A Call To Arms.

I'm not exactly sure how to put all this, because it's just been formulating in my mind over the last few minutes. But...

I see men my age, mid to late 30's, and they look like they're 55. I see them at jobs they clearly hate. I see them driving trucks they can't afford, driving to homes that have them in debt until at least the age of 70, going home to wives who don't love them and never will, no matter how hard they work or how many sacrifices they make.

No wonder they look old already.

I'm shocked when I see how closely I came to that. How lucky I am to be divorced, to have gotten off the hook so easily.

So many of the great ills of humanity- war, famine, industrialization, overpopulation- have been caused either in whole or in part by a man trying to win the favor of a woman. Yet- we take the blame for all of it. Nevermind that a man never wanted to start a war or build a factory simply for his own satisfaction- it always comes down to wanting to impress, provide for, or otherwise please a woman. But when it's time to lay blame for the disastrous results, it's a man every time who goes to the gallows.

I've seen it in my own community- the constant reminders that "women are sacred", and the unspoken insinuation that men are not. The laughter that follows a man's mistakes and the gentle support that follows a woman's. The idea that a woman is worth more because she is able to bear children. This, THIS is what it is to be a Native man- it's not all horses and spears. We who were once the proud hunters and fighters of the plains and woodlands and coasts have been reduced to nothing more than very large children- and it's because we've allowed our women unrestricted access to our lives. 

In the name of "women's liberation", we have allowed the rights of men to be trampled and disregarded. When men have needed support the very most- such as the post-war period after the Vietnam conflict- women were the least available to us, leaving us to our own devices and in fact telling us over and over again that we were unnecessary, unwanted and abusive. Way to kick us when we're down, ladies. And you wonder why you can't find a good man? As a product of that post-Vietnam, women's-lib generation I can tell you that you have nearly bred "good" men out of existence by feminizing them to the point of being nearly indistinguishable from women. Yes! Other than physically, men have been forced to be almost exactly the same as their women. Do the same things, say the same things, work the same jobs, go the same places. Every time I see a man holding his woman's purse, I want to smack him in the face just to wake him up. She's testing you, man! She's pushing her boundaries and breaking down yours. Have some goddamn self-esteem! Hold your head up!

We die younger, we have a higher incidence of heart attacks, we're more likely to suffer horrible work- or war-related injuries. Oh, but that's alright, because we make a higher income, right? Yeah, except we're spending that money on our wives and the children our wives pushed us into having, often by sabotaging their own birth control- an act that is more "rape" than any act of rape ever perpetrated upon the body of a woman. The amount of actual income an average man is able to spend on HIMSELF is alarmingly low- so low that if we were to be judged by that portion of our income alone, we'd be in deeper poverty than a Darfur war orphan.

Come to think of it, maybe that's an explanation as to why I see men in shiny new F-150 pickup trucks, wearing the rattiest, nastiest t-shirt you can imagine... they can't afford a 3-pack of Hanes t-shirts at Wal-Mart because of the debt they're saddled with paying for that truck, a mortgage on a house much larger and newer than they need, and an average of $20,000 in credit card debt- all because he wanted to impress a woman and make her think he was a good provider.

Considering all that, if it were me, I might wanna watch football too. Just for the escape. If I was in their position, I might drink too much, cheat on my wife, and do anything else just to make myself feel for even a few fleeting moments that I was an individual, that I had some semblance of freedom and that I could make choices affecting the course of my own destiny.

Really. I said it before but it bears saying again- I got off so fucking lucky. I've been divorced twice, the first time because I deserved it, but the second time was more an act of mercy. I didn't see it that way at first- I railed against it, I wanted her back, I was devastated. But more than two years later, I realize the great gift I received the day my wife left. Not to say she's a bad person, she isn't. But I have reemerged into this world, reborn, with my dignity and self-respect intact, and still young enough to enjoy the freedoms of this world before I die and return to the soil that bore me.

I'm 37 years old, I don't own a car or a house, I don't have a legitimate job, I have no credit cards and I've only had a bank account for a bit longer than a year- I barely use it. I don't smoke, I don't do drugs, I exercise regularly and I eat pretty good. I have the absolute adoration and respect of a three year old daughter. I'm in the best physical condition I've ever been in, and I've never been happier than I am right now. I have these gifts because at several points in my life, I was brave enough to tell a woman to go fuck herself, that I wasn't going to try to impress her anymore and that I was going to live my life on my terms.

Men, you need to stand up for yourselves. Stop being the bitch. Put on the pants and be the man you were born to be.