Author: Rich Gorecki

Recently, the loveable Muppet character, Elmo posted a kind-hearted check-in this week on X (formerly known as Twitter). Unfortunately, with the thousands of replies and a few interventions from his “Sesame Street” pals later, it’s pretty clear that some people are not doing well. As CNN Health writer AJ Willingham posted here, the world is experiencing a grinding war in Ukraine. There is a potential famine in Gaza and a seemingly endless drumbeat of mass shootings in the US. Many young Americans are struggling with anxiety and depression as the country faces a well-documented mental health crisis. And in many places are in the middle of a cold, dark winter. So many people are not doing very well. But that shouldn’t keep us from asking.  The men’s group at our church occasionally does something called a “Guy Talk” which is a casual conversation about random topics. We’ve covered how we use

February in the United States is Black History Month. Anyone with even minimal cultural awareness recognizes the importance of one of our nation’s oldest organized history celebrations. Originally announced as Negro History Week back in 1926, every president since Gerald Ford through Joe Biden has issued a statement honoring the beauty, joy, and perseverance of Black Americans. Ronald Reagan once said that “understanding the history of Black Americans is a key to understanding the strength of our nation.” This understanding can help us heal from our ugly history of oppression, slavery, abuse, and hatred and move toward the equality that our Constitution grants to all people, regardless of their race, gender, or religious beliefs. Sadly, the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, reports that hate crimes rose again in 2023 in the nation’s 10 largest cities. The summer of 2020 brought us to a

Occasionally, I say or write something about a sensitive subject that opens me up to criticism and comments from those who do not agree with me. One instance was after my 2019 post, Accountable to Act like Men about a controversial commercial by Gillette. Another came from Balancing Our Masculine and Feminine Sides. I also stated that your wife should NOT be your best friend in an interview on the Men in the Arena podcast. But as they say, if you don’t want to be criticized, don’t do (or say) anything! However, that approach is passive, which is what I believe ails many guys today. So since passivity is not in my make-up (pun intended!), I’ll stick my neck out once again. Among the films on the recent Academy Award nominations is the year’s biggest-grossing movie, “Barbie.” Many people were upset that the Academy snubbed Greta Gerwig for Best Director