Real Men

'However, real men understand that their responsibilities don’t end with mere skills. Men have duties that go far beyond that.

Men have an obligation to treat women with respect, to open doors, to pull out chairs, to pay for dinner on a date, to act in a chivalrous manner — and a real man wouldn’t physically hurt a woman if you put a gun to his head. In other words, a man should show a woman the same respect that he would want another man to show to his sister or mother.
That goes double for a man’s wife and family. Every man has an obligation to protect and provide for his family. A man with a sense of honor doesn’t abandon his children or put his own wants ahead of his family’s needs. Moreover, the sort of man you’d want your son to grow up and be, is not only capable of taking care of himself, he will find a way to make sure his family is taken care of as well. For a man like that, having to see his own family take government assistance or charity is a rebuke that cuts him to the quick because it means that he has failed at one of his most important jobs.

Additionally, not every man is going to be a president, CEO, or general, but every man should be able to lead and act responsibly when the situation calls for it. He is the one ultimately responsible for his own life, his own family, and for setting an example. Not everybody has the same religious beliefs or version of patriotism, but men should understand that standing up for God, country, and what’s right is important because it sets a much needed example for others to follow.

That’s why being a pistol-toting gang banger or a pick-up artist with five children by five different mothers doesn’t make you a real man, although people sometimes confuse that sort of bad behavior with manhood. A real man isn’t just the sort of guy you’d want to cover your back in a fight or someone you’d want with you if you were trying to meet women; a man who deserves to be emulated is decent, loyal, trustworthy, courteous and feels an almost instinctive outrage at injustice and desire to protect the weak.

Real men are responsible, honorable, and do what needs to be done. As long as this country never runs short of men like that, the greatest country on God’s green earth will continue to thrive, prosper, and show the rest of the world how it should be done.'

- John Hawkins, 'A Real Man's Responsibility.'