Its interesting in a world where Syria has almost blown up into war that many argue it began with our President's comments regarding what would happen if Syria used chemical weapons. He said this:
On the one hand, I think it is interesting that President Obama saw necessary to give an ultimatum to Asad and his opponents, which could and may draw America into the conflict. On the other hand, and since this is not meant to be a political post, I do find it interesting that President Obama was consistent in his comments once those weapons had been utilized.
If nothing else, and here is the point of my post, one can say that at least he was consistent in what he said. Often times in our world it is very easy to give up on being consistent with what one has said. I think that often as modern people we think, "Well, who cares, really?" Thankfully, there are some who continue to understand that our integrity as human beings is what makes us distinctly more human.
For us Christians, this is particularly what we call "virtue." In virtue, we become more real and more who we are supposed to be in God's grace. Of course, it is not always easy, but in love many things are possible. Which leads me to a new advertisement by Guinness - yes, Guinness the Brewery. In a new ad, they are extolling what used to be known as manhood. Today, for many modern men, sexual conquest or a pragmatic approach to people seems to be prevalent. We know this from the number of abortions that overflow in our world today. Something like 11 every hour in the world!? Thankfully, the human spirit yearns to find real humanity, to become what we are supposed to be in this life. And I think I, and you if you are fan and of age, can certainly enjoy a Guinness with more gusto knowing that they are also promoting men to become virtuous, even if inadvertently:
Interesting post! I think you are right. Virtue is born from our deep commitment to right action that, over time, becomes habit and eventually a fundamental part of who we are. There is inherent value in honoring these commitments. That said, there is also a humility in honestly evaluating our courses of action and abandoning them if we determine later that we were initially, well, wrong.
ReplyDeleteThe bottom line is that President Obama shouldn't have drawn his "red line" in the first place. To stand by that ultimatum at the risk of entangling the US in yet another unjustified war is not virtuous consistency, in my opinion, it is prideful bull-headedness at its worst.
Which is actually a good segue into your second point about masculinity. Your evaluation of American "manhood" popularly being tied to sexual exploitation of women without shame or apology is correct. Additionally, we seem to have a grossly perverted understanding of masculine strength. In America, a man is "strong" when he responds to any challenge with violence--physical or otherwise. American men are praised when they handle conflict by "kicking a$$ and taking names," this applies to our foreign policy as well as our personal interactions. We have come to this strange place where backing down, diplomacy and restraint are misconstrued as indications of weakness and frankly, it is ridiculous.
So this is why I love the commercial you included in your post. It is an excellent example of what manhood truly is. The men in the commercial are temporarily CHOOSING to limit themselves physically to engage with their friend in an activity that is really...manly. The commercial shows that a man can be strong and tough even when he is not utilizing the fullness of his physical capabilities. It shows that indeed the more important component of strength is in the restraint, and in this case, the sacrifice.
And this is what is being lost in our culture. The model of Christ as Man. Manhood is not cowardly manipulating people to bend to our will by force. Manhood is not a stubborn refusal to reconsider our choices. Manhood is not invariably choosing to display the fullness of our "strength."
Manhood is Jesus on the cross with the power not only to get down, but to do anything else he wanted to. Manhood is him CHOOSING to to suffer. Manhood is his sacrifice for the very people who were executing him. Manhood is self-mastery, sacrifice, restraint in many situations that one COULD exert their will forcefully, compassion, humility and respect for the dignity of ALL other people even when upholding that dignity is inconvenient. This is why it is really upsetting to me when people criticize the President as "weak" for pursuing a more diplomatic solution now.
We, as a country, need to really reconsider how we define masculinity...and femininity but that is a whole other post!
Love this blog, keep up the good work and prayers for you and your family!
-Dani