This week’s Democratic National Convention has revitalized the current election cycle, infusing it with a renewed sense of hope and teaching valuable lessons that have left many of us feeling newly energized for the future. No one could have predicted that a 17-year-old boy, showing unrestrained pride for his father, would exemplify to the nation what it means to be raised with a positive model of masculinity.
Is this closer to what you were looking for, or would you like any further adjustments?
Predictably, social media quickly embraced the moment, with many users sharing how they were moved to tears by this touching display of emotion between father and son. I found my own heart melting as I read those posts.
I feel sad for Coulter and others who have emerged to mock Gus for expressing love for his father. It seems that Coulter and those who made similarly harsh comments are unfamiliar with the deep, unfiltered love and joy that was evident between father and son. As the saying goes, jealousy breeds contempt.
The exchange between Walz and his son is meaningful for reasons that go beyond them and beyond politics. When I was a public school teacher, I was surrounded by boys who had been socially conditioned to use profanity and their fists to express emotion. I saw firsthand how the behavioral issues that arose in my classroom and school stemmed from boys who were not allowed to experience the full range of human emotions. They were certainly not allowed to express tender, more vulnerable emotions publicly. Almost every time, profanity and fists took precedence over tears, hugs, and even kindness.
Remarkably, these belligerent displays often overshadowed even joy. Every teacher likely has a story about a boy who chose aggression to express happiness. I recall a time when a boy shoved another into a wall upon hearing the principal announce an early dismissal due to an incoming snowstorm. To be clear, the boy who did the shoving was thrilled by the news.
As a career educator, I continue to witness boys being conditioned to embody a toxic, aggressive form of masculinity. This type of behavior reflects a brazen selfishness, cruelty, and misogyny that was amplified during Donald Trump’s presidency. The only appropriate response to adult men who know no other way to express their masculinity is pity.
Unfortunately, many boys today behave similarly to those from my own childhood in the 1980s and '90s. Crying remains forbidden, even when, as we’ve seen from some of the worst corners of the internet, those tears are part of a deeply emotional display of love and joy towards one’s own father.
In a short period, Walz has presented us with a clear alternative to the inadequate and, dare I say, pathetic "masculine" identities that have traditionally been imposed on boys and men. Walz demonstrates that a man can be a hunter, a fisherman, and a football coach while also advocating for reproductive rights and supporting the humanity of LGBTQ people. A man can be a decorated veteran and still legislate for free feminine products in schools. A man can fix a car and teach his son that there is a joy and pride so profound that sometimes all a boy can do is clap and cry.
Walz and his wife, Gwen, have raised a joyful son. The result of their upbringing is a young man who understands that healthy boys aren’t afraid to cry and aren’t afraid to show love.
There’s a lot at stake in this election—perhaps more than in any other election in American history. I might be naive, but I wonder if Vice President Kamala Harris, Walz, and the examples set by their families have the power to change our perceptions of boys and men. I hope that their efforts will create more joyful opportunities to foster conversations about a new, healthier, and more sustainable masculinity.