The Age of the Man-Child

What was it I read the other day? Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. Weak men create hard times. Ain't that the truth. Now all we need to do is wait for the hard times to come knocking on our door because this is the age of the man-child.

I see them on a daily basis — young men in their early twenties who look like boys, sound like boys and behave like boys. Men who don't know the difference between a handsaw and a hacksaw but know how to shop for groceries on an electric skateboard. Men who can't build a closet or fix a roof. Men who don't know how to use a hammer unless it's the enchanted Marvel patented toy hammer, Mjolnir. By the time they hit 40 nothing's really changed.

There's a whole generation of men who don't even own tools — real tools, not the ones you find in a virtual toolbox that comes with a game. We're talking men who don't want the responsibility of maintaining anything, be it a car, city bike or a modest studio apartment. They'd rather pay a premium price to not have to do any of the hard work themselves. Behold the modern man, who can't survive without his smart phone because he wants to be served. Quick and easy is the way to go. To hell with hardship. To hell with what if I had to do it all by myself? Are you kidding me? This a not the stone age.

True. This is the age of the narcissistic man-child who stares at a screen so long he thinks he is entitled to blame Disney for destroying his precious childhood. A man who needs a minimum of 50 thumbs-ups a day because Mommy used to tell him he was great. Daddy did so too. "Strike a pose, son!" Yes, good times create weak men. Little princes. 

A couple of weeks ago I saw a six-year-old prince on a playground who wanted to climb the monkey bars. His father came rushing his way, not to assist him but to rescue him 4 feet above ground level. The proud parent had been taking many a picture of his Mini-Me but when he saw the kid quickly developing an adventurous streak and actually climb something, he got nervous and felt compelled to come to the rescue. Kids these day are all too often protected to the point of absurdity.

But everything comes at a price.

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