Dennis Prager argues boys need a male role model to develop healthy masculinity, whether a biological father, uncle, family friend, or media figure. He reflects on his emotionally distant father whose moral character shaped his values, and notes many consider him a father figure himself.
Boys don't know how to grow up without male models. Overwhelmingly, it may not be their father. It might be an uncle. It might be a family friend. It might be a television or movie character. It might be a podcaster. A lot of people have said to me I'm a father figure in their life, and I'm honored and delighted to be, and that's not insignificant. But you need one. A man needs one. We're wild without a model of what a man should, should be like. We'll just go nuts. And, and not generally in good directions. I do believe my father had a big influence, not in terms of how he treated me— he was pretty distant— but he was a, a moral, ethical man, and that had a big impact on me.
Life, Legacy, and a Dangerous Mission in the Soviet Union | Sunday Fireside Chat
