Too Many Troops Have Died in the Name of Big Boy Pants
Mike Murry's recent comment reminded me of this article that I wrote about three years ago. Macho posturing by America's "leaders" has created enormous problems for the U.S. What is it with this obsession for "hardness" and "toughness" and "big boy" pants? Isn't it a defining trait of a bully to whack people around precisely because he's insecure and wants to compensate for that by feeling "big" through violence against the vulnerable? Just look at Trump and his bullying behavior. He attacks those he perceives as vulnerable (Mexicans, Muslims, women, and so on), even as he dodged the draft during the Vietnam War.
It's obvious that many men in America see masculinity under assault, or they fear their own loss of manliness, hence those calls for "big boy" pants, and hence all those sports metaphors applied to war.
Time to put away the "big boy" pants, America. Instead, how about engaging in mature, intelligent, thinking and reflection, followed by action that ends our unwinnable wars and our national obsession with violence and weapons?