Manhood endangered

A while back, I was vegging in front of the television, letting the minutes tick away toward bed time.

Then a commercial aired that caught my attention like a stray campfire ember settling on my clothes.

Now, I had probably seen this advertisement dozens of times, along with other commercials similar to it, but thought little of them until this moment. The ad depicted a husband and a wife; one a wise sage and the other a village idiot. If you guessed that the husband was portrayed as the idiot, then you've probably seen the ad or others like it before.

It suddenly struck me that the traditional concept of manhood was being redefined by forces in human society that seek to destroy what it means to be a man. Conventional wisdom about manhood is that men are leaders in their homes and in their communities. They are supposed to be strong, courageous, and self-sacrificing. They are supposed to be moral. They are supposed to have integrity and character. But that isn't the message I get when I watch the average television commercial these days.

Has anyone else noticed how stupid men are made to look in advertisements, especially when paired with a woman? Ten times out of ten, the man assumes the role of the buffoon, deferring intelligence to the woman.

The powerful feminist movement obviously has influence over the way women are portrayed in commercials; and in particular when paired with men. God forbid that the woman appear to be the simpleton of the two. That just would be sending the wrong message; one we cannot have delivered to the impressionable minds of society's young women.

I don't disagree. But I do resent that men are expected to thus assume the role of "Tweedle Dum" just to curb the ire of a vitriolic political lobby. What's more, there doesn't seem to be much of any defiance among the male population toward this trend. It's as though the concept of manhood has been deluded to the point where men don't even seem to know what it means to be a man.

Multiple generations of males have grown up in fatherless households. They've been surrounded by estrogen most, if not all, of their lives. Making matters worse, popular culture has been delivering messages to males that they are, more or less, irrelevant to the health of society. Fatherhood has been denigrated to little more than a monthly child support payment or alimony. It is a signature on a check.

Institutions that once promoted and supported the advancement of manhood in society have been infiltrated by an aggressive feminist movement insisting upon "equal access," only to tear down or make irrelevant those institutions that men could call their own.

The American male, in particular, has permitted himself to be led into the castration chamber. He appears content with being a sperm donor rather than an active part of children's lives. He'd rather just sleep with women than develop meaningful, intimate relationships with them and serve as a leader in the home.

The overriding message I glean from popular advertising is that manhood is no longer an important human value. Feminism is now behind its contemporary definition, and it serves at the disposal of female empowerment. Manhood is overrated, and largely unnecessary to an educated and enlightened society that sees greater value in feminism or gender neutrality.

God forbid that men actually reclaim their manhood, and it's Biblical definition, which American culture once proudly embraced. Now, whenever I see a commercial depicting an inferior male and a superior female, I point it out rather verbosely. I don't think it should be a hidden truth, but rather a revealed one that needs to be exposed for what it really is: An obvious attempt to redefine who wears the pants.

Men are turning into cultural eunuchs, becoming passive spectators with an inferiority complex growing from the inside out. The goal, I believe, is to make the American male submissive to cultural changes meant ultimately to turn society against God and the truth of His Word. I feel it's time to take a stand, and take back what is the rightful place of men in American society.

Despite what popular culture is trying to sell us, men aren't prehistoric thugs, Neanderthal or Cro-Magnon knuckle-draggers whose extent of communication is "ugh" and "ugh."

We aren't impulsive morons or Gomer Pyle simpletons who need to be led around with rings in our snouts. We are men, men of God, who submit to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to make us the pillars of masculinity that appeals to the inner depths of our female counterparts, whether they care to admit it or not.

It's time we stop buying into the "men are pansies" message being delivered to our brains with the hope of rewiring us into useless subjects of society. It's time we stand up against the cultural trend of single women choosing to be single moms with no inclination to involve a man as a father. It's time we defy the gay agenda seeking to relegate "men" to effeminate status. It's time we tell the feminist lobby where to stick it.
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..Oops. Did I just say that? LOL