Man Enough To Help?

Hawley Knows The Problems Facing America’s Young Men. But Is He Man Enough To Address Them?

November 19 is International Men’s Day. As men face high rates of mental illness, drug addiction and suicide, International Men’s Day (IMD) aims to bring awareness to the reasons men might be uniquely vulnerable and to present systemic solutions.

So what does Missouri’s self-proclaimed manhood expert Josh Hawley think about this?

While Josh Hawley seems to understand the issues at hand – men are paid less than their fathers were for the same work, aren’t receiving adequate education and struggle with mental illness and drug addiction – he doesn’t seem that interested in solving them.

IMD is clear that their mission is to promote positive male role models, improve gender equality and highlight discrimination against men in social expectations. Hawley’s Manhood book, released earlier this year, does the opposite.

Hawley blames men for their issues, claiming they have no purpose and aren’t trying hard enough because they are “content to be dependent” on their families and the government. He mocks men who live with their parents, battle drug addiction and face unemployment, saying they have “disinterest in work” and are “incapable of living on their own.”

Josh Hawley has the power to address the issues plaguing young men. He could write and pass legislation diverting more resources towards mental health or addressing drug addiction. Instead, he backed legislation to undercut labor and education. Hawley would rather pin the responsibility on his constituents than vote to improve their lives.

Of course phony Josh Hawley would milk men’s issues for political points without fixing them – he has no problem doing the same on labor and veterans’ issues. 

But Hawley adds insult to injury when he advocates in his book for a bootstraps approach – the banker’s son and Yale grad never had to work hard for a thing in his life.

So this International Men’s Day, let’s advocate for real change, and push Josh Hawley to do the same. If he wants to make manhood his passion project, he needs to put his money where his mouth is.