The ad I found interesting, that seemed to put an exclamation point on a general theme, was the one for the Dodge Charger entitled "Man's Last Stand" (look it up if you haven't seen it yet). I did a simple web search for the ad and found out that a lot of other people have opinions about it, and many are not positive. Most of the negativity came from women, but one man strongly implied that it was the most offensive ad overall.
Why all the negativity? Was it because it talked about men who do what they are told, are tired of it, and because of what they go through, they should be able to drive a cool car, or was it because it spoke to something deeper. I personally liked the ad, not simply because I like cool cars but also because it spoke in a non-cartoonish way to an undercurrent of discontent among men that I had been aware of for sometime. A discontent largely fueled by, dare I say it, the emasculation of masculinity. Christian author John Eldredge had this to say on this subject in his book "Wild at Heart".
"Society at large can't make up it's mind about men. Having spent the last thirty years redefining masculinity into something more sensitive, safe, manageable and, well, feminine, it now berates men for not being men. . . . 'Where are all the real men?" is regular fare for talk shows and new books. You asked them to be women, I want to say. The result is a gender confusion never experienced at such a wide level in the history of the world. How can a man know he is one when his highest aim is minding his manners?"He continues by saying that this mindset is also seen in the church, a church that tells men that they don't keep their promises, be spiritual leaders, talk to their wives, or raise their children. However, if they try really hard, they can be a nice guy, as if this was the ultimate goal. Then, to support this assertion, he asks the reader to look around at most churches in America, and they will find out that the men there are bored. They don't want to be dutiful, nice guys who as the Charger ad states, "say yes, when you want me to say yes, and be quiet when you don't want me to say no". They want to be something more, but aren't really sure how to achieve that goal.
At the risk of oversimplifying things, the problem lies in the concept that you have to be one extreme or the other. You have to be either a sensitive guy who is more like a girlfriend, or some testosterone-fueled maniac. The key is that a man (esp. a Christian one) can be somewhere in the middle. Jesus was both sensitive enough that children would actually want to be with Him, but strong enough to stand up for those who are downtrodden, (and flip over a few tables in the process). For those who say, "Yeah, but Jesus was also God." look no further than David, the man after God's own heart. One who was sensitive enough to take care of sheep, (and write some really melancholy psalms), but also when it came to standing for his God and his country wasn't hesitant to hack off a man's (Goliath's) head with a giant sword in order to make sure that he was dead.
In a nation where men identify more with Homer Simpson than William Wallace, Chrysler cries out, "Be a man. Drive the car you really want to drive!" But God cries out, "Be a man. Follow after My own heart!"
The road to true manhood may be simple, but no one said the journey to get there would be easy.
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