Do you agree with Harvey Mansfield that “manliness” undervalued in Western society?
Perfect example of the kind of trait i think is socially devalued, not because it relates to ‘manliness’ per se, but because the notion of ‘risk’ being a socially positive behaviour is being factored out. As more and more people become indoor workers, and take their recreation (as we do) indoors, ‘risk’ is increasingly becoming the porvince of the select few ~ athletes and people employed in occupations such as firefighters. And while these peple are lauded and admired, most of us ~ and children especially ~ are very actively discouraged from taking risks. In western cultures we are increasingly “cotton woolled” at every level, not just physically but more and more protected from the uglinesses of ordinary life ~ where meat comes from, what happens when people die, how people actually live when they are poor. I doubt it can continue indefinitely, although it’s possible that one day going outside will be considered as terrifying as it was for the wealthy in the 1700s and we will become
