At some point in the latter twentieth century, the judgement of a man became less based upon his material possessions (home, job, car), that on the people he surrounds himself with. In this postmodern age, a man’s worth is his relationships. The fact is, most romantic relationships, even the best of them, are shrouded in at least some amount of deception, from a man lying to cover the affair he is having on the …showed first 75 words of 904 total…

…showed last 75 words of 904 total…by men just like them. Whether the value of a single man is lost or just forgotten, the only way to find it again is by sticking together. O’Brien and Madhubuti recognize this as important enough to incorporate into their works. “The Things They Carried” and “Empty Warriors” should be taken as a call to arms for all men. They no longer need to lead the planet, but they do need to be involved.