I was watching a commercial the other day.

One of those car insurance ones. You know the type. Husband and wife standing in the driveway. She is sharp, decisive, already has the app pulled up and the quote locked in. He is standing there looking confused. Maybe scratching his head. Maybe saying something slightly dumb that she has to correct.

It lasted maybe thirty seconds.

I have seen that commercial a hundred times in a hundred different versions. Different products. Same script. Man is clueless. Woman saves the day. Everybody laughs.

I am not even mad about it anymore. I am just paying attention.

Because here is the thing nobody wants to say out loud. That is not an accident. That is a message. And it is being delivered every single day across every screen in your house, in formats so familiar you stopped noticing them years ago.

The messaging is simple. Men are the comic relief. Masculinity is the problem. And any man who leads, decides, or stands for something without apologizing first is probably the villain.

Your son is watching that. Taking notes without knowing he is taking notes. Building a picture of what a man is supposed to look like. And the picture he is getting from the screen looks nothing like what God had in mind.

I am not saying boycott your television. I am saying pay attention. Know what is being taught in your house when you think nothing is being taught.

The war is quiet because the quieter it stays the more effective it is.

Once you see it you cannot unsee it.

 

 

Stephon Rudd

 

Buy Still A Man: Restoring Biblical Masculinity in a Culture That Erases It on Amazon today!