When I was a boy, I did a lot of reading. Our family got books from the library and as soon as I was old enough to choose my own, I did. I read lots of stories about heroic young men in the wilderness or on sports teams, but few of the literary classics.
Luckily, I went to good public schools. There, under the guidance of teachers (all women), I encountered other books, better ones, and slowly I figured out that there was more ways to be a man than as a great hunter or a quarterback on a championship team.
For men of my generation, I suspect I am not unique. We were raised by parents soaked in cultures that generally valued male children over female children. Women had few career options, which led many brilliant women to teaching jobs.
Thanks to an accident of history (World War Two), there were so many of us Baby Boomers that we broke the world we grew up and into. Many things changed, particularly between men and women.
As the systems broke, we considered each other more as equals than as enemies.
Now, as an ancient, when I think back on my upbringing and the stories that shaped us, I wonder about what is left of our childish fantasies.
For men it is sports. In games there is still a chance to be a hero. We are in the season now where the championship games in football are approaching. The media circulate stories about young competitors who overcame obstacles to prevail in the national spotlight.
For many of those young people, books have been replaced by video games and action figures. And at times like these, that shows.
LINKS:
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