We Need More Male Role Models
Governor Wes Moore of Maryland on Raising Men Up
This past election there was erosion among all voting groups and states for Democrats. The two worst demographics that saw the greatest erosion were 1) Men under 25 and 2) Women 35-50. To paraphrase what this is, these are young, aimless men and their mothers who see their malaise. Both of these groups, across all races and geographies, swung heavily toward Republicans.
We have a young man problem. Labor force participation for young men is at it’s lowest since the Great Depression and college attainment levels for young men are at their lowest since 1964. Young men are experiencing the greatest lack of opportunity America has seen. Bad things in society happen when this occurs; crime goes up, civil unrest does too. Suicide rates among young men have spiked 30% since 2010.
Messaging towards this group has been terrible over the last decade. To listen to it, they were the bane of every young girl, nothing but rapists and assaulters. Yes, every one. While opportunities for young women have never been better, with women now making up solid majorities in college and post secondary education, opportunties for young men were declining. On top of that, women tend to find partners at or above their social/financial levels while men are less picky in that regard; for most men, there are fewer opportunities to find partners and start a family. This is the cause of why Democrats have a really hard time appealing to men; they focus so much attention on messaging towards women that they immediately assume male voters are the antithesis of that. The online activists out there do them no favors either by spreading that fallacy.
Richard V. Reeves in his book, “Of Boys and Men” documented all of these issues. It needs to be stressed too, we can raise and support girls AND boys. Much of the focus over the past decades has been on raising young girls; it was a wild success. But now we are at a point where the pendulum has swung too far to the detriment of young men. For instance, the gender gap in colleges today now exceeds in the opposite direction what it was when Title IX was passed. Does that mean we need to scrap Title IX; not really, but perhaps it does mean we take our foot off the gas. Most importantly, we need to support young men to the same degree we do young women. When women are pushed to go into STEM and college AP courses and young men aren’t, what does that say to them?
At long last, an elected official has made this a central theme; rising Democratic star Wes Moore, Governor of Maryland. Governor Moore has been someone who personally understands the importance of fathers, of discipline, of direction and achievement. As a youth, without a father, mentor or reliable male role model, he got into trouble numerous times and his mother sent him to military school. At first, he hated it and wanted to leave, but eventually gave it a chance, succeeding and then attending West Point. He became a Rhodes Scholar and has been a fixture on news programs since, winning the Maryland Governorship in 2022.
In his state of the state message, he made it a point to try and lift young men up.
Lastly, investing in our people means following the data – And the data is telling us that we need to have a greater statewide focus on supporting and elevating our men and boys. And it’s not just that in Maryland, labor force participation for young men is nearly the lowest it has been in two decades… It’s also that suicide rates among men under 30 have risen by more than a third since 2010. Across the country, college attainment levels are the same now for men and boys as they were in 1964. And Maryland still sends youth under the age of 18 to our state prisons at twice the national rate. The data is telling us a clear message: We need to better understand and address what’s happening with our men and boys. I want to be clear: This administration remains steadfast in our support for all Marylanders, regardless of their gender or background. As the father of a son and a daughter, I want both of my children growing up with all of their God-honoring and God-given opportunities – But if we want to truly unleash the power of Maryland’s labor force, we need to make sure our men and boys aren’t still falling behind. I strongly believe our mission to uplift men and boys isn’t in conflict with our values to leave no one behind – it’s in concert with them. In the words of the great Marylander Frederick Douglass: “It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.” And we have already started doing exactly that – in ways that uplift our men and boys and help support the aspirations of all Marylanders. In 2023, we launched a first-in-the-nation Service Year Option to help high school graduates find their path and purpose. In 2024, we made sure that we rewarded our service members through policies to support both veterans and military families. And in 2025, I will be directing my entire administration to begin implementing targeted solutions to uplift our men and boys.
This mirrors Governor Ned Lamont’s missive to bring more men into schools as teachers. Richard Reeves highlighted Governor Moore’s statments and added,
“But the commitment from Wes Moore is easily the most sweeping and serious to date. As he says: “Directing my entire administration to begin implementing targeted solutions to uplift our men and boys.” He also frames the challenge correctly, specifically stating that this is not a zero-sum game. Focusing on boys and men is not an abandonment of a commitment to equality but the application of it. As he put it: “our mission to uplift men and boys isn’t in conflict with our values to leave no one behind – it’s in concert with them.” Amen, Governor. He makes it clear that we need to work on behalf of boys and girls, women and men, drawing on his own duties as a father."
Democrats have a lot of work ahead of them to appeal to young men again. However, Governors Moore and Lamont are on their way to doing just that.
PurpleAmerica’s Recommended Stories
Wes Moore is very much one of the best role models for young men I can think of. Not just for what he overcame and accomplished, but also for the fact he is acutely aware of how different his life could have turned out.
In his book, “The Other Wes Moore,” he chroncles his upbringing and the events that brought him to success, while also documenting the story of another Wes Moore, who’s name just happened to be in the newspaper the same day his hometown newspaper, The Baltimore Sun, an article ran announcing he had won a Rhodes Scholarship. This other Wes Moore was going to jail again for killing a police officer in a felony murder. Thoughful, empathetic and inspiring, I highly recommend this book to everyone.
PurpleAmerica’s Obscure Fact of the Day
“Name dopplegangers” are people who share the same name as you. Uninspiring, the most common name doppleganger is… John Smith.
PurpleAmerica’s Final Word on the Subject
It doesn’t take much to be a mentor to a young man. Coach a team, help with volunteer efforts, tudor someone who needs it. Include kids in your neighborhood.
We need more positive male role models today, more than ever.
Too many young people are being raised by their smartphone and television.
Wes Moore is just JD Vance with a "D" as his party. His book, like Vance's, has numerous lies and embellishments. But hey, they both made it to Oprah's show (or book club?)! Maybe he's talking the good talk right now, but as a Governor, Wes Moore is pretty.....meh (I'm a MD resident). He's being groomed for the WH.