Where Have All The Heroes Gone?

Growing up my father was my hero.  While he taught me many lessons,  most were rooted in perseverance, discipline, grit, toughness, strength and self-respect.  He spent time teaching me skills that would benefit me in adulthood and would serve me far beyond my adolescent years.  Furthermore, he taught me what it meant to be a man and the responsibility that comes along with that.

As I continued to grow I began to recognize other strong male role models in society and entertainment that emulated the traits that were taught to me by my father.  Movies and TV shows depicted these men overcoming some great adversity and struggle to reach a goal or obtain a feat.

Interestingly enough, these traits and lessons have served me well throughout the years to accomplish my goals in athletics, careers and relationships.  on a daily basis I try as best as I can, to personify the traits that have served me and have gotten me to where I am today.

Becoming a father and having a son of my own has given me a new perspective on the world and has made me examine the lessons that I would like to pass on to him.  I've been doing this through self-examination but also by observing the world around me as I did when I was young.  Through this observation I keep coming back to one question that I'm unable to answer.

"What the fuck happened to all the heroes?"

Maybe I've had my head in the sand for a long period of time or maybe I'm just old school but, what the fuck has happened to men in society?  When was it the norm that the average man is a soft bag of milk with a beer gut that can't lift his own body weight?  When did it happen that men have decided that the women in their lives get to run their entire show?  When did being a nice, emotional pansy become the status quo?  What the fuck has happened?

No wonder men nowadays are three times more likely to kill themselves.  No wonder men have a higher rate of substance use and addiction.  They no longer have any heroes to look up to.  I'd probably want to drink myself to death too if I was being raised in a society with the no one to look up to.

When it comes to raising a son,  the fact is that no one idolizes Jim from accounting that sits on his ass all day then comes home and watches TV.   No one will ever look up to Steve from IT whose body is reflective of a wet noodle and who drinks beer while avoiding difficulties with his spouse because of her emotions.  When did we as men become so fucking complacent?  When did we lose our courage and drive to do anything but float along in life taking shit?

The conclusion I've come to is to say "Fuck That."  I'm not following the cultural standards.  I'm not sacrificing a piece of my soul to fit in with an ass backwards version of what men are supposed to be. I'm not willing to raise my son by those dog shit standards.  He deserves better from me and from society.  The standard of men has dropped hopelessly low.  I for one owe it not only to my son but to myself to ensure that the bar doesn't continue to drop.

This is a call to action for all men.  Get off your asses and be the hero that your son, or daughter, needs you to be.  Stop sitting idly by and start being active participants.  The world needs men to start being heroes once again.