Rich
Cromwell writes a lively discussion of our culture’s attempts to deal with
manly virtue at The Federalist, inspired by a
hilariously funny advertisement that shows a guy desperately trying to
recapture his masculinity after using a feminine product in the shower:……Part
of the masculinity gap is due to the diminished role of men in the lives of so
many children, an inevitable result of rising divorce and illegitimacy. The
decreasing importance of marriage changes the role of men. In times past,
fidelity to wife and children was an important masculine virtue, contributing
to a man’s portfolio of respectability. In a post-marriage world, the
contribution of fathers to family honor – indeed, the idea of families having
an honorable reputation that spans generations – is less important. On a purely
practical level, illegitimacy and divorce mean kids spend less time with their
fathers. The sub-cultures in which paternal influence is most consistently
absent have clearly suffered for it……The constant pressure to eliminate the
distinctions between women and men naturally leads to less appreciation for
distinct feminine and masculine virtues; it is controversial even to speak of
such things, especially when
discussing the masculine. Of course, as Rich Cromwell observed, biology remains
in effect……Manly virtue is a matter of living up to certain expectations, and
that idea is antithetical to a socialist political culture of dependency and
despair. No one is expected to live up to anything. It is considered heartless
and cruel to ask anything of the dependency class……... If [a real man] found it
necessary to accept public assistance, he would try to get away from it as
quickly as possible. That means prudence and self-discipline, not food
stamp-funded vacations to Disneyworld.….To Read More…..
No comments:
Post a Comment