Bush shows his ‘manliness’ with Iraq War

    This past weekend, I received the privilege of meeting one of the manliest men to grace the face of this earth.  His name is George Ouzounian, but he is more well known by his pen name, Maddox.               Maddox is an internet celebrity, maintaining and writing for his Web site in which he humorously adds a manly perspective to current events.  He has even recently published a book, titled "The Alphabet of Manliness,"  that centers around manliness and what it is.  It was this meeting with him that got me to ponder the position of manliness in our society today and what shape this manliness takes.
    Maddox characterizes manliness by the things men enjoy and by what we do.  As a result, the book focuses around fart jokes, senseless violence, the aesthetics of women and male supremacy, albeit with a satirical tone.     
    However, it is important to note that most satires are often the result of real points the author wants to get across.  In essence, Maddox regards manliness as being in charge of all situations, while enjoying the life of being a man and respecting your fellow man.  Yet while he puts this crudely, some have put this more academically. 
    Harvey Mansfield is a professor of government at Harvard.  He has recently published a book also about manliness, appropriately titled, "Manliness."  In this book, he proposes that manliness is confidence in the face of risk.  He even suggests that women can possess this manliness as well and points to Margaret Thatcher, former Prime Minister of Britain, as an example.  I would also postulate that women such as Condoleezza Rice and Joan of Arc can as well be added to this list. 
    Now while his view is expressed more academically and monotonously, there is a resounding similarity between his view and that of Maddox’s.  That view is of confidence in face of all things.  To be manly is to be able to take charge, or to be confident during the situation at hand.
    But where is manliness now?  In fact, manliness has become ridiculed in recent years.  Today, qualities like consensus, dialogue, and appeasement have over shadowed confidence.  George Bush is ridiculed for standing firm in his view on the War on Terror, despite its unpopularity. On the other hand, Bill Clinton was praised for appeasing North Korea when it threatened to create nuclear weapons.  This overshadowing of confidence and steadfastness is known as the feminization of society.
    Now understand, this is not to say that consensus and dialogue are poor qualities. They are however,  inferior to confidence.  That is why I advocate for a resurgence of manliness as one of our ideals over consensus and appeasement.  Men are not the only ones who can take on these ideas. As noted before, women can, too.  Times will always come when consensus cannot be taken and dialogue will no longer work, and the only option available is to stand firmly in your views and have confidence that the best ending will come about as a result. 
    That is manliness.

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Posted by Colonnade Archives on Sep 29 2006. Filed under Opinion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry