Conservative Lovin'
columnist: Vox Populi...Sometimes

Topic: American Culture
Man, Meet Woman

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gender relations, man, woman

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by Vox Populi...Sometimes
(libertarian)
Friday, January 30, 2009

Man, Meet Woman

The Riddle of the Sphinx Redux

The riddle goes something like this: What goes on four legs in the morning, on two legs at noon, and on three legs in the evening?

Oedipus solved the riddle of the Sphinx by correctly guessing that the Sphinx was speaking of man as he passes the three stages of life from infancy, to adulthood, to dotage. To use the term "man" it is understood that the whole of humanity is included. However, for purposes of this article "man" will mean just that; the male half of God's creation. On the surface, this riddle would indicate that the physical state is being referenced. For now, the riddle must be examined as a parable of the mental state of the American male in general and his treatment of women specifically. It seems more and more that men act towards women as a spoiled, mewling, self-entitled, oversexed child that cannot walk on two legs as an adult that still crawls bawling out for his wet-nurse.

Western culture is suffering from a plague of narcissism that is seemingly bottomless, filled with piffle that makes the pursuit of the trivial of paramount importance while on the other hand those matters of high importance are left to the book of the month club on Oprah's daily docu-drama. There are two desultory veins in which women are viewed by a lot of men that are direct results of these afore mentioned conditions. The first is certain "soft" machismo attitude that relegates wives and mothers as not keepers of the house and caregivers i.e. the heart of the family, but as semi-automated furniture. The second is the more obvious and odious as the "fairer" sex is viewed as little more than a prostitute meant for mindless sexual gratification.

Machismo attitudes in all forms, is an anathema to a healthy society as a whole. The Western man's treatment of women in the general arena of ideas often ignores the import of the inner strength that women contribute to families and the community as a whole. Many are the working mothers that have children and are ridiculed for their roles that they take ala Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin. Women in the home or the workplace are still considered window dressing by large segments of the male population of this nation. This is not love, but the weakened American male thinking he is entitled to the attention he gets from his wife/girlfriend/etc.

Nothing in this society does more to degrade women in the mind of the American male than pornography. Its sole function is to debase the procreative function that God (or insert favorite deity here) set forth for humankind. Women, from Hugh Hefner to Larry Flint, are depicted as little more than receptacles for sperm. This corrupts the proper image of woman as mother, wife, confidant, and friend. Many men of this nation have come to expect Paris Hilton in their bed and blame the woman when his unrealistic expectations are not met. These unrealistic expectations have pulled Western man from his duties, obligations, and fidelity in his role as head of the family and put an undue burden on Western woman. Pornography and its related ills must be made socially unacceptable at all levels of society.

So what are the cures to these ills that plague the infantile American male? It is a combination of principles. First women must be approached in the spirit of agape. Agape is the spiritual love that is set forth by God (or insert favorite deity here) that is not possessive or immature but a spirit of love where the Golden Rule is applied as set forth by Christ: "love thy neighbor as thyself". To end this schism in society, the American male must adopt an attitude of chivalry. In his study of chivalry, The Broad-Stone of Honour, Kenelm Henry Digby offers the following definition: "Chivalry is only a name for that general spirit or state of mind which disposes men to heroic actions, and keeps them conversant with all that is beautiful and sublime in the intellectual and moral world." Short and simple.

For Western man to end the infantile stage of his walk through life and his shabby treatment of women, he must be willing to stand on principle, deal in justice, practice virtue, defend his home, and put aside the childish dreams of a society with rights but no duties.

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©2009 Vox Populi...Sometimes, all rights reserved. You must have written permission from the author in order to republish this work.
Published: Friday, January 30, 2009
Last modified: Friday, January 30, 2009

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