Yes, I am aware of the boy band Boyz to Men. However, I could not tell you one song they sing or sang.  If you like their music and music of the genre, that is your choice, my taste is different.  However, music is not my focus in this article, it is the development of our children into productive mature citizens who contribute positively to society and hopefully the Kingdom of God.

I grew up in an era when boys were able to observe men, not women wanting to be men or men wanting to be women.  We saw real men living their lives, loving their wives, and working for a living.  We saw their pain and disappointments as well as their victories through the strength of their character.  I was extremely blessed to have two men, in particular, in my life that shaped my view of manhood powerfully.  Those men were my earthly father, W.P. Beaird, Jr., and my maternal Grandfather, Charlie Randolph Kellum.  Both were strong men of integrity.

In today’s society young boys and young girls are not always afforded the privilege of growing up in a home where there is both a father and mother and are often left to fend for themselves.  They are babysat by the television, computer, internet, smartphone, and video games, and influenced by outside forces including their peers who are following the same path in life. 

In their most vulnerable years, they are subjected to the influence of groomers and the nefarious who want to capture their hearts and minds and mold them into the image of the toxic ideology of the day.  Children observe and it is a scientifically proven fact that observation is a significant part of development and learning.  If exposed to the toxic influence of hate, anger, bitterness, violence, and anxiety the development tends to produce adults with no strong moorings to help them navigate the difficult path of life.  Those are among the ones who commit gross acts of violence and vehement crimes. 

We have gone through a period where those in control of education and those following the ideology of liberalism have attacked strong males charging them with ‘toxic masculinity.’  I do not deny that some men develop into and choose the path of chauvinism and are abusers.  That is a heart condition that is developed early in childhood and only God can transform that heart into what a Real Man should be.

The participation trophy society, entitlement mentality, and the myriad of confusing demands pressed by those who seek to alter humanity negatively have brought us to this place.  We have gender confusion, a lack of any semblance of a work ethic, and a total devaluing of the home and the role of the father.  I praise God for the godly mothers who have shouldered the burden of raising children alone and done a spectacular job.  But the family as God designed it and in its best state has a godly mother and father in the home teaching and training the children.

If we allow our society to develop where being a man is a negative thing, we will watch a decline in every other aspect of society.  Violent crime is running rampant in America today.  It is easy to blame the tool of choice as the problem and put a Band-Aid on cancer and see the malignancy grow worse.  There is factual data that reveals that guns are the least used tool in homicides in America.  I draw my information from some overlooked and little-reported data compiled by the FBI.  Imagine that.

When academics such as Harvard University’s Dr. David Hemenway misapply data and cite statistics to support the leftist’s ideological cause, we are endangered greatly.  He reported that there are 250 people shot each day in the United States.  He claims that children 5-14 years of age are thirteen times more likely to be killed by a gun than children in other high-income populous countries. That is fallacious and advances the myth of the danger of the inanimate object, the gun.

The reports have been advanced that 74% of the time a gun was used in a homicide.  That came from an FBI 2019 report.  The claim is that the United States outranks most of the nations of the world in gun violence.  Is that factual?  Let us consider it briefly.  Is America a violent nation based on the cherry-picked statistics and data being used?

I will not win friends on the Left, but my answer is NO!  The truth is, using the FBI’s own data that homicides comprise 1% of the violent crimes in America.  That same report from the FBI indicated that 78% of the violent crimes in the United States were committed WITHOUT a gun.  Therefore, about 8 in 10 violent crimes in America do not involve a firearm. 

If you include the reality that America is one of the few countries that constitutionally allows its citizens to keep and bear arms, the fact we have more firearm deaths should not be a surprise.  You might compare that to the reality that Egypt has more deaths from people falling from a pyramid than any other country.  Do we ban pyramids?

What does the FBI include in their definition of a violent crime or aggravated assault which comprises about 66% of all violent crimes?  Amazingly, in those aggravated assaults 72% of the time there was no gun used.  Someone said, “The only difference between a murder/homicide and an aggravated assault is whether the victim lives.” 

Using those statistics, the percentage of guns used in homicides reportedly 74% tumbles to 77% of aggravated assaults and homicides combined reveals that a gun was not involved.   The FBI defines violent crime as including homicides, aggravated assaults, rape, and robbery.  Their own report indicates that there are fifty times more aggravated assaults than homicides in America.  But if you want to skew the statistics you ignore select portions of the data.

What does this have to do with boys becoming men?  Everything!  In my young life, it was common to see a firearm hanging in the back window of a pickup truck.  We did not cower in fear of being shot at school, church, or anywhere.  We lived in a time when God was honored or at least acknowledged, respect was demanded by parents, and children were taught the value of working for what they earned and respecting others and private property. 

Today we have a president who exhibits the traits of a pedophile and has an inordinate interest in young girls.  He appears frequently delusional and out of touch with reality and the truth.  We have politicians making laws that attempt to force boys to become demasculinized and reject their role in the family.  We have allowed the indoctrination of entire generations with a fallacious history, rejected God, and promoted lifestyles that are anathema to strong families and thereby strong men and women working in tandem to train their children to become strong and productive men and women.

If we do not return to God and to the moral foundations upon which America was first established, we will watch this nation plunge into such darkness that we will be no better than the most heinous despotic regimes of the world.  Can we turn this ship around?  Only, and I repeat, only if we restore the family, allow boys to become men and girls to become women.  Only, if we return to God and the moral principles taught in the Bible.  Only if we restore the value of life – ALL LIVES.  Only then, can we hope to see restoration and reclaim the propitious smiles of heaven on America!

God bless you and God Bless America!