Let’s Hear it for the Boys

Who Should Lead the Young Men of America

By Andrew R Quinio
Posted on 02/05/05

As kids, most of us had heroes; individuals we looked up to and aspired to be. We tried to emulate them, jumping around like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, or pretending to catch the bad guys like our local police officers. I personally looked up to former Wyoming Senator Alan Simpson, the greatest and most straight-forward politician who served from the Reagan Era to the middle of the Clinton reign. Now I realize why I got so many odd stares from my Batman and Power Ranger loving peers after each “my hero” class presentation.

President Bush’s recent State of the Union addressed the issue of heroes and role models. He assessed, and rightly so, that too many young men are falling into dangerous and violent lifestyles. Bush proposed a three-year initiative to help organizations keep young people out of gangs and assist other at-risk youth. The purpose, he said in his speech, was to “show young men an ideal of manhood that respects women and rejects violence.” The plan, headed by the First Lady, will involve parents, community leaders, and organizations offering young people extracurricular activities that steer them away from violence.

Essentially, many boys today have no heroes and it’s causing big problems. The heroes they do revere certainly do not fit the respectable definition of one. It is outstanding that the President and the First Lady are giving attention to this issue. While I do not agree with the federal government taking a major role in localized community problems, it is important for President Bush to express his advocacy for such a problem. A three-year initiative should not come from the federal government; individual states should address the issue themselves. When possible, local governments should spearhead such projects, not the federal government. It is right, however, and necessary for the President to express his support for programs which foster the positive potentials of young men.

Over the last few decades, boys have been neglected. “Girl power” has overshadowed the needs of teen boys. Certainly in my family, as the youngest and only boy of the family, I was cared for by loving parents and siblings. However, society as a whole has given more attention to girls. Once again, I don’t believe that “it takes a village to raise a child,” (I shudder to use the inane saying) but villages are forced to pay for the child’s mistakes. When a neglected juvenile commits a crime, everyone else has got to pay for it.

In a recent interview with Barbara Walters, First Lady Laura Bush articulated the renewed concern for the young men of America. She said, "I feel like over the last several decades we've neglected boys a little bit… it's time for Americans to sort of shift our gaze to boys and see what we can do to nurture boys.” It’s about time. For too long, America has left young boys, especially inner city youth, to the mercy of pseudo-heroes like P. Diddy.

The Bush administration, with the kind direction of the First Lady, can sincerely and effectively communicate genuine support for the livelihoods of boys. The Democrats can’t. They were the party plugging P. Diddy, and had no problem associating with a rapper charged with criminal possession of a weapon. Don’t think that he was at an NRA convention. When P. Diddy said “Vote or Die,” he really meant it.

During the campaign, failed presidential candidate John Kerry expressed how he was down wid da homies. In an interview with MTV he said, “I'm fascinated by rap and by hip-hop. I think there's a lot of poetry in it. There's a lot of anger, a lot of social energy in it. And I think you'd better listen to it pretty carefully, 'cause it's important.”

Don’t take John Kerry’s word for it. Here is some important, socially energized, and angry poetry: “Everybody hit the floor when the sh** drop. Sh** knocked, b**** stop (b****, stop)… That I could give a condom or 3 babies tonight…” Thank you Puffy, and thank you John Kerry for the recommendation. This is why it would be unconvincing and just plain fake for a President Kerry, First Lady Teresa “Shove it” Heinz Kerry, or any Democrat to show genuine support for programs that look after boys. President and Mrs. Bush are far better advocates.

Bill Cosby is continuing his campaign for moral values in the inner-city. At a Rainbow-Push Coalition dinner in June 2004, Cosby said, “You young men and old men, you've got to stop beating up your women because you can't find a job, because you didn't want to get an education.” Not surprisingly, Democrat Al Sharpton had mixed feelings about the criticism. He said, “But we also must be careful not to relieve the general community of what they've done to our community.” Just in case some of you forgot, the “White Man” is responsible for male juvenile crime.

Without the message of self-accountability, the Democrats cannot effectively promote a population of positive young men. Boys need real heroes who aren’t from a moral sewer of rap and irresponsibility. The Democrats can’t provide this as long as the rap/hip hop coalition has a place in the heart of the DNC.

In the Democrat response to the State of the Union Address, Senator Harry Reid spoke of a 10 year old boy named Devon who looked up to the Nevada Senator. According to Reid, Devon said, “Senator Reid, when I grow up I want to be just like you.” Hopefully the first step of Bush’s three-year initiative is to give Devon a better hero.

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