I enjoy reading thoughtful comments and don't want to distract from all that you so eloquently expressed, and you certainly have a broad range of experiences to draw from. But I respectfully think that you should try to broaden your horizons regarding age. The men in my close circle range from 19 to the 70s.... my dad, who is a solid man physically but also is as understanding, informed, compassionate and fair minded as anyone I have ever known, male or female or any age. And the #1 man in my life who is in his 60s, is just as incredibly well versed, thoughtful and caring. Maybe it's because both my dad and my love are men of the world, they have both traveled extensively and dealt with all kinds of people, and my baby is fond of saying that 'seeing the world' can raise social IQ to the top of the scale. And all of that adds to the total character of a man. On the other side of that, anyone who thinks that men aren't as alpha as they used to be has never watched American football or basketball or even Euro football because even in my limited experience men are men are men, potentially, regardless of anything. Of course fistfights and all of that range from juvenile to someone really seriously pissing a guy off, maybe offending or threatening him or someone he loves in a very bad way. My sweetie is most certainly a 'high order' Alpha, but he is often the most agreeable and passive person in a whole crowd of people. Unless.....