i recently found a little book named, Life After God, by Douglas Coupland. it is a curious little book, published in 1994 by Pocket Books of Simon & Schuster Inc.
i find boxes of books set, 'for free', on the sidewalk almost everyday, now-a-days. Often text books on advanced subjects, because many U. of T. students live nearby, but also because many proof readers for publishing companies live in this neighborhood as well. the books are stamped,
[pre-publication copy, not for sale] .
so, as it is . . .
the little book reads like my life. i mean it is a story about someone my age, raising children in the 80's, plus or minus a few yrs. the basis is we, (in the USA), were raised in a religious world which we rebelled against, so our children are raised in a secular world, (over all). what values did we teach our children? are they critical thinkers, highly motivated, did we change the future? did we give our children to the mass media, because we needed to struggle in two income households, in the war economy Bush, Regan, and Bush devised, with Clinton's help?
so, as it is . . .
fathers day passed on the weekend, and my social media was flooded with thanks to our dads. i did, also. my facebook featured a few favorite pics of dad. dad at graduation, dad the gardener, just plain dad.
my dad grew up in depression and war. the 20th century was good for white men in the USA, so he went to college and my mom was educated and my parents were religious. my grandparents were religious, i was raised in the church too. but the 60's change many of us. we lost faith. not only in god. some of us lost faith in government, in society.
it took 40 years, but i became educated by feminist ideals. and i came to understand, men must change themselves. men must give up privilege.
and there are good reasons.
men could be better fathers. i saw my sons become very good fathers for a new vision of society. they were primary caregivers. they raised gentle son's and passionate, ambitious daughters.
now there is back lash so extreme i do fear for the boys who come of age in 2020.
the day after father's day, i got an onslaught of, 'what are boys to do?', articles, which purpose, men have lost maleness.
no
i am a man. 72 years. maleness is a concept. men are creative. men design the world to meet their ideals.
the ideas for the future do include women's passion and input. it is not against men . it is for children. for children for ever.
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I read Life After God years ago, such a great book!