Okay, we are now 167 days since the worst president in American history officially took office. While literally tons of ink have been spilled explaining the political disaster of Donald Trump, I will spare you my analysis of him as a failed politician other than to say we are in for a huge series of disasters over the next three and a half years. Instead, I want to talk about how MAGA and Donald Trump are emasculating Americans and turning us into a nation of wusses like him.
Now this is not universal. A lot of us are protesting. We are working to combat the damage done by his horrendous politics and indecisiveness. We are working to remind people what being a true American really means; and we are working to set the stage for a post-MAGA recovery after he has been removed (by impeachment, election, or assassination) from the presidency. There are, however, 35% of Americans who drank the KoolAid and are being reprogrammed into a toxic form of anti-masculinity.
I am writing this screed to the real men in America (some of whom might be gay) who understand that if we don’t stand up and model the behaviors of individualism, honor, self-control, self-reliance, and dignity that have defined the men of America since its inception we will become weak, subservient, gullible, and base. If we don’t protect those we love, no one will. If we don’t think for ourselves and refuse to be led like sheep, we will lose our ability to control our own destinies. If we don’t distinguish between nuisance and threat, we can be controlled by charlatans and scoundrels. If we don’t stand up and control our futures, someone less honorable will and our lives will lose significance. Its time for us to live up to that standard “… the home of the BRAVE!”
Sometimes you hear a story and something just clicks. That epitomizes what is wrong with America. These aren’t about the stupidity in Washington DC but the effect this stupidity has had on way normal people respond, like wusses.
When I say wuss, most of the real men immediately think of Elon Musk, so let’s start there. This week Musk, appropriately angered about many of the provisions of Trump’s budget (it is painful to admit that sometimes Musk has a point), announced that he would be campaigning against GOP Senators and Congressional Representatives who voted for this bill. He even went so far as to announce that he would start a new political party to oppose them in upcoming elections (https://www.reuters.com/world/us/musk-says-america-party-is-formed-us-2025-07-05/). In other words, Elon Musk, after having caused a disaster in the American economy, is taking actions to fix that problem. This is a good thing. Trump’s response, however, was that of a petulant child, complete with name calling and petty threats. We are only missing the tattle-tail threats (no, he may have done that too…) to make Trump look like a kindergarten drop-out. Not the behavior you expect from an American president or any other red blooded American. Trump is a wuss. He expects all his wuss supporters to fall in line and act like him. A real man would have met Musk head on and told him that he would fight it out in the polls. Of course, Trump is really a coward so what do you expect.
My next story is not at all about politics but heavily influenced by the childishness that has dominated our newscape of late. A historical and cultural consultant was employed by a video games company, Ubisoft, and recommended historically correct characters for their latest edition of Assassin’s Creed. The characters are a Japanese female assassin, and a Black African samurai. It seems odd but research confirms that there were indeed both female ninja and African (gaikokujin) mercenary soldiers (https://apnews.com/article/assassins-creed-video-game-harassment-4b68890b7ed9ead8dbe3ad09dbee9859). What makes this story wussy is that rather than lookup the history, or look at this as a curiosity, or maybe even deciding not to play this game because it challenged their zeitgeist, things a real man would do; gamers who were shocked by this character resorted to death threats against the developers and the consultant. Death threats, over a video game? What has the world come to. Are these people so insecure, are they so easily manipulated by the propaganda of the right that everything has become “woke” that they are unable to see that their response is stupid. No, these so-called grown men are children and respond as a toddler would be having a fit.
My final story (these are not a tiny fraction of the instances of this level of stupidity this week) involves someone who is actually trying to practice balanced politics. In my town, there is a bakery that decided to make BOTH cookies for Pride Month (June), and patriotic cakes featuring an image of Donald Trump. Admittedly, both of these are garish and gauche but evidently they sell so what’s the big deal (https://patch.com/pennsylvania/horsham/lochels-bakery-responds-attacks-trump)? Well men acting like children, of course. The bakery was bashed on social media and then criticized by the town council (at taxpayer expense). Why, because they either thought the cookies were “woke” or the cakes were “fascist.” Big “f-ing deal”! Be men. If you don’t like it, don’t buy it; but that’s no reason for starting a fight.
It’s easy enough to chalk all this up to political disfunction or even “Trump derangement syndrome” but this is really about people not taking ownership for their own feelings and actions. It’s about having no self-control, no honor, no dignity. It’s about being led rather than standing on your own two feet. Its going to destroy our country far faster than any stupid act the orange monkey in the White House can do because it is eroding the very fabric of what has made America exceptional – our individualism, honor, self-control, self-reliance, and dignity.
Yep, I’m an old cowboy who grew up wearing boots and riding horses. When my country called, I served. When the polls open, I go – EVERY TIME. I support all the provisions of the Bill of Rights, and I believe that every American deserves the blessings of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” I grew up in my grandfather’s house where we volunteered at the fire department, ate at the VFW, meant the words of the Pledge of Allegiance. I may be old-fashioned; I may be too traditional or too progressive for some of you. Fine, but I know what a real American man is, and it has nothing to do with gender, nothing to do with politics, nothing to do with heredity, and everything to do with character. It’s time for Americans to MAN-UP! Stop being children. Stop being led by children. Take care of your communities and choose your battles.
Politics don’t define us, we define politics; and right now, we are allowing the worst people to set the agenda both nationally and locally. They are not just screwing with the economy and with government infrastructure; they are screwing up our psyche and that is unacceptable. Politics are short-term and transient. Who we are, what we stand for, what we value, how we behave are what matter. It’s time for Americans to MAN-UP!
“Don’t tell me what you believe, show me what you do” — Pirkei Avot (Ethics of the Fathers)
Michael Carver -- Historical Interpreter/Reenactor 