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.

[metmom]

*snort*

[metmom]

If you’re ever looking for a new home....

NY’s winter can be tough, but I’d like YOU guys to be my neighbors.

[ArrogantBustard]

This is what happens when a “critical mass” of boys are raised by their (single) mothers and grandmothers.

[metmom]

You’ve probably nailed it here better than anyone.

[raptor29]

Twink, good for you for sticking up for yourself, and I’m sorry for you that your prior neighborhood has gone the way of so many others. The cops response to your ‘encounter’ is so telling. So many of the lefties out here in California are going to be shocked when the crap hits the fan and they hop on the phone calling for a police response. These institutions have become corrupted/compromised over the years, and as you say, the political correctness virus has infected everything they do. So does the threat of lawsuit, which goes hand-in-hand with PC.

Your eventual response to the 19-year old is what is really missing in our society anymore. But nowadays, there is no fear of retribution on the part of any of these punks, they know the system is so heavily slanted in their favor, and they know they can run to the courts if any of us step up against them. So we get more and more of it.

Good luck to you, I hope you found a much better place to live and things are going well.

[ArrogantBustard]

perhaps ... although in doing so, I've only touched on one part of "the problem" ... I posted my remark prior to reading the thread.

None of what I read surprised me.

Even some conservative women, whom I normally respect, seem to be infected with the irrational anti-man aspects of American "kultursmog", and have demonstrated such infection on this very thread.

Their reaction to the phrase "shut up" was irrational and disproportionate. Although I dislike the phrase (Dad taught me it was boorish), there was and is truth expressed by it. Quite simply, a woman CANNOT show a boy how to be a man, any more than a man can show a girl how to be a woman. While some women seem to understand this, others do not ... and they need to be told. There are times, particularly when raising boys, that Mommy needs to sit down, be quiet, and let Dad do the job without interference. She quite simply has nothing to add to, and much to subtract from, the process.

As bad as single mothering is (on average), henpeckery is even worse.

[Melas]

Out of curiosity, who’s verbally abuse towards you because you’re married to a biker? I had to ask my wife to make sure, but she’s never been verbally abused for being married to a biker.

[Allegra]

Describe the meal you’re looking forward to.

The second day I'm home. Cafe Adobe, Houston, TX

The best chile con queso I've ever, ever had with some chips. Alos, the red sauce and the green sauce rock.
Taco al carbon (beef)
Very cheddary cheese enchilada with chili sauce

Beans and rice

And two margaritas on the rocks with salt...one before dinner (with the chips and queso) and one after.

Oh, I can barely stand thinking about it...I want it NOW! LOL

[pandoraou812]

I’ve had people come up to me in stores etc. My old high school friends. Mostly people want to know why I would be with him. My old next door neighbor was a NJ state trooper & he wasn’t nice about the bikers coming over. He moved which was fine by me.

[pandoraou812]

Thanks MM. Hugs Pandy

[dalereed]

“There’s an eight year old boy in my neighborhood who still rides his bike with training wheels.”

I got my first traffic ticket when I was 8, 45 in a 25 and reckless driving, I was going downhill on my bicycle folding papers and stuffing them in the bags.

[BykrBayb]

[thesearethetimes...]

Good grief. Who peed in your cornflakes?

While we are at it, exactly how was Renee Lynn rude to you? Clearly, I have overlooked it.

As to the sorry state of affairs that we currently find ourselves in - yes, it is a heckuva mess. No, there are no easy, or quick solutions. Yes, it is infuriating.
But I assure you, laying the blame in total, on women, while on a conservative forum... is foolhardy, at best ; }

I will wrap this up with an interesting quote, from someone that I understand you admire.

“Well, yeah, I guess that message is they do want me to sit down and shut up. But that’s not going to happen. I care too much about this great country.”

Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh interview, 10/14/08

[DBCJR]

• Get help for painkiller addiction
• Payday Loans

[TigersEye]

LOL! Thankfully my wife doesn't mindlessly spout emotionally-based BS.
But if she did, she would not be my wife (we never would have made it that far).

That is the crux of the biscuit isn't it? If your spouse is so irrational that "shut up" is the only way to deal with them then you abandoned reason in the first place when you chose to marry them. "Shut up" isn't going to solve anything. It isn't going to take you back and fix the mistake you made when you accepted their neurotic behavior in the first place. It sure as heck won't change your spouse.

An argument that is only emotion based is an attempt to control by bypassing reason. Confronting that with "shut up" is playing the same game. It is just another emotion based control technique that skips reason. It is an attempt to overwhelm their neurosis with a stronger (or more obnoxious) one of your own.

The man who uses "shut up" to get his way is no different than the woman who uses tears or sex to get her way. Except that he is probably less effective. In either case the change, if any, is brought about by coercion not through achieving a reasoned understanding. If all you want is to win an argument or have silence in your home that might work but it can't be held up as reasoned principle or a solution to anything.

[ItisaReligionofPeace]

Tell him that all Presidents are temporary. He isn’t serving the President. He is serving his fellow countrymen.

[DBCJR]

I have. I won’t undermine the years of patriotism that his mother and I have instilled in him. That question is more of an internal question that I ask when it seems I hardly recognize my country anymore. Oh, do we need a Reagan!

[Twink]

“Plus he rarely tells me to shut up. If he does it is usually because I talk through his favorite shows lol”

LOL! I get that too when I talk during Football games. Yet, he always talks or ask questions when we’re watching a movie or tv show while I’m trying to listen to the dialogue.

[Twink]

So true. It seems everyone, police included, are afraid because of the PC and lawsuits.

“is no fear of retribution on the part of any of these punks, they know the system is so heavily slanted in their favor, and they know they can run to the courts if any of us step up against them. So we get more and more of it.”

And we know the system won’t really help us. People are afraid to even protect themselves. It’s best, in my opinion, to make sure the punks know we won’t use the system.

[wardaddy]

testosterone is down in the under 40 group

even for blacks who genetically run a bit higher than whites who run higher than orientals

i got plenty, be glad to share with some of you youngsters if I could