Manliness.

Earlier this morning I was thinking about this, and then for my Civics class I was reading about what separates man from the rest of creation and it really fit, so here are my thoughts on what 'being manly' means.....

I think our perception of what manliness is is one of the most backward our society has. And that's saying a lot. When someone asks you what pops in to your head when you see 'manly' you will, if you are a normal person, think of a man version of The Hulk; the uber ripped dude, complete with a puffed-up chest, spacers in his armpits, and uncontrollable violence and cussing. But in reality, that particular character is man in his un-manliest state. And, I have to admit, a couple of years ago I was under that disillusion. I thought that in order to be cool you had to be the biggest and best, make sure that everyone around knew so, and that the more you cussed, the more you showed you were the boss. And the irony of it was that I wasn't trying to be bad, I was trying to be 'manly' which in itself is a good thing.

There is a person I know who fits the above description perfectly. He has almost no control over his speech, gets angry often, and has the 'perfect body.' He thought he was the epitome of manliness and that because I wasn't like him, I was un-manly. And he let me know it, in not the nicest of ways. He thankfully recently moved out of town and I hope he is maturing quickly. But one particular time stands out to me: after poking fun at me again, one time he was like, Wow Thomas, you probably hate me because whenever I'm around you, I make you look like a ____.  I just laughed it off, but what I was thinking went along the lines of, No, I don't hate you, I pity you, you poor crawling scum.  You think you're so manly, when in fact all you are is a motley animal, crawling blindly to a long, painful death. Ok. It maybe wasn't that articulate, but that was the main idea.

And what I was thinking was very true. The thing that separates man from the rest of the animals is the man has a soul. The soul is composed of the Intellect and the Will. The Intellect is what allows us to think while the Will is what decides which course to take when the Intellect presents us with a choice. (and what I just said might not be the entirety of the truth because its just what I remember, and I didn't look anything up) But the main point is that we humans are (or should be) controlled by something rational while the animals are controlled, or are slaves to, their bodies and feelings. So, the main difference between us and the rest of the animals is that we are given the ability to control our passions of the body. (most importantly lust and anger)

So to be a man means to master one's earthly side; to be in control of one's mouth, one's anger, and one's body. When one is not in control of these things, when one's body overpowers one's rational side, one is in an uncontrollable, animalistic irrational condition and not fit for any higher state than an earthly one.

I would say then, that even if a guy only reads Jane Austen, listens to Classical music, plays bridge, and (gasp!) wears skinny jeans, if he truly has control of himself, he is manlier than a beer guzzling red neck. It really makes sense if you think about it...It doesn't take anything to cuss and be violent and get angry, its in our nature. Anyone can do it. But to harness those passions, that takes some doing and a lot of courage. And one can only do it with God's help.

Just to clarify: I don't only read JA and listen to Classical music. I don't play Bridge and I definitely don't wear skinny jeans. And on a more serious note, I don't want you to think of this as a condemning post. I know we are all human and that we all have our share of struggles and I am not trying to judge anyone. I was merely making what I think is an important point about a common misconception.


Be happy!!!!!!!!!!!

-Thomas