GLENN: So I was working on something about five weeks ago. And I asked the women who were on my staff on the radio and TV show, I asked them, please define a real man. A gentleman. What is that? Does that even exist anymore?
I had each of them write a couple of paragraphs. Listen to what they wrote.
When we describe as men as gentlemen or real men, I think of the following qualities, kind, honest, loyal, humble, selfless, and courageous. Strong characteristics and high expectations. They are -- they are -- they are difficult to ask of a person, but they're a quality that every man, woman, and child should strive for. Our society values these decencies because they restore faith in humankind and make our world a better place.
You know, I was really Sadat my friend's funeral this weekend. And I wondered what it was that really set him apart. And it was that he was kind and he was honest and he was loyal and he was humble and he was selfless.
He was a -- he was a man. News anchors, coaches, doctors, comedians, and producers who have appeared to be a gentleman or real men have disappointed our society for not living out the projected personas they portray in public life.
They harm. And the harm they cause their victims was made all the greater by the double lives they were living. The most important quality of being a man is integrity. Living out your core principles in both public and in private.
Another staff member wrote. A true gentleman is someone who opens the door for someone, someone who stops when he sees a person broken down on the side of the road, someone who jumps over his girlfriend during a shooting at a concert, someone who protects the helpless. Most importantly, he does these things without wanting recognition. A gentleman puts his family first and himself second. He understands there's a difference between a man and a woman, but doesn't look down on women. He treats them with respect and kindness. He's a God-fearing man who knows his weakness and surrounds himself with others to hold himself accountable for his shortcomings. He's humble and he values every human being, and he loves as God loves.
This one, no better time to catch up on the Bachelor than a lazy Friday night. I sat on my couch watching 29 women simultaneously throw themselves at the latest bachelor, Arie, in hopes of catching his eye. One of them gushed to the other, that he's the perfect man.
I sat there and thought, why? Is it because he rides a motorcycle? Is it because he apparently is a great kisser? Or is it because he buys his dates diamond necklaces?
The truth is that perfect men don't exist, but great ones, gentlemen do. And you're not going to find them on reality TV. Real men demonstrate the kind of selfless qualities seen in the savior who came before them. They have a genuine love for others, a deep humility, despite success. They show integrity with unwavering honesty, despite making mistakes. They're respectful with those with power, but they're more respectful to those without. When they mess up, they work hard to fix it.
These are the qualities I want in my future husband, just as these are the qualities I strive to develop in myself. The qualities I will teach my sons, but also my daughters. They are the non-gender -- they are the gender nonspecific qualities of a good person.
And they're getting harder to find. Maybe it's because our selfie culture teaches us to focus more on ourselves, rather than on others. Maybe it's because leadership is often more preoccupied with scores than solidarity. Or maybe it's because one of the top rated shows on TV is teaching us that perfect guys are the ones who simultaneously date you and your roommate.
Last one: There's no secret to being a good man or a gentleman. Every man can transform himself into that, simply by following the golden rule, do unto others what you would have them do to you.
A true gentleman makes every person they feel -- every person they meet feel important and respected. He is a person who raises others up, instead of tearing them down. He's not cruel or critical to people.
He's a leader, not by force, but by example. Men and women want to emulate a gentleman because he challenges them to be better versions of themselves. He stands up for principles, when it's hard and unpopular to do so. He's a leader. He's not swayed away from his morals by the majority of opinion. Most importantly, a gentleman is not without fault.
But he takes responsibility for his actions, especially in the cases where he is wrong. He's not afraid to admit failures, except consequences and try again. To be a gentle -- to be a gentleman is to be human. Because we all make mistakes. But the difference, a gentleman picks himself back up and constantly strives to be better for himself and the people around him.
I didn't ask the guys to write what a gentleman -- I asked the women to tell me what a real man was.
This is why Jordan Peterson is so popular. Who says this anymore?
What outlet talks about this anymore? What outlet?
What group insists on this anymore? Did you notice that every single one of them talked about humility? I would expect if I said, you know, what's a real man? Well, he's got courage.
But our society is not teaching humility. How could our society teach humility? How could it? We don't allow for failure anymore.
Failure is something that you don't have to go through. So if you're not going through failure, you don't know what it feels like to be truly humbled.
I -- I -- how do you know what's you and what's God, if you haven't failed?
Because I know I failed horribly and have continued to fail, just not on that grand of a scale. But I knew my failures came from me. And I knew what I had left had come from God.
Because I didn't have anything else left. I had nothing left. I didn't even have my name that I was given.
Nobody believed my word. I'm a better man because of that humbling. We're all upside down. I'm -- I don't think I'm alone. I don't think I'm alone in the, yeah, I don't think I'm going to fight that. No.
Because that really just leads to more and more anger. I -- I think I'm going to pick my battles a little more carefully. Because we're not going to be able to fix any of this. We can't fix this politically.
We have to fix ourselves. Our -- our representatives, you know why they're still there. They're still there because we want them there.
We're electing them. Look who we're -- look who we're electing. Look who we're giving a pass to say, it's okay to run. I think now is my time. I'm a Nazi, and I think now is my time.
I think there's a lot of people out there that think like me.
Holy cow. I hope to God not.
Because, boy, the Nazis sure didn't know how to be a man. Mike Pence was ridiculed -- was ridiculed for his stance on women, that he won't be left alone with a woman. He just thinks that it is a good safety tip. And remember how they -- oh, I won't go out for dinner with a woman unless my wife is with me.
Oh, my gosh. Oh, he can't have dinner without his wife. Yeah. Have you noticed what's happening in our society?
He's a pretty smart guy. Society doesn't want strong men. The culture doesn't. The culture doesn't.
The people do. So what do you say you pick a target and we set off to be truly great men, the men we were born to be, not the boys we've allowed ourselves to become?
