what should man be?
I have a few younger brothers. Not quite a litter, but numerous enough to be intimidating if we sidewalked in line formation.
They asked me once: "Bear, who should I look up to be?" In this economy? Where the typically mentioned male role models are half twitter addicts and half convictable villains? Marcus Aurelius lives in my skull rent free but that's hardly advice I thought worth offering.
The mere fact that this question has become hard is a symptom of our times. It seems men have been stripped of their historical scripts. The traditional ideal of a strong man who is respected in his community, a provider to his kin, and a stern-but-fair father to his children - has been atomized. In its scattering, the provider role remained the last pillar of the old manhood still standing and begrudgingly respected. But a single pillar does not a temple make.
The male market have spoken - they want the Tate brothers. It is for the rest of us to stand up and meet the demand with better goods.