Josh Hawley: To Be or Not to Be (A Man) – The American Spectator

Manhood: The Masculine Virtues America Needs
By Josh Hawley
(Regnery Publishing, 256 pages, $30)

As Marcus Aurelius wrote in his personal journal, later published as the famous book Meditations: “Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one.” Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley’s recent book Manhood: The Masculine Virtues America Needs, published 1,843 years after the late Roman emperor’s demise, would likely have disappointed him.

In a certain sense, that the value of masculine virtues is being discussed is an illustration of the issue; it is hard to think of anything less masculine than a national conversation about masculinity. Perhaps it would be better for me to stop writing this article and put on a dress instead. That there is a serious problem, however, can no longer be ignored or evaded. Politico magazine dedicated an entire issue to it, although, tellingly, none of the articles were authored by men.

One of the more serious contributions to this discourse, one that is — presumably — authored by a man, is Hawley’s Manhood. Straight to the point, he declares: “All is not well with men in America. And that spells trouble for the American republic.”

The Origins of the Masculinity Crisis

Hawley marshals considerable backing for his claim. Young men are increasingly less likely to participate in the workforce. Even among those who are, more and more are living at home with their parents. “In 1970, 95 percent of 30-year-old men earned more than their fathers had,” Hawley writes. “By 2014, only 44 percent could say the same.”

In education, men are earning the vast majority of Ds and Fs and are down to only 40 percent of college students. Instead, they are increasingly focused on leisure, a euphemism that encompasses video games, pornography, drugs, and even crime. Fathers are increasingly absent, exacerbating the situation. The result is a crisis of meaning and a marked increase in suicides — “some thirty five thousand men” each year.

Hawley indicts the Left as a conspirator in the masculinity crisis. Leftists “long ago decided that male strength is dangerous — toxic, leading inevitably to a hateful patriarchy.” The debate on the left seems to be between the naïve, who wish to socially reconstruct men in a way more according with modernity, and the callous, who take pleasure in men’s downfall as a comeuppance for their collective historic wrongs.

Throughout the text, Hawley takes aim at what he calls the “Epicurean” vision. He describes it as the belief that casts “every inherited structure, every moral duty and social obligation, as a shackle that must be smashed, by government if necessary, so the individual can remain ‘free.’” Epicureanism is an old school of philosophy, but Hawley draws a throughline from it straight into the new Left.

Hawley Calls for Purpose

Manhood is not a biography, though Hawley’s long and detailed anecdotes from his personal life often make you forget that. It is not a sermon, either, though it draws relentlessly from biblical scripture and analysis to drive its point home. It is, at heart, a call to action for men.

Hawley provocatively names his chapters after different sorts of men: husband, father, warrior, builder, priest, and king. He is not channeling Huey Long by calling all men to be all of these things. Rather, he is calling on men to cultivate their characters so that they can live up to these archetypes. That, in Hawley’s view, is what makes a man. (READ MORE from Stephan Kapustka: Woke Capital Pleads With Supreme Court to OK Racial Discrimination in Education)

Andrew Tate, the social media influencer and self-help guru who has been accused of rape in Romania, is given few words by Hawley. None are positive. “Tate and company do not challenge the Epicurean line; they merely rehearse it in a nihilistic, misogynistic key,” he writes.

But do Hawley and Tate share anything in common? The Left would say so. That they are evil white males attempting to inspire other evil white males to protect their unearned evil white male privilege, though, seems to lack credibility. Instead, what they both are calling for men to take up a purpose. 

Hawley explains:

The world is born with purpose, and history is moving towards that purpose even now. The world may be disordered at the moment and out of joint. It may be chaotic and menaced by evil. But it is made to be something more: a place of peace and liberty and astounding beauty. The creation is a cathedral, magnificent in design beyond all imagining, reflecting its Creator.

Hawley tells men what many have hoped but failed to hear: You matter. He speaks repeatedly of the men who seem to have fallen off the path, retreated from society and the world. The Japanese even have a word for such men: Hikikomori.

Hawley’s Solution Is Simple

Whether an introvert by nature or nurture, growing up with a stutter taught me to hate social interaction. I saw no positive to fraternizing with my peers beyond what was required and wanted only to be left alone with my video games. Had I been less fortunate, the world might have respected my wishes. I suspect that many of our missing men are in this pit, and the data presented seems to bear that out.

Hawley’s solution, in short, is simple: Man up. Yes, life often isn’t fair. No songs will be sung of your trials. Your job is hard and thankless. But as a man it is your duty, your calling, your very purpose to slay monsters, both out in the world and in your own heart. You were made to protect the weaker and less fortunate. And you can’t do that alone in your room wallowing in your own self-pity.

A gentle critique I would give Hawley is that he has written a spiritual book at a time when religion is in retreat — or, at least, religion as we know it. Although many, Hawley most certainly among them, lament that fact, it is true, and I wonder if there are young men out there who might be more reachable if his message were transmitted slightly differently. But I do not think that Hawley could have written any such book and remained true to himself. Of the Bible, he says that “it is nearly the only guide I can think to offer.” And, as such, it is the guide that he has offered America’s men.

Will it be enough to reach the conscience of our despiritualized age? Perhaps. I would contend, though, that a song or two might be nice.