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Sen. Hawley: ‘Strong men aren’t the problem. For America, stronger, better men are the solution’

May 17, 2023 | | Print Article

U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley is out with a new column about strong men and why they’re needed more than ever these days in America.

“Of all the things this country needs—stronger borders, better-paying jobs, some basic safety on our streets—above all, America needs stronger men,” the Fox News column by Hawley begins.

“The left has spent decades running men down, blaming them for everything from climate change to ‘the patriarchy.’ They’re wrong. Strong men aren’t the problem. For America, stronger, better men are the solution,” it continues.

So what’s the problem? Men have become weak, the congressman notes.

“The numbers tell the tale. Men are lonelier than ever before. They’re dropping out of the labor force in greater numbers than ever before. They’re struggling more with drug abuse and alcohol. They increasingly forego a college education, even as they delay getting married and having kids,” Hawley writes.

And they’ve become weak in large part because of the left, which says that masculinity is “toxic” and that “traditional masculinity” should be erased altogether.

“The left’s campaign to re-educate men begins as early as preschool, where too many boys are punished for aggressive play and, if they don’t comply, medicated out of their boyishness,” Hawley writes.

“As young men, they’re denied the manufacturing jobs that allowed their fathers to earn good wages—the governing class having long ago shipped those jobs overseas—and set adrift on college campuses filled with activists who despise them. And popular culture relentlessly bangs this same drum: when men aren’t morons, they’re actively evil,” he continues.

He notes that all this criticism of men from the left is rooted in one fundamental lie, which is “that men shouldn’t be leaders, creators, and heroes, but just consumers looking out for themselves.”

But according to Hawley, the opposite is true — men need to stand up and lead. Why? Because they possess the power to fix this country, for starters.

“Want to curb the epidemic of child poverty? Get a father to start contributing to his wife and children. Want to address the cataclysm of youth violence? Put a father in the picture. Men can help bring peace and order to a nation wracked by crises. They can change the destiny of their families and whole neighborhoods. Their power, once tapped, can be a mighty and world-shaping thing,” Hawley explains.

However, Hawley cautions, this “power” isn’t enough. Men also need faith to guide them — but that too has come under attack from the left.

“In the same breath that the left attacks traditional manhood, they attack traditional faith as well. That’s no coincidence. Faith and manhood are linked, because for centuries men have looked to faith, to the Bible, to understand who they are and what they can be. In this time of turmoil, our ancient faith can guide us again,” Hawley notes.

The key, he argues, is understanding that the Bible is more than just a collection of tales. It’s “an invitation to men to find their place in the cosmos, to take up their role in a grand drama that supercharges their lives with meaning.”

“Beginning with Adam in the Garden of Eden, the Bible says men are tasked with bringing order to the world, transforming chaos into beauty—the wilderness into a garden. To perform that noble task, every man must form his character: he must shape his soul. The path to manhood is the path to virtue,” Hawley writes.

“Men are called to form the character of husbands and fathers. They are charged to give themselves for others and humbly accept their own limits, just as Abraham devoted himself to his wife Sarah and trusted God’s promise of a son to come. Men are called to the character of warriors and builders. They must battle evil and bring beauty out of chaos, just as Joshua challenged the monsters of Canaan and David laid the foundations for God’s temple,” he continues.

Hawley concludes his column by noting that for years, American men have been lectured to by the left about how they’re bad and oppressive, and about how they need to stand aside and let “progressive” elites run the show.

“It’s a story preached by our contemporary culture from cradle to grave. Stand down. Be passive. You’ll just make things worse,” Hawley notes.

But, he concludes, it’s time to tell a better story: “It’s time to start telling a better story. It’s time to call our boys and men to lead. That’s how you transform a nation.”

Vivek Saxena
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