With every passing generation, men become weaker and more confused. This is not only because of dropping testosterone levels across the board, but also because men have few – if any – strong role models in modern America. More and more young boys are raised by single mothers or in female-dominant homes, and then they go off to public school… where their instruction and discipline is performed almost entirely by women. What’s a young boy to do?
Eventually, in the modern age, he finds his way to the Internet. Faced with an unprecedented plethora of choices, he must wisely navigate the endless sea of public figures who claim to teach “true masculinity.” Nowadays the masculinity sphere has been largely supplanted by the more general “male self-improvement,” which always teaches how to indulge in one’s material temptations more successfully. More money, more cars, more of everything he wants…all while maturing as little as possible. This, they’ll tell you, is what it means to be a man: getting more of what you want while suffering as little as possible.
To those of you more philosophically-inclined, this is simply the reiteration of ancient Epicureanism: a materialist outlook seeking to maximize pleasure and minimize pain. Is this truly the epitome of what a man can achieve? I think not.
What good can be found in secular sources can be found in better, fuller, and holier form from Christian sources – and without all the soul-killing baggage.
With every passing generation, men become weaker and more confused. This is not only because of dropping testosterone levels across the board, but also because men have few – if any – strong role models in modern America. More and more young boys are raised by single mothers or in female-dominant homes, and then they go off to public school… where their instruction and discipline is performed almost entirely by women. What’s a young boy to do?
Eventually, in the modern age, he finds his way to the Internet. Faced with an unprecedented plethora of choices, he must wisely navigate the endless sea of public figures who claim to teach “true masculinity.” Nowadays the masculinity sphere has been largely supplanted by the more general “male self-improvement,” which always teaches how to indulge in one’s material temptations more successfully. More money, more cars, more of everything he wants…all while maturing as little as possible. This, they’ll tell you, is what it means to be a man: getting more of what you want while suffering as little as possible.
To those of you more philosophically-inclined, this is simply the reiteration of ancient Epicureanism: a materialist outlook seeking to maximize pleasure and minimize pain. Is this truly the epitome of what a man can achieve? I think not.
What good can be found in secular sources can be found in better, fuller, and holier form from Christian sources – and without all the soul-killing baggage.
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