Behold the Man

It is a strange and weird thing to be an American male today. In the days of James Dean, Steve McQueen, and John Wayne the definition of "man" was easy to figure out. Men were tough, honorable, and sensitive packaged in prickly leatherworn exteriors. In terms of accessories, all a man needed was an ACE pocket comb, wallet, and keys to a very sweet ride!

I am afraid that the days of these men are fast fading.

Today's men have a massively large bill of lame expectations to live up to. Today, men are required to be sensitive on the outside as well as the inside. We are expected to trade in our prickly exteriors for a soft face and winning smile-- apparently that's desired so much that it is the defining criteria for public servants to win elections. cough Obama cough cough. Not to mention, honor seems to have been traded in for the time-honored tradition of cutting another's throat to get ahead-- you know, that trait that started with good ole' Cain. And toughness... I just saw band-aids at Walmart marketed as "the most manly way to cover those bumps and scratches!" Lame.

And accessories?! Most all of my generation-- including myself-- has been convinced that you have to carry a man bag in order to transport all of your quintessential man-gear (also called toys) with you. At first the man bag seemed harmless. All that was required was a backpack or messenger bag. NOW we see Brad Pitt (a traitor to the manly man cause) strutting around Paris (mistake 1) with a very purse-looking bag draped at his side (mistake 2). Worst of all, I believe that Angelina Jolie has more testosterone pumping in her veins than her counterpart... truth be told, I would be more afraid of her in a fight than Brad.

I guess this is truly a discussion of my greatest fear for American society. More than political, economic, or religious upheaval, the feminization of the masculine may be a root cause to what I consider to be the beginnings of massive social decay. In the recent conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, during the Priesthood session Boyd K. Packer the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles encouraged the men of the Church to treasure and protect their masculine nature. This seemed quite significant to me. Gender and gendered qualities are eternal-- that is not to say that men should reclaim their caveman-clubs and eat raw meat-- but that there is something about manliness that is necessary, not just preferable to girlimanishness. However, neither is James Dean's brand of rebellious manhood truly representative of eternal manliness. I believe that the best example of ideal manhood comes from Christ. In 2006, D. Todd Christofferson, then of the Presidency of the Seventy, said this of Christ "Most importantly, when we consider the admonition to be men, we must think of Jesus Christ. When Pilate brought Jesus forth wearing a crown of thorns, he declared, “Behold the man!” (see John 19:4–5). Pilate may not have fully understood the significance of his own words, but the Lord indeed stood before the people then as He stands today—the highest ideal of manhood. Behold the man!"

As our society withdraws from Christ, so also will true manliness. It is left to those of us who remain true and faithful to the Lord of Heaven and Earth to learn the attributes of manliness and practice them as exemplified by Jesus Christ.

I am not sure that there is any danger in the ultra accessorizing of men today; however, the question I would ask is: what's in your man bag? Is your bag filled with toys or is it filled with those things that can help you be a man in Christ? Eventually the things of this world will fade and decay, but the attributes and nature that we develop while in this life will be ours forever.