Squires: Where are the men willing to defend women and children from cultural depravity?

Protecting his children is a significant part of a father’s job. This is why everyone who has watched the film "Taken" likely saw Bryan Mills, the retired CIA officer played by Liam Neeson, as a hero for going across the globe to save his daughter from a sex trafficking ring.

One person who may disagree is Andrew Aoyama, an editor at the Atlantic. He saw something very different in Liam Neeson’s character. Aoyama shared his perspective in a short post about books on fatherhood.

“If today it’s hard to watch Taken without at least some disgust at the glorification of Neeson’s bloodshed, perhaps it’s because the traditional conception of fatherhood his character embodies has begun to fall out of step with shifting understandings of masculinity.”

He’s right. The understanding of what it means to be a man has shifted significantly over the past 30 years, but as is often the case, change is not synonymous with progress. The demonization of masculinity in this country has saturated the culture so thoroughly that men now view heroism with disdain.

You don’t need a particular set of skills to be a brave man in today’s world. Just a few good men willing to stand on the front lines of the culture war would go a long way. Unfortunately, too many are AWOL.

Every viral video on social media of a mother putting her son in a dress or taking her daughter to a “kid-friendly” drag show prompts the same question from me: “Where is this child’s father?”

I ask that question because I assume no man who cares about the propagation of his family line would stand idly by while his child is being tenderized to accept a distorted sense of gender and sexuality.

The absence of fathers willing to stand up in support of their daughters is also one of the most glaring omissions from the stories involving boys being allowed to compete in girls’ sports. I’m sure many do, but so far it seems like many of the female athletes are having to defend themselves against the gender radicals.

This is why many speak anonymously to reporters and distort their voices when they are on camera. This is a fight that requires fathers on the front lines. For some men, that means leading a march to the local school district. Others may choose to testify at school board meetings. Some fathers may get media attention by protesting at games or hijacking local news stories to stand up for their daughters.

Liam Neeson was willing to die to rescue his daughter. There are fathers in America today who wouldn’t risk being called a bad name to defend their children. These are the men who should be looked at with disgust, not the man willing to risk life and limb for the child he loves.

We need more men like Chris Elston (aka “Billboard Chris”) who are willing to speak the truth with boldness and courage. Elston goes across North America wearing a billboard that says, “Children Cannot Consent to Puberty Blockers” and speaking out against the dangers of transgender ideology. He’s not afraid of being called a bigot by people who hate his values and want to shatter the innocence of his children.

Billboard Chris understands a key element of the natural world: Weak or absent men make women and children more vulnerable to the predations of men who want to abuse and exploit them.

This is why the average teenage boy with testosterone coursing through his body will pursue a girl with no father or male figures in her life over one with a present dad and a few older brothers. Most people take the path of least resistance.

Such is the case in our culture. The forces seeking to pervert our children's minds have advanced this far because men have allowed them to do so.

Our culture has devolved to the point that corporations, politicians, journalists, and entertainers claimed the LGBT community was under attack because legislators in Florida said teachers couldn’t talk to young children about gender identity and sexuality. These people think it is their right to talk to children they didn’t birth, raise, or support about the preferred pronouns of a non-binary pansexual.

A culture that doesn’t respect and honor the role of parents is playing with fire. It is only a matter of time before we read a story about a man who reacts to a teacher who helps guide his child into “transitioning” with a punch in the face, not a sternly worded email.

You don’t have to be Liam Neeson to understand that one of the things that helps maintain order in any social setting is the underlying threat of violence aimed at people who transgress bedrock social norms. One of those norms is not talking to other people’s children about sexual matters without parental consent.

Many men have accepted the lie that they are in a throuple with the government, so they assume they are helpless in the face of bureaucrats who have claimed more and more power over American families.

The chaos and disorder we see in every area of our culture testify to this new norm. These men don’t have to fly all the way to Europe to find what they have lost. The quickest and surest way for them to find themselves is to ask their Creator.

The Bible is clear that fathers are to love and provide for their children, discipline and disciple them, and protect them. Part of the reason our country is in a state of steep moral devolution is because men have abdicated these duties.

They would rather be seen as inclusive “allies” by readers of the Atlantic than tell their sons, “No, you can’t have that one – because boys don’t wear dresses.”

That type of response would have been automatic 40 years ago. Men today have been ground down by the forces of feminism and gender inclusion so thoroughly that they are afraid to speak plainly to their own children. Too many have been stripped of their boldness and courage – the metaphorical embodiment of what C.S. Lewis called “men without chests.”

It is time to reclaim what has been taken from American men. Future generations are depending on us.