In fact, you WILL be tempted. These male pop stars and
celebrities, look at them, you’ll think. They take advantage of emotionally
broken, self loathing, confused young women, and they are rewarded handsomely
for it. Look at their nice clothes and their nice cars. Look how they are
admired and loved. Look, they treat women like trash and other women fawn all
over them because of it. This must be how real men behave, you’ll think.
And you’ll be wrong. You’ll be wrong about a lot of things
in life — this is what it means to be human — but never will you be more wrong
than when you feel the temptation to buy the lies that pop culture sells about
the nature of true masculinity. Son, there is nothing glamorous or fun about
being a man of low character and no integrity. What you see on TV is a facade.
It’s a sales pitch. It’s poison. You see the bright lights and the sexy women,
but you don’t see what happens when the cameras are off and these pop culture
gods return to their lives as mere mortals. You don’t see them in their big,
empty, lonely houses. You don’t see the emptiness in the pit of their souls.
You don’t see all the alcohol and drugs they have to use to dull the pain of
living a life devoid of real, committed relationships. You don’t see the hatred
they have for themselves and for humanity. You don’t see the jealousy they have
towards normal, decent men.
Your dad is no celebrity. He’s just an average, boring guy.
But he’s got something that every famous and non-famous womanizer envies: He’s
got the love and commitment of ONE beautiful, smart, faithful woman. He’s got
your mom, and he’ll only have your mom until the day he dies. He ought to be
waking up every day shouting praises to the Lord because of that.
Listen, son, don’t let the world tell you how to be a man.
They don’t know anything about the subject.
Men are loyal. Men are honest. Men respect and honor women.
A man goes out and finds one woman, and he vows to protect and love her for the
rest of his life. A man would never betray that vow. Even the weakest and most
cowardly man — if he is a man at all — would die for the woman he loves. Your
dad is no hero, but let someone try to hurt your mom and watch him suddenly
turn into Superman (or Batman, whichever you prefer).
See, son, you don’t have to be big and strong to be a man,
although I think you will be one day. You don’t have to be “cool” or athletic.
You don’t have to play guitar or fix cars. These are all fine things, but they
don’t define a man. A man is defined by how he treats women, by how he keeps
his promises, and by how he protects and serves the ones he loves. That’s what
makes a man a man. My dad taught me that, he taught it by example. I pray I can
do the same for you.
Oh, and by the way, if I ever catch you disrespecting women,
I will sit you down and talk to you about it. But first I’ll kick your butt up
and down the street. That’s a promise.
Love,
Your old man
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.