The Testosterone Crisis

American Thinker ^ | November 22, 2008 | Ed Kaitz

[neverdem]

The sweeping Democratic electoral victory has left many conservative Americans concerned about their children's future.  With the federal government, educational establishment, entertainment industry and media thoroughly in the hands of the left, disturbing questions surface concerning the kinds of values our children will begin to accept as "mainstream."  Matters get worse when one considers what might become forced indoctrination in "community service" organizations as a prerequisite for college admission.

These concerns were on my mind during a recent outing with my young children to a local playground.  While I watched my kids try to scale walls, climb ropes, and navigate through other challenging structures various male voices I had obviously missed on previous visits to the park suddenly resonated.  "Try it on your own" or "you don't need any help with this one" the gaggle of fathers would say as their sons and daughters sized up various obstacles.  And while many of the moms cringed on the benches the young ones tripped, fell, clawed, and cried at times but they usually ended up victorious.

The ancient Chinese thinkers would have called my local park a microcosm of nature -- a dynamic reciprocity between the forces of feminine yin and masculine yang.  It is as natural for the moms to be overly concerned about the bumps and bruises as it is for the fathers to be encouraging independence and self-reliance.  Yin and yang represent two complementary energies in nature, the balance of which determines the health and harmony of a marriage, a family, a village, and even a nation.  These same Chinese philosophers warned however that unhealthy families, like unhealthy nations, are usually the victims of an overabundance of either the feminine yin or the masculine yang.

Chinese emperors for example attempted to head off this underlying and menacing threat of imbalance by castrating their ministers.  Why?  Too much yang testosterone in the palace would lead to dangerous factions and competition.  More eunuchs around the court meant the palace would be a better reflection of the harmony in nature.  Imperial concubines would also be sheltered from potential male rivals of the potentate, but this was entirely incidental to the theory.)

While an excess of yang energy was considered explosive and dangerous, what happens in a country like contemporary America when there seems to be a dangerous oversupply of feminine yin?

In his book The Suicide of Reason Lee Harris argues that our present state of liberal democracy has led to "eliminating the alpha males from our midst, and at a dizzyingly accelerating rate."  Instead of supporting and valuing testosterone's virtues we're "drugging our alpha boys with Ritalin."  In addition, one could view Barack Obama's election as the triumph of yin over yang.  Obama's policies promise to cast the father out of America's parks and replace him with the more "caring" and yin oriented federal government.  For Lee Harris however the feminization of American men comes at an extremely high price:

"The end of testosterone in the West alone will not culminate in the end of history, but it may well culminate in the end of the West."

It was in ancient Greece for example when the West began to associate the masculine yang voice with freedom and self-reliance.  Why?  Because when Athenian citizens perused the known world they noticed something rather curious: in no country other than Greece did citizens enjoy freedom or the virtues of democratic government.  Famous Greeks like the fifth century B.C. physician Hippocrates attempted to explain this fascinating anomaly. What Hippocrates and other Greek observers all tended to conclude was that the rest of the world's subjects must be "effeminate" or else, like the Greeks, they would have demanded -- like real men -- to be left alone by their leaders. 

In his essay On Airs, Waters, and Places for example Hippocrates notes that those who endure life under a despot are "cowardly, as I have stated before, for their souls are enslaved."  Greeks however are "independent, and enjoy the fruits of their own labors," and in addition they "encounter dangers on their own account, bear the prizes of their own valor, and in like manner endure the punishment of their own cowardice."  The good doctor concludes with a rather chilling observation: "A man's disposition will be changed by his institutions."  In short, what Hippocrates argues is that the more "maternalistic" the government, the less the citizenry will value freedom.

We can now start to understand part of Obama's appeal.  Alpha males in this nation have been browbeaten in every profession, most notably in education.  Indeed, the largest percentage ever of young, educated Americans in a presidential contest threw its support behind Barack Obama.  In addition, whereas John Kerry received 51% of the female vote in 2004, Barack Obama garnered close to 60%.  When black Americans overwhelmingly supported Obama to the tune of 90%, how much of this support was a product of race and how much was simply a product of a culture in which 70% of children are raised without fathers?

Both political parties now believe that they can garner votes by playing the yin, or compassion card.  We've seen this with the Bush Administration and its heavily statist "compassionate conservatism."  On the other hand, Democrats in congress thought that extending loans to unqualified borrowers was an act of compassion.  An excess of yin is now causing many of our states, like California, to go broke.  Despite these examples an "uncaring" America was the chief rallying cry of Barack and Michelle Obama during the recent election.

In his classic work Democracy in America Alexis de Tocqueville entitled one of his chapters "What Sort of Despotism Democratic Nations Have To Fear."  Near the end of the chapter there is a rather sobering observation:

"It is indeed difficult to conceive how men who have entirely given up the habit of self-government should succeed in making a proper choice of those by whom they are to be governed; and no one will ever believe that a liberal, wise, and energetic government can spring from the suffrages of a subservient people."

Will Americans become so subservient under an Obama administration that a future yang style candidate like Ronald Reagan becomes impossible?  A healthy nation, like a healthy family, should have a proper balance of yin and yang.  Ideally, the relationship should be a balance between yang's independence, competition, and merit, and yin's more gentle, cooperative, and egalitarian energy.  We're at a critical moment in our history however when the forces of yin in American threaten to bury, not complement, yang.  Despite what the radical feminists might tell you, alpha male energy is natural and necessary for many things, including national survival.

There's an eight year old boy in my neighborhood who still rides his bike with training wheels.  There's no father at home.  Is America looking at training wheels writ large?  We know that most contemporary, estrogen-heavy Europeans would like to rid America of its testosterone.  They may just get their wish.

[mdmathis6]

Lazamataz should be in on this thread

[little jeremiah]

Let’s just say I’ve “been there, done that”... and picked up a bit of judgement along the way.

You know the saying:

Good judgement comes from experience.
And experience comes from bad judgement.

Of course, wise people learn that fire burns without having to stick their hand in the flame...

Reminds me of that wonderful line from a poem of Rudyard Kipling:

“And the Fool’s bandaged finger goes wabbling back to the fire.”

[little jeremiah]

PS - Feminism is a great evil.

[Mr. Jeeves]

With the federal government, educational establishment, entertainment industry and media thoroughly in the hands of the left, disturbing questions surface concerning the kinds of values our children will begin to accept as "mainstream."

Isn't it a little late for that? Radical social transformations like gay marriage are on the verge of universal acceptance because of what has already been taught to the younger generation over the last 15 or so years, not because of anything Obama will do.

[Emmett McCarthy]

My son’s been telling me I should watch that movie. My attention span is so limited that it’s hard for me to watch a whole movie all at once. That’s why I read books. I can put it aside and come back to it. Before long, it may be necessary to fight to get the USA back to being something to love. What the morons just put into the White House is the culmination of 40+ years cultural erosion which is now liable to go into hyper-drive.

[raptor29]

Running out of arguments, so you go looking for support by CC’ng others in the thread. You’ll get none, they don’t have any meaningful counters either.

[Gabz]

I hope you and yours have a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving.

Thank you, so very much. And I hope the same for you and yours when you join them.

Enjoy your time at home and your well deserved break!

[Gabz]

God has given us bigger blessings than challenges. Life is good.

I can say nothing to top that.

God has blessed me with a friend like you.

[Gabz]

Respect is a two way street;

You are absolutely correct. But then you blow it:

society gives precious little respect to men; is it any wonder that males aren’t “wanting” to me men?

Only those who fall hook line and sinker of the BS that is promulgated by those who wish to ignore the reality of real men fall into that category.

Unfortunately those types do not frequent FR. Unfortunately FR does attract its share of misogynists who are loudly applauded by some. Thankfully, the majority of the FR men are real men who actually appreciate real women.

[berdie]

“Unfortunately FR does attract its share of misogynists”

I have only lurked on this thread. And found some of the posts completely amazing.

IMHO, lack of respect of one human being to another, be it man to woman, woman to man, man to man, woman to woman, human to animal...is a sign of our times.

The turn to liberalism is exhibited as much by men as it is by women.

[Tainan]

There sure is a lot of name-calling, diversionary comments, removal from context and failure to grasp a presented concept happening in this thread.
IMO, its a lot of pent-up anger looking for a place to explode.

I thought that by now, most conservatives would have 1) thicker skin and 2) an understanding of the importance of actually listening to what fellow conservatives are saying.

But what the heck do I know? I'm just a knuckle-dragger who's only been house-broke for 5 years or so.

...cue Rodney King....

[Gabz]

And to be sure, I appreciate ‘real women’ as you do.

Apparently you do not, as all of your comments have pretty much stated there is no such thing.

No one has been able to counter my primary arguments, that the overwhelming societal shift in the direction of favoring the woman’s position/mindset over the past 40 years has led to disastrous results for this country.

That is your personal opinion. I have seen plenty of counters to your "primary arguments" which are also your personal opinions.

There is a great deal of truth in what you have to say, however, you have an extremely poor way of stating it.

The vast majority of women I know, both on and off FR and also in real life, do understand what you are attempting to say (and very poorly at that), it is your attitude that causes the problem.

In my life I have been told to "shut up" on more than one occasion, probably by better men than you (although I think any "man" who tells anyone to "shut up" is an idiot,)but interestingly enough I have always prevailed against those that I now call buffoons.

He may now be the VP-elect, but Joe Biden once made the mistake of actually telling me to "shut up." That you are espousing his way of dealing with women, let alone Conservative women, tells me much more than I wish to know about you.

Take your own advice --- SHUT UP

[theJoker]

The sweeping Democratic electoral victory has left many conservative Americans concerned about their children's future

No, it has left all Conservatives with the sense of abandoning the government as a source of anything but servitude, theft, repression, and violation of the finest components of the human spirit. The impression is exceptionally clear and accurate.

[little jeremiah]

Respect doesn’t mean bowing and scraping and dancing the minuette, it means basically doing unto others as we would have them do unto us.

IOW, the foundation of real human life. As differing from animal life.

[Gabz]

Good grief, do you know idiotic you sound?

First you state:

Problem is, we have been ‘listening’ to the non-sensible women for decades, they have ruled the day politically and socially with their overwhelming support of the left-leaning candidates and policies.

And then follow that sentence with this:

So frankly, it’s time for women to stop for a minute and recognize what’s happened in this country, and why it has happened, and then maybe listen to men again.

You sound like a 10 year old. There has to be someone else to blame. IOW you are a BULLY.

I have experience with 10yos and 10yo bullies -- my daughter is 10 and I am teaching her how to deal with the bullies.

Bullies like you are far easier to deal with.

[metmom]

I’ve made my points,....

No, you haven't. Don't over estimate your self.

All you've demonstrated is more about your character than you'd ever care to admit.

[Gabz]

What a loser....

I was trying to be nice, but you definitely hit the nail right on the head here -- and did it VERY nicely.

[metmom]

Some people don’t understand nice, sad to say.

[berdie]

It's an interesting quandary to me how one would believe that women are the cause of a move toward liberalism. The move occurs in both sexes.

I'm not sure where the societal change began. During WWII when when women became a large population of the work force?

Or when “no fault” divorce became law. And families were left behind to pursue some greater “good”?

I don't know that there is fault. Times changed.

There are lots of smart, responsible people of both genders in this world. There is no reason for disrespect.

[Gabz]

I’m trying nice.........for the moment. We’ll see what happens.