Whispers in the Wasteland

Real Men

I suppose I can create blog entries off the the top of my head, without putting in the effort that an essay requires. It's my blog and I can write if I want to, write if I want to.

Over at The Corner the important topic is minivans and becoming a nerd. Or rather, avoiding the appearance of being a nerd. And real men don't eat quiche.

All this seems to point out the twisted nature of our culture and its obsession with materialism. What should it matter which sort of automobile a man owns? I'm reminded of something Dennis Prager once said or wrote. He said (and I'm obviously paraphrasing from memory here) that unmarried men never progress to the next level. No matter the age, the unmarried Jew is considered a young man. There is a certain sense and wisdom to this. A married man is forced to consider goals beyond his selfish needs. And in a theological aspect, going back to Genesis and Adam and Eve there is a sense of completion when a man gets married (Gen 2:22-24).

This bit of wisdom seems missing in the material world. Men tally their sexual conquests. They measure how much weight they can bench press. Or they compare salaries or cars.

But I also note that however much Jonah Goldberg is on friendly terms with Andrew Sullivan, there is something that he has been unable pass on to his friend. However many concessions given to gays as far as civil unions or marriage, they will not be satisfied. The act of completion is a marriage between a man and a woman. Mr. Sullivan cannot attain that desired level of acceptance as a real man.

Well, I'm not married. That bothers me a little bit.

I can not be sure how I am called (even at my advanced age), but I take some small solace that a form of completion is available in celibacy in the words of our Lord Jesus (Matt 19:12) and in the words of St. Paul (1 Cor 7:7-9). It appears that this option is frowned upon in this culture. No wonder that the material things are gathered to fill the void.