Yet the elders in McIntosh County, with Ashley as its county seat, frequently live into their 90s, and sometimes beyond. It had the highest proportion of people 85 and older in the country. Doesn’t make sense until you see why it does.

Stress levels are low. The farmers pursue a lifetime of physical exercise. When they retire in town, they still mow their small lawns and grow vegetables in the backyard. The numbers may be skewed by the many young people who leave town for economic opportunity in bigger places, but they’re hard to dismiss.

A big factor in this longevity, researchers found, was social connection. Every morning the old men would gather at the Dakota Family Restaurant for coffee and breeze-shooting. The women had their own table.

“The cafe is where the networking takes place,” the county’s director of social services said. “If somebody doesn’t show up for coffee, it would cause a lot of chatter, and someone will check on them.” The pattern repeats itself across the Northern Plains.

The most recent National Vital Statistics report lists the states for the highest life expectancy at birth: No. 1 is Hawaii, followed by Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Minnesota, Rhode Island, Utah and New Hampshire. What these very diverse places have in common are relatively strong social infrastructures.

A New York psychiatrist known for running group sessions would tell his patients: “You don’t need me. You need friends.” He’d put together people with little in common by age, ethnicity and income level. Forced at first to air their angst before absolute strangers happy to be critical, the group members developed fast friendships that flourished decades after official therapy stopped.

Loneliness has been declared an epidemic leading to sickness and self-harm, and rightly so. The pandemic deepened isolation, but the shrinking personal ties began well before. Robert Putnam’s 2000 book, “Bowling Alone,” documented an ongoing collapse of American community.

Recent research found that from 2003 to 2022, face-to-face socializing among American men fell by about 30%. But for teenagers, it shrunk 45%. (Reporters covering youth sports have long bemoaned driving past beautiful baseball fields with no one on them.)

Email, texting and posting have not replaced in-person socializing. And the result appears to be increased depression, especially among teenagers. And if their communication swims in anger-provoking social media feeds, small wonder so many are drowning in despair.

Are there remedies? Some are being tried. Several cities run activities fairs, where attendees can look over groups to join. Interests can be books, oil painting, choral singing, cooking, whatever. We now read of adult sleep-away camps designed to spark new friendships. Attendees piled into a room of bunk beds have little alternative at night to yakking with new acquaintances.

It’s bit of a shame that these encounters seem more mechanical than the simple act of saying hi to the neighbor taking out garbage at the same time. But let’s give them a try.

The early 19th-century French aristocrat Alexis de Tocqueville noted Americans’ fondness for joining associations: political, neighborhood, labor. He famously wrote, “Nothing in my view deserves more attention than the intellectual and moral associations in America.”

And in many ways, they were superior to the social groups in old Europe, largely rooted in fossilized class distinctions. Americans, unplug your monitors, open the door to the fresh spring air and strike up a conversation. People need people. You, too.

Written by Froma Harrop

Official website; https://twitter.com/FromaHarrop

Some of us were trained before we had words for it. Do not smile too much. Do not look too happy. Do not let folks think you are soft. Do not let strangers read you. Watch your mouth. Watch your hands. Watch your face. Boy, that is a lot to put on somebody who is still learning how to be alive. Yet many of us grew up hearing warnings wrapped in love, because our fathers, uncles, coaches, and grandfathers knew the world could mistake an open spirit for weakness.

I understand why they taught it. I am not sitting here acting brand new. There are places where a Black male has to pay attention. A wrong look can cause trouble. A wrong tone can invite foolishness. A wrong step can turn a simple day into something heavy. We know that. Still, I wonder what all that caution has cost us. A man can spend so much time protecting himself that he forgets what his real face looks like when nobody is threatening him.

There is a certain kind of smile I miss seeing. Not the picture smile. Not the one people use when they are trying to sell something. I mean that slow, easy one that comes when a man is at peace for a minute. You might see it when he is holding a grandbaby. You might catch it when old school music comes on at a cookout. You might notice it when he tastes something that reminds him of his grandmother. Nothing big happened. No trumpet sounded. His soul just had a small opening, and something good walked through it.

We need to stop acting like a good moment has to be earned. That is where many of us get trapped. We tell ourselves we can rest later. Laugh later. Sit down later. Enjoy our people later. After this bill. After this repair. After this doctor visit. After this school issue. After this job stops acting crazy. But later is slippery. Later will let a man chase it for forty years and still not turn around. At some point you have to take the mercy sitting right in front of you.

I am not talking about being careless. A grown man ought to handle his responsibilities. Nobody who loves his family wants to be lazy, childish, or absent. That is not the point. Responsibility was never meant to rob a man of his light. You can pay bills and still laugh at the table. You can be firm and still show warmth. You can correct a son and hug him afterward. You can lead a home without walking through it like a storm cloud. Some of us think we are showing strength, but the people close to us may only feel distance.

A wife can feel that distance. Children can too. They may know you love them, but they may not know how to come close. They hear the car pull in and start checking the mood in the room. They know whether the chair squeaks, whether the keys hit the counter hard, whether the television goes on before anybody gets a word in. That is not written to shame any man, because I know work and pressure can drain the best of us. Still, we ought to ask ourselves what our homes feel like when we enter them.

A father’s smile can change the weather inside a house. It can tell a little girl she does not have to perform for affection. It can tell a boy manhood does not have to look like silence and a clenched jaw. It can tell a wife that her husband is still reachable, not just present. That matters. A lot of families have men who provide, but everybody tiptoes around them. Provision is important, but warmth is part of covering a family too.

I think about the older men I grew up around. Some of them laughed loud at the barbershop, then went quiet the minute they got home. Some could joke with friends, but struggled to speak gently to their own children. Some had been hurt so long they did not know how to soften without feeling exposed. I see them differently now. Back then, I thought they were just hard. Now I know many were carrying things nobody ever asked about. Grief. War memories. Racism on the job. Debt. Failed dreams. Bad knees. Regret. Pride. A man can bury a whole life under the words, I am fine.

That is why brothers need other brothers who will tell the truth without clowning pain. We need friends who can say, “You alright?” and mean it. We need circles where a man can admit he is tired without somebody calling him weak. We need older men who can show younger ones that faith is not only about enduring. It is also about receiving. God did not breathe life into us just so we could grind ourselves into dust. There is blessing in a quiet meal, a child’s laugh, a decent night of sleep, and a sunrise you actually stop to notice.

Southern folks know how to stretch a small blessing when we let ourselves. A plate from somebody who can cook. Shade under a tree. A neighbor waving from the porch. Rain hitting a tin roof. Somebody at church singing off key but meaning every word. A fish fry where nobody is in a rush. These things may not impress the world, but they have carried our people through many seasons. Maybe that is the lesson. Gladness does not always come dressed up. Sometimes it shows up in work pants, with a paper plate in one hand and a folding chair waiting in the yard.

There are times when a smile will not come easy. Loss can sit on a man’s chest. Bad news can steal the taste from food. Money trouble can make sleep feel impossible. Marriage strain can turn home into a place of tension. Sickness can humble anybody. I would never tell a hurting brother to pretend. Pretending is not healing. But I would tell him not to give all his days to sorrow. Even in a hard season, one honest laugh is not betrayal. It is not denial. It is a small reminder that pain is not the owner of the whole house.

So I am saying this to myself as much as anybody else. Stop waiting until every problem is solved before you let your face soften. Stop treating gladness like a paycheck you have not earned yet. Stop thinking your family only needs your labor. They need to see you live. They need to know you can feel good without apologizing for it. Brother, you do not have to prove you suffered enough. You do not have to win every fight first. Black men, joy is not something you have to earn. Sometimes it is already near you, waiting for you to stop pushing it away.

Staff Writer; Lee Walker

This brother is a fitness trainer with 12 years of experience, focused on building strength, clarity, and real health within the Black community. Through his writing, Mr. Walker hopes to uplift younger Black men and men in general through honest conversations about fitness, financial pressure, fatherhood, discipline, mental wellness, and the importance of brotherhood.

Have questions? Reach me at LeeW@ThyBlackMan.com.

Start With Clean and Organized Spaces

One of the simplest ways to improve a home’s environment is by maintaining clean and organized living areas. Clutter can make spaces feel stressful and overwhelming, while an organized home often feels more peaceful and functional. Regular cleaning routines can help reduce dust and improve the overall appearance of a home. Keeping frequently used items organized also makes daily life easier and can reduce unnecessary frustration. Families often find that a well-organized environment encourages healthier habits and better use of shared spaces.

Improve Indoor Air Quality

Air quality plays an important role in creating a comfortable living environment. Poor ventilation, dust accumulation, and household pollutants can make indoor spaces feel less pleasant. Simple steps that may help improve indoor air quality include:

• Changing HVAC filters regularly
• Opening windows
• Using air purifiers
• Reducing indoor sources of dust
• Adding indoor plants where appropriate

These changes can contribute to a fresher and more inviting atmosphere throughout the home.

Encourage Healthy Daily Habits

The home environment often shapes daily behavior. Creating spaces that support healthy habits can make it easier for family members to maintain positive routines. Examples include setting up a dedicated area for exercise, creating comfortable reading spaces, or designing a kitchen that encourages healthy meal preparation. Small environmental changes can help reinforce habits that contribute to long-term well-being. A supportive home environment often makes healthy choices feel more natural.

Pay Attention to Water Quality

Water is used throughout the home every day, from drinking and cooking to bathing and personal care. As a result, many families are becoming more aware of the role water quality may play in their daily routines. In addition to drinking water filtration systems, some homeowners choose to install a heavy-duty shower filter from AquaBliss to address common water quality concerns in the bathroom. This improves the shower experience while supporting skin and hair care routines.

While water filtration needs vary from household to household, it has become an increasingly popular consideration among families looking to create a healthier living environment.

Create Comfortable Sleep Spaces

Quality sleep is an important part of overall health and wellness. Bedrooms should be designed to promote relaxation and restful sleep whenever possible. Some ways to support a better sleep environment include:

• Keeping bedrooms clean and uncluttered
• Using comfortable bedding
• Limiting unnecessary noise
• Maintaining a comfortable room temperature
• Reducing exposure to bright light before bedtime

A good night’s sleep can positively influence mood, productivity, and overall quality of life.

Make Time for Family Connection

A healthy home is not only about physical surroundings. It is also about creating opportunities for meaningful interaction among family members. Designing shared spaces where people can gather, talk, and spend time together can strengthen family relationships. Whether it is a dining area, living room, or outdoor space, having places that encourage connection can contribute to a more positive home environment. Strong relationships are often one of the most valuable aspects of a healthy household.

Focus on Long-Term Improvements

Creating a healthier home is an ongoing process rather than a one-time project. The most effective changes are often the ones that can be maintained consistently over time. Instead of attempting to overhaul every aspect of a home at once, families may benefit from identifying a few key areas for improvement and building from there. Small, sustainable changes are often easier to maintain and can lead to meaningful long-term results.

Final Thoughts

A healthier home environment is built through a combination of thoughtful choices, consistent habits, and attention to everyday details. From improving air quality and sleep spaces to considering water quality and family connection, there are many ways to create a more supportive living environment.

By focusing on practical improvements that enhance comfort and wellbeing, families can create homes that not only look better but also contribute positively to their daily lives. Over time, these efforts can help foster a healthier, happier, and more enjoyable place to live.

Staff Writer; Paul Brown

Yet, between managing patient loads, documentation, and administrative responsibilities, staying current with family medicine Continuing Medical Education (CME) requirements often falls to the bottom of the list. It is not optional but a licensing requirement, a professional standard, and a direct factor in patient outcomes.

The right family medicine CME program should fit your schedule, match your specialty, and deliver content you can apply immediately in practice. Let’s learn what these CME courses cover and how to choose a program that works for you.

What Family Medicine CME Actually Requires

Understanding your CME obligations is the first step toward meeting them without unnecessary stress or wasted time.

• American Medical Association (AMA) Category 1 Credits and Maintenance of Certification (MOC) Points

Family medicine physicians must earn AMA Category 1 Credits to maintain licensure and satisfy MOC requirements each cycle. Programs offering both AMA credits and MOC points provide the most efficient path to full compliance.

• American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) Accreditation

AAFP accreditation ensures courses carry prescribed credits recognized by most state licensing boards. Verifying this accreditation should be your first step when evaluating any program, as non-accredited courses may not satisfy renewal requirements regardless of clinical quality.

• Board Certification and Recertification Requirements

Initial certification and ongoing recertification are separate but equally important obligations. Structured board prep aligned with current clinical guidelines reduces exam preparation time. Many physicians prefer programs that combine ongoing credits and board prep for efficiency.

Meeting your family medicine CME requirements efficiently starts with knowing exactly which credits count and which platforms are authorized to issue them.

Key Clinical Areas Family Medicine CME Course Should Cover

Family medicine is uniquely broad, and a strong CME program should reflect that breadth without sacrificing clinical depth.

• Primary Care and Ambulatory Medicine

Family medicine CME content covering best practices, clinical controversies, and emerging developments in ambulatory medicine keeps physicians current. This ensures they stay up to date on the conditions they manage most frequently each day.

Evidence-based updates in hypertension management, diabetes care, and preventive screenings are essential components of any well-rounded family medicine CME program worth your time. Physicians who stay current in these areas consistently demonstrate stronger diagnostic accuracy and better patient outcomes across their practice.

• Behavioral and Mental Health in Primary Care

Family medicine physicians routinely serve as the first clinicians patients reach when facing anxiety, depression, substance use disorders, or other behavioral health conditions. CME content in psychopharmacology and addiction medicine equips primary care physicians to screen, manage, and refer these patients with greater clinical confidence.

This is an area where knowledge gaps carry real consequences, given rising rates of mental health presentations in primary care settings nationwide.

• Dermatology for Primary Care Physicians

Skin conditions account for a significant volume of primary care visits, yet dermatology receives limited attention in most family medicine residency training programs. Practical, case-based dermatology CME helps physicians accurately diagnose and manage common conditions without making unnecessary specialist referrals.

Syndrome-based content using real patient cases and clinical images translates directly into stronger diagnostic confidence at the point of care.

• Neurology, Pain Medicine, and Perioperative Care

Neurological presentations, chronic pain management, and perioperative considerations are areas where family medicine physicians frequently need updated, evidence-based clinical guidance. Family medicine CME programs that cover these topics, particularly those developed in collaboration with academic medical centers, provide practical frameworks.

These frameworks improve patient outcomes in complex and often ambiguous clinical scenarios. Faculty from institutions such as Harvard Medical School and Johns Hopkins bring credibility and clinical authority that generalist content cannot replicate.

• Geriatrics, Palliative Medicine, and Care Transitions

An aging US population means family medicine physicians are managing increasingly complex geriatric and end-of-life care needs across their patient panels. Family medicine CME courses in geriatric medicine, palliative care, and patient care transitions prepare physicians to handle these cases with greater clinical and ethical clarity.

The often-overlooked shift from pediatric to adult care is another area where structured CME courses deliver immediate, practical clinical value.

The most effective family medicine CME programs build a connected clinical picture that reflects how patients actually present in real practice settings.

What to Look for in a Family Medicine CME Course Provider?

Not every family medicine CME course provider is equipped to serve the full clinical breadth that family medicine demands.

• Video CME for Deep Clinical Learning

You can engage with expert-led lectures and clinical demonstrations at your own pace. This format excels for board prep and complex material where visual learning strengthens comprehension.

• Audio CME for the On-the-go Physician

Content can be consumed during commutes or between patients without screen time. This removes the scheduling barrier that makes traditional conference learning impractical.

• All-access Subscription Platforms

These combine video, audio, and board prep in one place rather than requiring individual course purchases. Regularly updated content ensures your CME investment stays clinically relevant year-round.

• Specialty-Specific Content Depth

Programs should cover primary care, behavioral health, geriatrics, and pain medicine, not just a general catalog with a specialty filter. True depth separates useful CME from credit padding.

• Faculty Credentials and Institutional Partnerships

Content developed by clinicians at leading academic centers carries greater authority. Peer review and freedom from commercial sponsorship are key markers of trustworthy CME.

• Flexible Credit Options Across Multiple Accreditations

Look for providers offering American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM), American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), and American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) credits in one platform. This consolidation simplifies documentation and reduces administrative workload at renewal time.

Providers with long-standing track records, verifiable accreditation, and credentialed faculty deliver greater value than newer, less specialized alternatives.

Find the Right Family Medicine CME Program for Your Practice

Family medicine physicians deserve continuing education that matches the breadth and complexity of what they manage every day. From board exam preparation to primary care updates, the right program covers every corner of family medicine. It should also address geriatrics, behavioral health, and dermatology with genuine clinical depth and accuracy.

Platforms like Oakstone offer accredited family medicine CME content developed by faculty from the country’s most respected medical institutions. Accredited CME programs worth your time are peer-reviewed, clinically grounded, and built for genuine professional growth.

Ready to meet your CME requirements while advancing your clinical knowledge? Explore accredited family medicine CME programs built for physicians who take patient care seriously.

Staff Writer; Jerry Moore

The weaponization of compassion has launched a de facto competition of who can be thought to be the most “compassionate” (or, at least, not thought to be uncompassionate). The result of this arms race has been chaos, destruction and depravity.

It’s easy to lose sight of just how often this pernicious dynamic takes place, so it’s worthwhile to point out a few of the disastrous policies that were promoted (and, in some cases, continue to be promoted) as being “compassionate” and to call them out for the societally corrosive lies they are.

1. It wasn’t “compassionate” to close our mental hospitals. The impulse was understandable; plenty of those facilities were substandard. But the results were catastrophic. Until fairly recently in this country’s history, the “homeless” population consisted largely of small numbers of unattached males who drifted from place to place seeking work. But since the 1980s, the homeless population of the U.S. has exploded. Nearly three-quarters of a million people are homeless, and the number jumped 18% from 2023 to 2024. California has 187,000 of the country’s homeless; more than 70,000 are in Los Angeles County alone.

2. It isn’t “compassionate” (nor is it respect for “individual autonomy” or “dignity”) to leave the homeless to live as they do. Homeless encampments are hotbeds of filth (including human urine and feces), crime and diseases like leptospirosis, typhus, hepatitis, tuberculosis and even plague. Across the country, cities are dealing with the economic impact of shuttered stores and declining downtowns attributable to the presence of ever-growing numbers of homeless.

3. It isn’t “compassionate” to hand out needles or create places where addicts can use drugs. Leaving aside what should be an obvious argument that we shouldn’t be encouraging, much less facilitating, the use of dangerous drugs, two-thirds of America’s homeless have a diagnosed mental health illness. A third have a serious substance abuse problem. Approximately half suffer with both. Open-air drug use exacerbates those problems and creates others.

4. It isn’t “compassionate” (or “equitable,” for that matter) to eliminate teaching math, giving grades, standardized tests, advanced academic programs for gifted students or graduation requirements, or to lower entrance qualifications for college and graduate school. It punishes high-achieving students and sends the message to lower-performing students that they aren’t capable of meeting basic standards. That, then, undermines public confidence in the graduates of our high schools, colleges and professional schools.

5. It wasn’t “compassionate” to stop enforcing our immigration laws.

6. It isn’t “compassionate” to allow violent criminals back on the streets.

7. It isn’t “compassionate” to subject children and teenagers with gender dysphoria (and other emotional disorders) to permanent alteration of their bodies with medical and surgical interventions before they are old enough to understand the implications of those decisions.

None of these decisions have had beneficial impacts on their intended populations. Worse still, they are all deeply destructive to other individuals, groups and society at large. Everyone affected should be able to protest the consequences of these failed policies without getting smeared with the false accusation that they “lack compassion.”

Another reason to eliminate “compassion” as a basis for public policy — which we’re seeing daily with painful clarity — is that these policies end up being vehicles for massive fraud. Anyone can set up a 501c3 nonprofit, claim to be working for a charitable purpose, and deceive donors into giving money that does little but line the CEOs’ pockets. And when government grants are involved, there is little oversight (take Minnesota, for example) and more incentive for grift, bribery and payback in the form of pouring money into the campaign coffers of politicians who hold the grants’ pursestrings. What we end up with is a situation where neither the nonprofits nor the politicians have an incentive to solve the underlying problems, since they’re getting rich from their continued existence.

Why has the United States become a nation where “compassion” trumps all other considerations?

Scholars like Helen Andrews argue that the emphasis on “compassion” over logic and methodical analysis is a function of what she calls “the great feminization.” Women, Andrews claims, are hardwired to be maternal, and thus more likely to be persuaded by something that tugs at their empathy than by that which appeals to their reason.

I’m not so sure. First, women have functioning brains, and they are certainly intellectually capable of dispassionate analysis. Second, an awful lot of men seem to be just as hornswoggled by appeals to their “compassion” as are misguided women. And third, I don’t understand how it is “feminine” or “maternal” to witness the collapse of huge sections of our cities into third-world slums; or to know that drugs are pouring into the country, children are being trafficked for sex, and young women are being raped and murdered because the borders are unenforced; or to see people stabbed to death on public transportation, pushed in front of trains or run down by crazed lunatics at Christmas parades because criminals aren’t incarcerated; or to watch as multiple generations of disadvantaged minorities struggle because of schools with weak disciplinary and academic standards; or to want children and emotionally troubled teens to be chemically castrated or surgically sterilized before they’re old enough to drive a car, drink a beer or understand the concepts of sexual satisfaction, fathering, giving birth to or nursing a child, none of which they will experience if they are “transitioned.”

None of this is “compassionate.” It’s objectively irrational. It’s wantonly destructive. It is the deliberate disregard of monumental, systemic, catastrophic failure, the evidence of which is irrefutable. There’s something seriously wrong with anyone who continues to defend these policies and programs, and I’m not persuaded that it’s a matter of chromosomal biology or evolution.

I don’t profess to have a complete solution. But a good start would be to demand meaningful metrics when we discuss proposed (and existing) policies and programs. What matters isn’t “compassion”; it’s consequences.

Written by Laura Hollis

Official website; http://law.nd.edu/directory/laura-hollis/

A recent study at Harvard University displayed how the suicide rates of ex-NFL players was higher than the suicide rates of ex-NBA and ex-MLB players. The study examined death records of retired NFL, Major League Baseball and National Basketball Association players starting in 1979. While suicide rates were similar across all three leagues prior to 2011, from 2011 to 2019 former NFL players died by suicide at a rate 2.6 times higher than their MLB and NBA counterparts. Earlier this year, former NFL wide receiver Rondale Moore died at the young age of 25 years old by an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. Moore was a former college star at Purdue who was attempting to get back into the NFL after missing the 2024 and 2025 NFL seasons after suffering season-ending injuries in preseason.

Although there are more players on an NFL team roster compared to NBA and MLB, the challenge of NFL with less guaranteed money and the constant player movement of NFL players being released due to injury makes the chances of making an NFL team a tough proposition along with the physical toll of the game of football. The relative lack of financial security of the NFL compared to NBA and MLB can also play out financially for ex-NFL players as displayed in the saddening story of Kevin Johnson.

Kevin Johnson was a fourth-round pick of the New England Patriots in 1993, and he had significant financial difficulty after his NFL career ended. According to his friends, Johnson had various health issues post playing career that led him to become homeless. Earlier this year, Kevin Johnson was found unconscious at a homeless encampment in Los Angeles and he died from “blunt head trauma and stab wounds,” the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner said. He was just 55 years old.

It is eye-opening that a former NFL player would become homeless but those situations happen more often than the public understands. Once a person is officially a professional athlete, they often financially take care of many family members and friends who helped them arrive to that point over the course of their lives. While the money that NFL players make is higher than that of the general public, it is not infinite and it is difficult for some professional athletes to say “no” to the people who knew them before their fame and fortune. For NFL players, the health issues that come after playing football also pop up and those medical bills can accumulate significantly which can be detrimental to them and their post playing lives.

Staff Writer; Mark Hines

Pro-life Americans were not passive supporters of Donald Trump. They worked for him, prayed for him, and voted for him in numbers that mattered. They did so because he gave them reason to trust him, and he delivered.

That is precisely why the conduct of FDA Commissioner Marty Makary demands scrutiny and accountability.

Let’s be honest about who Marty Makary is. His record on life issues is not only disappointing but also disqualifying. His instincts on healthcare policy track far closer to Bernie Sanders than to the voters who put this president in office. Anyone who followed his career before his appointment shouldn’t be shocked. His handling of abortion-related pharmaceuticals at the FDA has made clear that the pro-life community is, at best, an afterthought to him.

People sometimes treat the FDA as a technical backwater, a place where scientists argue over approval timelines and label language. That is a mistake. When it comes to life issues, the FDA may be the most important regulatory body in Washington. Chemical abortion drugs, prescribing guidelines, distribution rules — these decisions flow through that agency. The person running it shapes outcomes that no single piece of legislation can easily reverse. Right now, the wrong person is running it.

President Trump has earned the trust of the pro-life movement, but Makary is squandering it. Through a pattern of sloppy management and decisions that have left pro-life leaders questioning his basic commitment to the cause, Makary has become a liability to the very president who appointed him. SBA Pro-Life America has called for his immediate termination, with President Marjorie Dannenfelser warning that he is “severely undermining President Trump and Vice President Vance’s pro-life credentials.” The pro-life movement did not fight for decades to put a careless, unreliable FDA commissioner in charge of the most consequential drug decisions in America.

And the timing could not be worse. Pro-life voters are not a special interest group that shows up every four years and goes home. They are the backbone of Republican turnout operations. They knock on doors in October. They write checks when the cause calls for it. They drag their neighbors to the polls. What drives them is genuine moral conviction, which means they are also paying genuine attention. You cannot take them for granted and expect them not to notice.

When a cabinet appointee signals that their priorities don’t matter, they notice. Enthusiasm doesn’t collapse all at once. It bleeds out slowly, through a series of small disappointments that add up to the conclusion that nobody in power is fighting for us. Commissioner Makary has been delivering those disappointments consistently, and the political damage lands on Republican candidates across the ballot in 2026.

The White House built something real with the pro-life movement. That relationship took years of kept promises and hard fights to develop. It would be a serious mistake to let one bureaucrat destroy that trust. Pro-life Americans were asked to be foot soldiers for this administration. They showed up. They deserve a commissioner who shares their values, not one who treats those values as an inconvenience.

President Trump should consider replacing Dr. Makary with someone who understands that protecting life is a governing responsibility, not a campaign applause line. The movement that delivered for this president is still watching. The question is whether this administration is still listening.

Written By Ken Blackwell

Official website; http://twitter.com/kenblackwell

Young brothers, let an older Black man tell you something from experience.

Do not let temporary pain convince you to walk away from permanent responsibility.

I know life can wear a man down. I know what it feels like to stare at the ceiling late at night while everybody else is asleep, trying to figure out how you are going to keep carrying everything on your shoulders. A lot of us grew up watching men suffer quietly. Nobody asked them how they were doing mentally. Nobody checked on their spirit. They just kept working, kept stressing, kept aging right in front of everybody.

That kind of pressure leaves marks on a man.

Some of you younger fathers are carrying things your friends do not even know about. Trying to provide while feeling emotionally exhausted. Trying to stay calm while your mind feels crowded. Trying to be strong while secretly feeling like you are drowning. That does not make you weak. That makes you human.

There is a difference.

I think one of the biggest lies Black men were taught is that suffering in silence somehow makes you stronger. All it really does is make you feel alone. Then once a man feels alone long enough, he starts disconnecting from the people who need him most.

I have seen it happen too many times.

A father starts pulling away little by little. He stops talking as much. Stops laughing as much. Stops being mentally present. Physically he is still around, but his mind is somewhere dark and heavy.

That is why I wanted to speak directly to the brothers carrying that kind of weight.

Your children need your presence more than your perfection.

Read that again if you need to.

A lot of young fathers think being valuable means having all the money, all the answers, all the control. But children remember something deeper than that. They remember who was there. They remember who listened. They remember who stayed around even when life got hard.

Years from now your child may not remember every gift you bought, but they will remember your voice. They will remember car rides, conversations, jokes, lessons, and those random moments that seemed small at the time.

That stuff matters.

I learned that as I got older.

When my children were younger, I thought being a good father mostly meant making sure material things were handled. Keep food in the house. Keep bills paid. Keep clothes on their backs. That is important, do not get me wrong. But now that I got some age on me, I realize emotional presence carries just as much weight.

Sometimes more.

Kids can feel when a father is emotionally checked out.

They notice when you stop engaging.

They notice when your patience disappears.

They notice when stress changes your tone.

Even when they cannot explain it with words, they feel it.

That is why you cannot keep ignoring your mental state and expect everything around you to stay healthy.

One thing I had to learn myself was how to slow down before reacting. I did not always get that right. Coming up, most of us were raised around yelling, tension, frustration, and people carrying anger they never dealt with. If you are not careful, you end up repeating those same patterns without even realizing it.

I caught myself doing that before.

Not because I wanted to hurt anybody, but because certain habits become automatic when you grow up around them long enough.

That realization humbled me.

It forced me to start paying attention to how I spoke, how I handled stress, and how I responded when life frustrated me. A child learns emotional behavior by watching adults. That means your son is learning manhood from watching you. Your daughter is learning how men handle pressure from watching you.

That responsibility is serious.

But do not let that thought scare you. Let it wake you up.

A lot of fathers are trying to build healthy homes while carrying wounds they never healed from themselves. Some brothers never had real guidance growing up. Some barely knew their own fathers. Others grew up watching addiction, violence, emotional distance, or nonstop struggle. Then society expects those same men to magically become emotionally balanced overnight once they have children.

Life does not work that way.

Healing takes time.

Growth takes honesty.

And becoming better requires effort every single day.

I know some brothers feel embarrassed because life did not turn out how they imagined. Maybe the relationship with the mother failed. Maybe finances are rough. Maybe mistakes from years ago still follow you mentally. Some fathers carry guilt so deep it changes how they see themselves.

Do not let shame turn you into a stranger around your own children.

That is a dangerous road.

Kids do not need a flawless father standing in front of them pretending to have everything figured out. They need somebody real. Somebody who keeps trying. Somebody willing to grow instead of disappear when life gets uncomfortable.

There were times I had to apologize to my children. That was not something older men talked about much when I was younger. Back then fathers were expected to always appear right even when they were wrong. But I learned something important over time.

Children respect honesty more than ego.

Saying I handled that wrong does not make you less of a man.

It makes you accountable.

And accountability is something young people desperately need to see nowadays.

Another thing I want younger fathers to understand is this. Stop trying to carry everything alone. Too many Black men isolate themselves when life gets heavy. They stop talking. Stop reaching out. Stop connecting with people who care about them.

That silence can become dangerous after a while.

You do not need a crowd around you, but every man needs somebody he can talk honestly with. Could be an older relative. Could be a close friend. Could be another father dealing with similar pressure. Just having one solid conversation can lighten your mental load more than you realize.

Sometimes another man reminding you that you are not alone can help pull you out of dark thinking.

I wish more brothers understood that earlier.

I also had to learn how important rest is. Not laziness. Real rest. Mental rest. Emotional rest. Some fathers are running on fumes every day and wondering why they feel disconnected from everything around them.

You cannot keep pouring from an empty cup forever.

Take care of your health too.

Go for walks.

Get outside sometimes.

Pray if that brings you peace.

Turn the noise down when your mind feels overloaded.

There is nothing weak about protecting your mental stability.

Matter of fact, your children benefit when you are healthy enough emotionally to truly be present around them.

And let me say this too.

Do not underestimate how much your child watches you fight through difficult seasons. One day they may look back and realize their father was carrying way more than they understood at the time. They may realize you kept showing up even while struggling internally.

That example stays with children.

Strength is not pretending nothing hurts.

Real strength is continuing to show love and effort while dealing with life honestly.

I know some days fathers feel unappreciated. Society talks about Black fathers like they barely exist unless something negative happens. Meanwhile millions of brothers are waking up every morning trying to hold their families together quietly without recognition.

I see you.

A lot of older men see you too.

Do not let negative stereotypes make you forget your value.

Your child seeing you stay involved matters more than public opinion ever will.

There is power in a father being present consistently.

Power in a father listening.

Power in a father teaching.

Power in a father simply staying.

That presence shapes lives in ways you may never fully understand while your children are young.

One conversation can stay with a child forever.

One moment of encouragement can change their confidence.

One father staying around can completely alter the direction of a family.

That is real.

So to every Black father sitting somewhere feeling mentally exhausted, emotionally drained, or questioning his worth, hear this clearly from an older brother who understands life a little more now.

Do not give up on yourself.

Do not walk away from your children emotionally.

Do not let hard seasons convince you your life has no meaning.

Keep going.

Even if all you can do some days is take things one hour at a time.

Keep showing up.

Your children do not need perfection standing in front of them.

They need love.

They need effort.

They need presence.

And whether you realize it right now or not, that matters more than you think.

Staff Writer; Lee Walker

This brother is a fitness trainer with 12 years of experience, focused on building strength, clarity, and real health within the Black community. Through his writing, Mr. Walker hopes to uplift younger Black men and men in general through honest conversations about fitness, financial pressure, fatherhood, discipline, mental wellness, and the importance of brotherhood.

Have questions? Reach me at LeeW@ThyBlackMan.com.