Today, on the Word on Fire blog, contributor Dave Brenner responds to a recent article about women outpacing men in education and the workplace, and urges his male contemporaries to "think different" when it comes to responsibilities to family, work and spirituality.
CNN posted an article last Wednesday called, “Why Men are in Trouble” which made many claims, the most bold being, “For the first time in history, women are better educated, more ambitious and arguably more successful than men.” The statistics are clear—women now surpass men almost 3:2 in college degrees and their pay is rising far more rapidly.
Neither the CNN article nor this blog is a tired male vs. female debate, though. Those statistics are not a problem by themselves—it’s a good thing that women have more opportunities and are striving to fulfill their calling in life. The issue is not that women are catching up but that men are falling behind. Let me summarize the facts briefly: More than ever before, men go to church less, connect less with their families, and have less ambition at work and in finding work.
We’re left with an image of a pack of large boys that are content to play video games, hang out with girls with the hope of hooking up, and avoid as much adult responsibility as possible. Hollywood gets this. They’re creating a rapidly growing genre of movies about the man-child: “Wedding Crashers,” “Old School,” “The Hangover,“ anything starring Seth Rogan, etc… We’re drifters without a cause.
Guys —what’s happening?...