Men: Act Like Men!!

                        While Vito Corleone's actions were deplorable, his lessons on family and manhood were excellent.

I've been pondering why so much has gone so terribly wrong in America in the twenty years since the turn of the century. On January 1, 2000, America and the world were full of optimism. The Soviet Union had fallen. Democracy seemed to have won. The economy was doing well. In the U.S., the endless Bill Clinton scandals -- including the fact he did not take out Osama Bin-Laden when it would have been easy to do so -- seemed over. Y2K was no big deal. 

In just nine months, it all went to merde. Below is a recap (you can skip over if you wish).

President George Bush made one disastrous decision after another: to "nation build" in Afghanistan rather than laser-focusing on taking out the Taliban, getting us into the Iraq War, failing to veto the monster that has become the Department of Homeland Security (after he said he was against creating the agency). Like Bob Dole, John McCain, Mitt Romney and too many Republican "leaders," he seemed to want to be president because it was "his turn" rather than because he believed he had great ideas that would lead the nation to a better future. 

President Barrack Obama had incredible potential, yet his presidency will be studied by historians as one lost opportunity after another. While a good family man and probably a good next-door neighbor (important traits!), he disliked America and could never shed his elitist, "race hustler" way of thinking. He set us up for the divisiveness in which we find ourselves today. 

President Trump had some good instincts and did a number of important, positive things (e.g., the peace agreements in the Middle East, grounding the 737-MAX, a terrific economy with the lowest minority unemployment ever) but he was/is a personal disaster. 

President Biden should simply resign. Always corrupt and never very smart, as the events of the last six months demonstrate, his physical condition makes him utterly unable to continue in office. He never should have run. But, like Bush, he thought it was "his turn."

Think am wrong in my assessment of President Biden's mental capacity and leadership ability? Ask yourself:

When, not if, China makes its move on Taiwan, is Joe Biden capable of handling it?

We all know the answer. As an example of Biden's awful judgment, on August 9, with Afghanistan in mortal danger, he hired this clown -- with our tax dollars -- to promote his COVID vaccination campaign. I'm certain Xi Jinping is quaking in his boots. 

I don't know anything about this person, who calls himself Benny Drama, but the "girly man" is not the example of manhood our government should continue to project. I've often thought that some of the hate directed toward Donald Trump -- in spite of his volatile personality -- was because he would not genuflect on the altar of political correctness. 

One of the good things about being my age, and being a scientific entrepreneur, is you get an appreciation for what works and what doesn't. Increasingly, what we've been doing in America isn't working. So, I wish to make some suggestions for how we go forward. 

What Do We Do Now?

In order for America, at this 11th hour, to regain its place as a wonderful place for all of its citizens to grow and flourish in an atmosphere of mutual respect; and, to preserve vital Western values, we must begin now. I diagnose the root causes of America's severe decline to be two-fold:

• The abandonment of the Judeo-Christian ethic in our society. Ethical people act in a moral manner and accept the accountability of their actions whether the manager of a grocery store or leader of the free world. The White House's statements the last four days are the opposite. 
• The utter failure of males to act like men. This requires some explanation. 

I'm going to write a second essay soon [it is now posted] about America's religious collapse and its contribution to our current predicament. 

"Virtue Signaling Doesn't Defeat Evil, Only Brave People Can" 

Regardless of your career, American males need to start acting like men. Be Leaders. Stop worrying about political correctness. Start today!!

"Wall Street Journal" Monday

I assure you that Putin and Xi act like men -- who do not care about pronouns -- while plotting our destruction. Can you imagine Churchill, Eisenhower (consider the letter to the American public he had written in case D-Day failed), Truman, or Reagan issuing statements or behaving as the White House has behaved the past week? As Truman said of the presidency, "The buck stops here." 

One commentator's opinion of President Biden's
Monday afternoon address

Do you think George Patton or Dwight Eisenhower in 1944 would tell the President that America's biggest threat was climate change?! The top leadership of America's military needs to be canned. Our men and women in uniform deserve far, far better leaders than they have to put up with today. 

How Should Men Behave?

While there are some excellent books on the topic of conducting oneself as a gentleman, a summary:

1. Chivalrous
2. Generous 
3. Honorable
4. Confidence...Not Arrogance
5. Polite
6. Suave
7. Ambitious
8. Truthful
9. Kind
10. Skillful and Well-Rounded

These are the traits of men. These describe Ronald Reagan to a "T." I'll leave it to you to determine how many you believe to apply to our last four presidents. 

I would add one more: courageous. We used to have presidents that wrote books with titles like Profiles in Courage. It took guts for Truman to fire McArthur. Same with Reagan hiring Paul Volker, then standing behind him, to get the economy back in shape. Men have the courage of their convictions.  

None of us is anywhere near perfect. I often wish I did better. But, these eleven traits are what men should strive for. When we err, we should level with people. If we do something dishonorable, we should make it right to the person we harmed and vow to do better. American men -- especially men in positions of leadership -- must do much, much better than we have done the past two decades. Otherwise, I fear we are doomed.