For thousands of years, different civilizations have required a rites of passage type of ceremony or act. Even today, some Native American tribes require their young men to go out in the woods without food and survive until they have a vision and see their animal. All over the world, there are civilizations that still do these acts. Yet, in the US we do not have this type of thing. I think all we have is you get to drive when you are 16, can smoke and go clubbing when you are 18, and can drink and go to any strip club when you are 21. I know the laws may be different in your state, but regardless, this is it for us. There is not a ceremony or act that makes you a man.
Since we do not have a custom, it seems as if our men are still boys. They grow up and remain boys for a long time. This is not all men, but you can look at some and see they have never done hard labor, never missed a meal, and always had plenty of toilet tissue and a hot bath. This does not make you weaker, and is fine to have, but you must be able to not need these things all of the time. My father has always challenged me. Made me learn to ride a bike, jump from heights, forced me to not be afraid of the dark, and since birth has trained me in the arts of Aikido from a physical and mental perspective. This, in turn, has made me into the man I am today. I will be 18 soon, and will have to complete my passage. I will be going to Japan for intense training, and will be doing another act soon after that. I am not a physical person, but through his challenges set for me, my hard training and working out, I am now on a different path that I was when I was ten. Every child needs a father. Someone that they will strive to be like, someone that can teach them right from wrong and make that boy turn into a man of full potential.
I feel that with a father figure, and a ceremony that turns a boy into a man will give our county the backbone it needs. If you dont have neither, there are always the armed forces. There are more people that need to go in the armed forces then dont.