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| Noonan: Real men are back |
| 2001-10-12 |
On Friday, Sept. 14, I went with friends down to the staging area on the West Side Highway where all the trucks filled with guys coming off a 12-hour shift at ground zero would pass by. They were tough, rough men, the grunts of the city--construction workers and electrical workers and cops and emergency medical worker and firemen. I joined a group that was just standing there as the truck convoys went by. And all we did was cheer. We all wanted to do some kind of volunteer work but there was nothing left to do, so we stood and cheered those who were doing. The trucks would go by and we'd cheer and wave and shout "God bless you!" and "We love you!" We waved flags and signs, clapped and threw kisses, and we meant it: We loved these men. And suddenly I looked around me at all of us who were cheering. And saw who we were. Investment bankers! Orthodontists! Magazine editors! In my group, a lawyer, a columnist and a writer. We had been the kings and queens of the city, respected professional in a city that respects its professional class. And this night we were nobody. We were so useless, all we could do was applaud the somebodies, the workers who, unlike us, had not been applauded much in their lives. And now they were saving our city. Noonan illustrates the difference between real men and the caricature "macho men" created by feminism. Real men don't posture; they do what needs to be done. They work hard, care for their families, and love their country. The difference between real men and the gun-totin' screamers of the Middle East is also accentuated. Our military doesn't posture; in fact, it's pretty self-effacing. That's why we have confidence in them, and expect them to annihilate the bin Laden bully boys and the Taliban thugs. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |