Down with Men?

This post is going to be a little uncharacteristic of my usual social media habits but after an AMAZING Relief Society lesson last Sunday I'm going to have to jump up on my soap box and vent a little about something that's been on my mind.

If this started going around on Facebook would anyone laugh? What would most of the comments say?

It's not even clever right? I like a little saucy humor and can appreciate a pretty wide range of jokes but this just isn't that funny. 

So then why is this funny?

I found this on Pinterest under a search for "men". When did men become such a joke?

For example here's what's on TV right now. I'm not talking about Homer Simpson or Al Bundy from like 20 years ago. Airing on TV right now in this modern age of "equality" we have Phil Dunphy, the admittedly hilarious but unarguably incapable dad on Modern Family. We have the new ABC show "Watch Dad Run." Truthfully, I haven't seen an episode but just from the previews I think I can pretty much summarize the premise. Smart, competent mom goes back to work and dumb, oblivious dad has to become a lowly stay at home dad and struggle with difficult tasks such as starting the dishwasher and running carpool. Hilarity and amusement ensue. Don't even get me started on the parents we see on Nickelodeon and Disney Channel. It seems like half of those kids don't even have parents to begin with. The ones who do make appearances are portrayed as idiots whose kids always know best or who are completely oblivious to their kids shenanigans. Phineas and Ferb anyone? 

(I love Phineas and Ferb. I'm just sayin'!)

Let's all close our eyes and use our imaginations. You turn on the TV and there's a commercial where a man is trying to trick his chubby wife into exercising. Maybe he even bribes her with shoes or money or something. Not cool? A little distasteful? Flip the scenario. Oh hey it's a Cheerios commercial. Or that one Fiber One Bar commercial. 

Here's what I'm getting at. I was raised by a perfectly intelligent and able Dad who I respect more than anyone in the world. Except maybe my Mom, because he taught me that she deserved respect. Because that's what good dads do. Don't men deserve the same? Are moms doing enough to teach their kids that their dads deserve respect? I see way too many wives belittling and speaking badly about their husbands in front of other people, even their kids. Don't be surprised then moms when your teenagers think dad is someone who can be ignored and disobeyed. I saw it all the time from my own friends in high school and I see it all the time from families I know now. How many Relief Society lessons have you been in where the women sat around and laughed about how terrible the Smith girl's hair looked because mom is out of town and Dad is an idiot? Trust me. Women are not the butt of the jokes in Priesthood. The topics of conversation at Enrichment Night shouldn't be whose husband did the most idiotic thing this week.

I was once in a devotional where the speaker said "We have a Heavenly Father who could have taken any title he wanted. We could be addressing him infinite different prestigious, lofty titles. For some reason though, our God chose simply to go by the title of "Father."

When counseling Laman and Lemuel, Lehi's last advice to them before passing away was to "Arise from the dust my sons, and be men." 

Let's let our men be men and embrace our role as women. We have special talents and responsibilities and as much as feminists try to prove otherwise, we are fundamentally different. But equally important. Let's all try to show the men in our lives a little more respect.