I know the left wants us to hate men, but when I look at the guys in my life, it’s clear that they aren’t looking at the right ones.

There I was, at dinner with a group of friends when I found something out that completely shifted the course of my day and mood. I spent the next 30 minutes reassuring everyone I was completely fine and it was no big deal, but my guy friends told me I could calm down over at their place before making the 40 minute trip back to my own.

And, as a very emotional Enneagram 4 would, I broke down into a sob over the events that had transpired as soon as I walked into their door. A group of five guys sat there with me and comforted me as I cried and explained what happened. They offered to drive me back so I didn’t have to take the metro by myself, told me I could spend my time with them if I needed to get away, and checked in on me for the next couple days. 

I’ve also had one very steady guy friend in my life since my freshman year of high school, who has always been my shoulder to cry on and while we disagree politically, he has always supported my goals and aspirations in the conservative movement. He’s calmed me down when I’ve lost friends over my views, and he’s been there to help me work through my beliefs when I need a debate partner. He’s also just been someone to lighten the mood when my day has been heavy. The amount of times I’ve texted him “Hey, make me laugh.” is probably in the hundreds by now. And the amount of times I’ve cried over the actual bad guys to him? Astronomical. He’s been a rock in my life when I needed one. That’s a true friend.

Now, I’m fully aware that ladies are great, especially considering I am one myself. I have some seriously awesome girls in my corner and I know that so many of them are going to take the world by storm and become incredible leaders in our generation. But I also don’t think we support men enough in our society. The left is constantly taking cheap shots at masculinity and telling us that men are evil, but that could not be further from the truth.

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Take a look at your life and the men that are in it. Relationships come and go, and if you’re in that season of the “go”, feel free to rock out to that angry girl playlist we all have. But on that same vein, don’t devalue men as a whole. It can be easy to say “men are trash.” I’ve jokingly done it myself, but I wouldn’t be who I am, nor would I have made it past certain seasons of my life without the guy friends around me.

Some men can be toxic, but men themselves are not. They add new perspectives and bring different skills and experiences to the table. The idea of writing them off or treating them all like the worst of their gender is absolutely ridiculous. You can lift women up without putting men down.

Take time to say thanks to the guys in your life and appreciate the role they play. Strong men don’t hear it enough.

Danielle E
CABINET