There’s no doubt about it: Men have gone from the leaders of society to, at least in some circles, the lowest of the low. But Dr. Tim Clinton says they’ve gotten a bad rap.
“Most men are looked at as distant, disengaged, lazy, cold, no-emotion porn addicts, bad husbands, horrible fathers, buffoons,” Clinton, author, professional counselor and co-host of Dr. James Dobson’s Family Talk tells Dr. Steve Greene on a recent episode of the Greenelines podcast on the Charisma Podcast Network. He and co-author Max Davis wrote their most recent book, Take It Back, as a response to the impact of the cancel culture on men in particular.
“Most of the men I’m around—they’re tired of getting beat up,” Clinton says. “They’re tired of getting pounded. [But] I’m seeing a real uprising starting to surge right now. There’s a lot of men out there wanting to step up to the plate and make a difference: Be godly dads, be good husbands, be men who know and love and serve the Lord. There’s a hunger. And I’ll tell you what, it’s a hunger like I’ve not seen in a long time … So we felt it was time to write a book of a strong encouragement and hope for men. And by the way, for those who love them, this book is written also for those who really care deeply about the men in their lives.”
“We want to give this as a bow-tie present to say, ‘Listen, you matter; you matter more than you know,'” Clinton says. “And it’s time; it’s time right now to step into this moment.”
Contrary to what our culture often says, Clinton explains, there is a lot of good news about men and the impact they have in their families. “For example, 92% of Americans agree that men, dads, make a unique contribution to their son and daughter’s life; in other words, they have a profound influence on them according to the National Center on Fathering.”
Clinton also says that “Dads make all the difference in the world when it comes to their sons and daughters in terms of influence in their life. When you think about the influence of dad, and if he is emotionally engaged and present, kids score higher on assessment of academic performance … they do much better in their male and female identities. They’re stronger against peer pressure. They’re stronger against whether or not they’re going to get involved in drug use or more and mental health issues.
“It matters. Dad’s presence when he’s engaged and participating in the life of the son or daughter—it matters,” Clinton says. “And again, I don’t think that message gets out there enough: Men matter.”
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