Manhood: A Diagnosis and A Prescription

America stands on the precipice of destruction—not from foreign terrorists, and not from some natural cataclysm, though both of those may figure in the mix somehow. No, America has been undermined from the inside, from a sort of rot or decay, from maggots eating away at our strength and vitality.

Of course such pronouncements strike most Americans as so much histrionic rhetoric, as end-of-days paranoia typical of the Radical Christian Right. I may as well admit up front that I perceive the world through Christian lenses. Furthermore, my views on many topics might seem radical—even to other Christians.

But the real sticking point is this: is our country really in so much trouble? Far more people believe it so today than did just three years ago. Yet there is still enough news that we are sometimes fooled into believing that we are progressing. We educate more children than probably any society in history; we create technological wonders like space travel and micro-computers; we provide aid and assistance to peoples and places throughout the world, in the form of nation building and humanitarian relief; we are living longer and healthier than we once believed possible; even in the current crisis we enjoy a phenomenal rate of home-ownership and other material comforts.

The Romans, too, were at the peak of their power when that great empire imploded through decadence and debauchery. The Samurai, those once mighty warriors of Japan, descended into laziness, debauchery, and lasciviousness—those typical vices of the idle elite. French high society in the 1600s went the same way, as did the grace and power of the Russians just over a century ago. The mighty Greeks fell, as did the Egyptians and the great Middle Eastern Societies, and before them both were the Babylonians. In fact, very few societies have ever avoided this slide into destruction (a slide in our age which distinguished Judge Robert Bork has described as “Slouching towards Gomorrah”).



Some of the features of this American slouch have been widely documented, and alarms have been raised to little avail. Divorce rates are high; teen-age pregnancy is a continuing problem; our respect for life is being undermined through both abortion and euthanasia; corruption is cliché among our government and business leaders; traditional families are being assaulted by gay activists and feminists; and license is celebrated under the guise of liberty, while the inalienable rights delineated in our Declaration of Independence and our Constitution are steadily eroded. Worst of all, characteristics traditionally seen as virtues, such as honesty, fidelity, faith, and civility, among others, are portrayed as old fashioned or as symptoms of weakness.

Although the solution to these woes involves a wholesale realignment of values and principles, and obviously needs the leadership of great women as well, I think it begins with (to borrow a phrase) a few good men.

In the middle of England’s darkest hour, when she was bombarded day and night by the Nazis, a, by some accounts, old-fashioned man stepped forward and by the sheer force of his own iron will, filled his countrymen with courage to fight and to prevail. Winston Churchill was a true statesman ready and prepared for the moment when destiny would tap him on the shoulder.
Where are the men like that today? Terrorist threats, natural disasters, impending epidemics, tainted food supplies, economic woes, civil strife over borders and social issues: it is axiomatic that we are experiencing a crisis of leadership in dealing with the major issues of our day. Even when strong and capable leaders rise to the challenge, too often their accomplishments are tainted by personal failings and all-too convenient capitulations of principle.

When the American colonies were struggling for their Independence, a man who had been a decided failure as a military commander was chosen to lead the Continental Army, primarily because of the lack of significant training among his peers. George Washington rose to the occasion, and with the help of Divine Providence rallied a people together, led them through suffering and privations, and prevailed. His people wanted to make him king, but he declined the honor in favor of the democracy for which he had fought.

Although often romanticized, the Samurai followed a life code, Bushido, which valued intelligence, strength, courage, and a poetic soul. For centuries these warriors pursued excellence in mind, body, and spirit, according to their understanding of virtue.
From the world of fiction comes a man so inspiring and powerful that his presence becomes almost real. Jean Valjean was a man who suffered poverty, hunger, and injustice. Then, on the verge of becoming an animal, a beast, he was touched by the simple kindness and charity of a holy man. He spent the rest of his life serving others, loving others, seeking to repay the goodness he had received.

American culture today trains boys to become sheep—docile followers and worker cogs in the machine of society. They are shaped by public school pabulum and a poisonous pop culture to conform to some new age ideal of enlightened manhood. On the one hand, certain parties would have them become overly sensitive, politically correct, anti-competitive—the metro-sexual or neutered man, incapable of stirring up rebellion, let alone of leading men and women to rebuild society. On the other side are those boys who are taught or shown that anything goes, that brute force, selfishness, misogyny and hedonism are the answer. In either case, the results are adult males who lack the principles, values, fortitude, and context to solve the challenges we are facing.
Or even to contribute to the solution in a meaningful way.

What is needed is a breeding ground for real men—men of vision, character, and ability. We need men who can see clearly through the morass of modern society, to distinguish good from evil, virtue from vice, and truth from error. We need men who can hold to that true vision, shaking off the slings and arrows of a provoked, self-proclaimed, policy-setting politburo of elite esthetes, and avoiding the varying winds of impermanent and self-referent values. We need men who aspire to excellence in a broad array of physical and mental skills, including survival, language and reasoning, diplomacy, rhetoric, mechanics, combat, and yes, even faith.

We need men who aspire to the highest the universe has known, and who love their fellowmen enough to aspire to the same for them. In short, we need more Men of God.