Lack of Masculinity

Following the latest shooting incident in the US, there was much debate on gun laws and the availability of these high powered automatic weapons; but very little on addressing what is at the heart of the problem with so many shootings.

Large numbers of casualties grab the headlines but if one looks at the trend of say knife and other violent crime in England or other western countries it is also seen that they are on the rise and very numerous, although fortunately causing fewer casualties per attack.

A former special forces soldier appeared on one of the news channels with his take on this and quite rightly I think identified that these kind of attacks by very angry young men are not the product of toxic masculinity but the complete absence of masculinity.

The role of men in western society is far from what it used to be – to defend and protect others, to provide, to uphold and fight for what is right; these roles have been somewhat discouraged if anything in many western countries even to the point of putting a very high proportion of boys (more than double the number of girls in the US) on ADHD medicines to control their natural wildness and manliness. The frustration created in young men at not being what they ought to be as well as having no real direction from their fathers, with the high levels of divorce, separation and abandonment, makes this tragic cocktail even worse.

The natural aggression and wildness of boys, is God’s design and therefore should be encouraged, not suppressed with drugs or regulations; developed by good example and guidance through their youth to bring out their true nature and calling, an authentic masculinity of nobility, integrity and courage.