"Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one." –Marcus Aurelius
Masculinity, and manliness, are two words that I hear thrown about by all sorts of people. Feminists, their opponents, and everyone in between use these words and use them differently. But there is a real meaning that is being forgotten and it’s an important distinction to make. Manliness and masculinity are not synonymous and we…
When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. – 1 Corinthians 13:11 One of the parts of modern life that I find most disturbing is the gradual infantilization of adulthood. People’s life…
Recently, I was talking to a friend of mine. He’s getting married soon, and is getting a little tired of the process of planning the wedding. He told me that he’s not sure that it is worth it because he doesn’t know how much more he would enjoy the ceremony than simply eloping or doing…
I’d like to share some thoughts on the relationship a man has with rules throughout his life. How do we first encounter rules? What is the difference between a rule and a principal? What is the mark of a mature man in this context? Children start out without any rules or sense of boundaries, possibly…
I have no children, and my wife isn’t even pregnant yet. But we will start trying in 2020. And it’s interesting how this theoretical fatherhood is already having a big effect on my life. I don’t mean in terms of shopping for baby clothes. I mean in terms of my own identity and concerns. It’s…
Men are struggling in today’s world, with falling employment and education rates, and rising addiction and suicide rates. At the same time we’re being outspokenly cast as dangerous, predatory, and ‘oppressive’, which doesn’t help men find their place or confidence in their identity as men. So I fully support men’s groups that aim to help…
“We can chart our future clearly and wisely only when we know the path which has led to the present.” Human beings are unique in being able to learn from the experience of others. We are also highly social beings unable to function without having a place in a group. We need to know who…
Let’s take a moment to talk about the state of men’s health, and who cares about it. Spoiler alert: the answer is that if we don’t care about ourselves, ‘society’ or the ‘government’ won’t care either. The state of men’s health today is showing some warning signs. Life expectancy is plateauing or declining, and is…
What is left when honor is lost? — Publilius Syrus In this article I want to discuss a set of emotions we feel around our actions, and how they relate to what we do. We often misunderstand these powerful emotions both in terms of what they are and what causes them. This leads to emotional debate of…
Pacifism is the idea that violence is inherently wrong. Sometimes it is also expressed as the idea that ‘violence doesn’t solve anything’ or that violence creates more violence. This is sort of a perversion of the old ‘live by the sword, die by the sword’ wisdom. This is expressed individually by being afraid of conflict,…