James Talarico

Anyone can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a dad.

And growing up, my dad, every Saturday, would mow our lawn.

And then without anyone asking him, he would go next door and he would mow our neighbor's lawn because she was elderly, she was a widow.

He never talked about it.

He just did it.

And I think that's what being a man is all about.

It's taking responsibility.

It's taking care of the people around you.

It's doing what's right even when no one is watching.

The internet tells these young men that being a man means tearing other people down.

It means trolling and owning and dominating.

So that's not what my dad taught me.

I don't think that's what any father teaches his son.

No father teaches their son to find the weakest person in the room and bully them.

And so if any young men are listening to this podcast, I would say that we have a choice every Saturday morning.

We can either troll people on the internet or we can go mow our neighbor's lawn.

And I think that's the kind of...

I just think that's the model of what a man was in my life.

That's the model I got from my dad.

And I think we all need to remember the example of our fathers in this current environment, in this current discussion.