Men, God And Popeye: In Defense Of Men

By Carolyn Franklin M.A.

In almost all cultures males have been elevated to be all-powerful, all- knowing, imputed with attributes of a god, a burden far beyond mortal abilities; a heavy load to carry - it’s unfair.

The term “man-kind” puts the collective concept of “male” as dominant, in control of all hu-mans, in control of bodies and minds - an overwhelming responsibility. All hu-mans are perceived as “man”- kind, but in reality, we are males and fe-males, men, wom-men (womb-men). No hu-man is all powerful nor all-knowing.

Daily, momentarily, society expects a man to make right decisions, have the right answers at hand. He’s supposed to understand tax laws, how to fix the plumbing, fix the car, hit a homer, be a well-paid executive and a patient, caring, all-wise Dad and husband. This happens only on TV.

This perception of omnipotence of “man” is a burden - unrealistic. When a man seems “incompetent” - mortal, he’s labeled “failure”, “loser”. Society covers up this perceived “failure” by sympathy, “Well, he’s a good man anyway,” “Well, he didn’t have a chance,” “Well, we need to be more patient...” We’re chaffing the wound, encouraging division.

Women, on the other hand, are encouraged, expected to set their needs aside to accommodate the man. When they don’t, both men and women perceive that independence as selfish and society becomes antagonistic - we take sides, divide.

C. S. Lewis in “Mere Christianity”, suggests humans were created with a built-in sense of right and wrong. The expression varies with the culture, but the sense is innate in all cultures. This sense is based in the need to cooperate, so the species will survive.

Plato and Aristotle said the same thing, i.e., “Let’s get along...it’s the right thing.”

However, the media encourages division and antagonism between males and fe-males; we’re not cohesive - we’re “us” against “them”, divided by race, gender, politics, religion and nationality. This is profitable for the media but destructive to cultures and families. We cannot survive divided.

Perhaps the basic dividing factor is religion, not “God”. Organized religion is often warped; it teaches that “man”, solely, is the representative of God. The “man” assumes control of all life. “Woman” is perceived as inferior. She is then forcibly en-cumbered by pregnancy, so she is easily controlled.

Let’s dispel the myth that God is a man and a man is God. It ain’t necessarily so...
Each man needs inner peace, self-appreciation, - all attributes of Popeye, an en-dearing, homely, self-accepting, individual. Popeye is Everyman - every “hu-man”.

Since this book is written for men I’ll be talking directly to them to explain men’s behavior from a woman’s point of view. No doubt this view will be skewed; any clarifying, exchange of perception, is welcome. We need each other.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Carolyn Franklin M.A.
• Release date: Feb 13, 2020
• ISBN: 9780463656365

Carolyn Franklin M.A.

M. A. Communication StudiesM. A. EducationB. A. Psychology30 years voice training (San Francisco Opera)Voice/Speech improvement CoachContact Carolyn - [e-mail]

Book preview

MEN, GOD AND POPEYE

In defense of men

TRADITIONAL MALE IDENTITY

Carolyn Franklin M. A.

[e-mail]

Copyright Carolyn Franklin M. A. 2020

All rights reserved

CONTENTS

GOD, AS IT IS

THE ARTIST AND HIS ART

MEN - FALLIBLE

DADDY’S LITTLE GIRL

RAPE

THE MEDIA

SUICIDE AMONG MALES

STATISTICS - by gender

WOMEN’S LIB

MALE SELF PERCEPTION

POPEYE -EVERYMAN

RELIGION

THE FINGERS DO NOT TOUCH

NARCISSISM

MEN - LOSS OF IDENTITY IN THE CYBER WORLD

MY COUSIN STEVE

THE GAME OF WAR

JACOB AND THE ANGEL Genesis 32:22-31

FEAR OF INTIMACY the LOSS OF SELF

THE MALE GENITALS

ULTIMATELY…THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE

IN A NUT SHELL

SUMMATION

DAVID

MEN AND THEIR NASCENT ENERGY

PHILIPPIANS 4:8 KJV

ABOUT CAROLYN FRANKLIN

PUBLICATIONS BY CAROLYN FRANKLIN M. A.

Gentlemen: This book is a one-sided conversation. Like Dinner With Andre, I’ll offer a one-sided view, my interpretation of male behavior from a woman’s observations. Of course, I’ll be considered wrong, mis-led, misunderstood, and that’s the point. We need honest, open dialogue. We need each other. Let’s get along.

First let’s establish, is there a GOD - or gods? This is an ancient and pervasive concern.

This question is critical as the traditional assumption in most cultures is that a human man is the physical representative of a face-less, bodily-less, un-seen, un-touchable idea, called God.

Any thinking, intelligent being would immediately understand this is quite a stretch from the concept of a nameless, faceless, ethereal idea to the physical, limited, touchable human man.

The perennial question that plagues us over time is, Is there a God? Is there a person, being, an intelligence, that is endowed with super-powers and omniscience? A being who created us and controls our existence?

And…, the answer is…

We don’t know - for sure.

This question is asked first since much of human behavior is at the control of a Superior Being. Do we have Free Will, or are we Robots? Who’s the Boss?

Theories, theories, theories, visions, feelings, enlightenments, visitations, apparitions, musings, wisdom, voices, common sense, suppositions… Gnostics - are all just that, a massive collection of theories. Some mystic states that he or she had a visitation from celestial beings and that individual seems quite genuine in the revelation. That’s what he or she says happened…

We have no facts. We can’t prove anything.

However, in spite of science, common sense and a frail concept of Reality, I have chosen to believe, yes, there is a God, a viable and caring, no-nonsense God.

But He-It doesn’t sit on a throne smiling benignly, holding His-Its arms out blessing us. And there’s no angel chorus singing His-Its praises - unless that image appeals to you. God never stated that It sat on a throne, had any form or had any gender - that’s all man-made information.

This is explained in Genesis. In fact, I will refer to His-Its - own - description of Him-Its self:

Revelation 1:18 KJV: I am Alpha and Omega. the beginning and the end.

Isaiah 45:5, 6, 18, 21; 46: 6 KJV I am the first, I am the last; besides me, there is no God.

Exodus 3:14 KJV And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT. I AM.

In the NIV version the statement is translated as, "I am who I am. The word who completely obliterates the actual meaning. The word, who, denotes a person," a human being - a limitation. Obviously, God is not hu-man!

Whoever translated that statement had no understanding of the nature of God.

To see God as a who, is to grievously limit God. Who is a form, limited in size, appearance - form is finite. God is not finite - God is in-finite…

The Bible states we were created in the image of God, Genesis1:27. Your image in the mirror is not you - it is a reflection of you. You can create millions of images, reflections, none of which are you.

In Judaism the name of God is never spoken because a word alone cannot convey the power, majesty and concept of God. To speak a word, to name a concept, is to place borders around the concept, to label an idea is to diminish it.

God cannot be diminished.

GOD, AS IT IS

And, in reading the Bible by today’s scholars we must suffer through the absence of punctuation. Simply insert today’s correct punctuation, and note that the statement, I am that I am, is a compound sentence.

Correctly written it is, I am that. I am. - two complete sentences. But, perhaps you are more like I am, when God speaks, you expect a dramatic effect. I would translate the sentence as,

"I… am THAT! I…AM!"

Which means, "I am everything! I am what I think, feel, touch - only I exist, no-thing else. Everything is created directly out of my self, my thoughts, my being - there is no-thing else but me."

Another scripture, KJV: 20:3 - 5 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. God always was and always will be may be interpreted in at least two ways. As a child, in catechism, I was taught it meant:

There are no other gods but me, and there never were any gods before I made myself known. I am the only god that ever was and ever will be.

As a six-year old, I wrestled with that lack of logic. I wanted to pursue the concept, "how can something have always been…?" with the nun, but that was not allowed. As in most belief systems, you accept what you’re told, no questions allowed.

That passage stuck in my mind, therefore my religious education was aborted. If the main idea is not clear, how can you proceed to understand derivations of that same idea?

Usually people can’t answer questions adequately because there is no logic in any concept as heady and heavy as god.

There is not one god, there is only God.

A TV preacher, in explaining the concept of multiple gods, stated, So God said, ‘You will have no other gods before me.’ As it happens with students who may have limited understanding of word meanings, one student understood the word, before to mean that lesser gods were standing in front of the main god - literally, physically in front of It.

It’s a misunderstanding of the word before in that instance.

The actual meaning of before in that instance is, "I am all that there is - no other creators got here first, ahead of me, in front of me, before I did, or later, after, I did. I am the Only Creator. You will not worship any gods instead of (before) me."

There were/are no gods before God. There’s just One, ever, only, One.

And, yes, the Bible states that gods roamed the earth and mated with human women. This is variously interpreted as giants, fallen angels, demons…it has little to do with the creation and purpose of humans as we know them today.

In every society a form of god over-rules the behavior of that specific society. An understanding of their god’s influence is critical since then, you can interact unmolested with the citizens of that society - for your personal well-being.

In the existence of a god, His, Her, Its or Their word, is the sole concept under which most societies flourish. We first need to examine the influence of a god in our specific society. Even though most people believe there is one God, by descriptions of various cultures, that god appears schizophrenic, multi-personalitied, multi-dimensional.

The Christian Science religion refers to God as He-She which makes perfect sense. If God is All, then all should be inclusive in a reference.

God is reputed to be: Loving, cruel, benevolent, condemning, merciful, punishing, forgiving, bountiful, judgmental, severe, fatherly, kind, harsh, critical… almost any sentient adjective will fit