Preface
Denial. According to the Twelve Step groups that exist to facilitate recovery from a myriad of addictions and compulsive behaviors, denial is the first obstacle that needs to be overcome if one is to make any progress down the road to recovery.
For some time, America has been in a state of national denial regarding the problems of its men. At long last we are beginning to acknowledge the denial and are facing up to the reality of the disconnectedness of American men from family and spiritual life. We are even getting past the male-bashing biases of the radical feminists and the political-correctness crowd. Could it be that we are finally willing to start acknowledging the devastating effects that the marginalization of males has had on our society?
This book you are about to read is an updated and revised edition of my earlier work, Missing From Action: Vanishing Manhood in America, published by Thomas Nelson in 1987. At the time it was first published there was only one secular book, and no Christian books on the market that dealt with the problems of American men in quite the same way. In the intervening years that has changed.
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Books such as David Blankenhorn's highly acclaimed Fatherless America (1995); The Myth of Male Power: Why Men Are the Disposable Sex, by Warren Farrell (1993); Good Will Towards Men, by Jack Kammer (1994);; A Nation of Victims, by Charles Syker (1992); Men Are from Mars; Women Are from Venus, by John Gray (1992); Naked at Gender Gap: A Man's View of the War Between the Sexes, by Asa Baber (1992); and The Masculine Journey, by Robert Hicks (1993) all deal with various aspects of American manhood.
In the realm of Christian publishing, the number of books on manhood has also mushroomed. Titles like Seven Promises of a Promise Keeper (1994); Patrick Morley's The Man in the Mirror (1994); Tender Warrior, by Stu Weber (1993); What Makes a Man, by Bill McCartney (1992); and Point Man, by Steve Farrar (1990) were among the seventy-two titles I saw on the shelves of a local Christian bookstore recently.
A men's movement that was barely budding nine years ago has blossomed with groups like Promise Keepers and The National Fatherhood Initiative, which attempt to help men strengthen their relationships with their wives, their children, and other men.
While this book retains the most important elements of the original Missing From Action, it also contains many changes and additions. I have updated the statistical information and replaced some dated illustrations from the earlier work. Several new chapters have been added as well — for example, Chapter 7, "Wine, Women, and Psalm." I added this chapter not
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only because alcoholism is such a pervasive problem in this country, but because the history of the Temperance Movement in this nation is a classic example of the marginalization of male influence in moral reform movements since the Victorian era. For American men to regain their place in society, we need to deal honestly both with the issues raised by the Temperance Movement and with its feminizing effect on American males, which continues to this day. This discussion is long overdue.
In addition, I have added a chapter on the current crisis of Black men in America. While there is a unique set of historical circumstances connected with the problems presently facing African-American men, their situation is not unrelated to what is happening to all men across America.
Since my first book was published, both Terry Somerville and I have had the privilege of talking to numerous men's and family conferences across America. We see signs that progress is being made and are hopeful that our efforts here will help the progress continue.
Weldon Hardenbrook
Ben Lomond, California
