Cowboys. You know, like the one on the far left.
This op-ed piece is - I would guess - written by a British writer. In it, she notes the need for American men to feel manly. And manly - in the American cultural - means cowboy. Reagan had his cowboy style. Bush cleared brush on his "ranch". Bush Pere liked pork rinds. Perry runs around in a cowboy hat.
The statistics are clear - as the piece notes - that men are feeling a bit squeezed. While they continue to run most everything, men are now outnumbered in college by women. As the father of two boys, it certainly seems like the skills necessary for school seem tilted towards girls. We are somewhat dismayed that our son routinely seems to miss recess time to do more work. The kid needs to run around. Boys are kinetic. School is static.
In a post-industrial world what do the less verbal and more physical boys bring to the table?
Time will tell.
What it means right now is that the GOP is increasingly the political outlet for the "aggrieved male" demographic. You can see it in the famous Herman Cain Smoking Man Ad.
You can feel the seething discontent of this middle aged white dude who has to stand outside to smoke because of those namby-pamby nanny state rules.
There are two questions, I guess that I have. One, what will be the male role in the future and two, is this a change for the better.
As far as the future, I don't think much changes in a lot of ways. Kinetic impulsiveness in a fourth grade boy can become decisiveness in a 34 year old man. Male and female styles of leadership vary, but there will always be a need for someone who says, "OK, let's stop talking and make a decision." And we will always need plumbers and electricians, skilled positions that require spatial and manual skills that men excel at.
Is it a good thing? I think it is. Obviously, I'm worried about my sons, especially Thing One. (Thing Two has NO problems with verbosity.) But one of the underreported stories of the past 20 years has been the consistent and persistent decline in violent crime. Even in the midst of the Great Recession, crime - inexplicably - has not risen.
Since most violent crime is committed by men, this insistence on self-control, the zero-tolerance of bullying, may have helped reduce the male propensity towards violent behavior. It's not gone, but like saying "n****r", it's driven from polite company.
Sure, locking up millions of people has had an effect on crime rates. But we've also changed the definition of being a man.
Of course, conservatives - who want to repeal the 20th century - are not OK with this. They applaud it when men shoot abortion doctors or invade other countries.
But eventual Paleo-Man will shuffle off to his great reward.
It's yet another demographic trend that works against the GOP.
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