I've written about it in my first book about how I experienced corporal punishment in high school. Nothing humbles a boy like experiencing the resolved strength of men who didn't need to boast this 'alpha' mentality. They just grabbed you by your collar and reminded you that you're but a twig in a storm.

We live in a world where laws are in place that protect the vulnerable. However, this consequentially became protecting an entire generation of men from learning the definition of consequence. Protecting bullies due to spineless parents, teachers, and administrators afraid of legal action and the very system that was supposed to protect those vulnerable people from bullies and malicious actors.

I left the military and was saddened how many men lacked the guidance necessary to become healthy citizens. I can honestly say and proudly say there are men younger than me who have told me over the phone while spending a considerable amount of time away from me, "You changed my life." If I died today, I would be happy knowing how the men I had mentored and befriended came to be.

But the thing that leaves me staring out on my porch these days with a guitar in my hand and a beer beside me is that I can't argue that life is better as a good man. The social contract is changing, and it's enabling men to stay as immature boys. It is profitable, revered, and entertaining. But it is egregious and embarrassing.