Boys Don't Cry. But Men Should.

Almost every boy has heard it some time in his life.

Almost every boy has told himself it every time something bad happened.

Almost every boy has made it a characteristic of what it means to be a male.

“Boys don’t cry. Boys don’t cry. Boys don’t cry. Boys don’t cry.” That’s what I remember telling myself over and over again whenever my first dog died. She was only a dog and why should I cry over that? I’m a boy, and boys don’t cry! I have seen this modeled in my life by the men closest to me. I believe many men reading this right now can identify.

There is this masculine lie that has arisen over the centuries that males are to be unsympathetic.

We are to not show that we have any emotions invested into any living thing. I say that last phrase because it is culturally acceptable (maybe even demanded) to be emotionally invested in sports, war, sex, work, and religion as long as those ominous concepts stay just that.

In sports, we are to root for our teams but show no sympathy for players when they make mistakes. In war, we are to do whatever it takes to take out the enemy without thinking about the people who we will affect. In sex, we are to live as we are conquerors instead of lovers of the person. In work, we are to get the job done without thinking about those working below or for us. In religion, we are to do our religious duties without thinking about the commands to love our neighbors, wives, poor, and needy.

I want to argue that men should cry. We need to cry. Crying means we are emotionally involved. More than that, I want to argue for the need for selfless sympathizing and empathizing within the male community.

Women have been said to not be as good of leaders as men because of “their emotions.” What the heck does that even mean? What kind of emotions? Because they are able to sympathize better than men? Are men scared that women might begin to think about actually people and not just a vague group?

Most women have empathy and sympathy built into them, men do not. They are naturally mothers, and men can learn so much from women in this respect. Men are scared of becoming emotionally attached to any person, and when we do, we feel less manly. The world needs more men to step up and be so empathetic towards people that they cry. A lot.

• Men should cry because sex slavery is one of the fastest growing underground industries in the world.

• Men should cry because there are approximately 125,000 abortions A DAY.

• Men should cry because divorce rates continue to climb and we are typically the ones causing the problems.

• Men should cry because most child problems are due to lack of a father.

• Men should cry because pornography is the biggest business in the entire world, and we are the main consumers.

• Men should cry because the church is shrinking, and the people group that is leaving at the largest rate is men.

There is much more.

Men should cry. But crying is not enough. The goal of emotional involvement is action. Action is the result of crying. So men, cry about something, then do something about it!