What happened to the idea of men as protectors of women and children?
A crazed man recently attacked a subway train, ranting, raving and generally harassing everyone. Next, he sat between two terrified women, and as they tried to flee, he grabbed one by the hair and pulled her down, while the terrified woman pleaded for help from onlookers. Surprisingly, everyone on that train, including a few men, was bent over their phones, pretending nothing was wrong. They, like the proverbial ostrich, would rather bury their heads in the sand than play the hero who comes to the aid of a woman in distress.
Fortunately, the madman let the woman go after dragging her by the hair, but it’s chilling that this could happen in broad daylight and in the presence of so many men, and no one had the courage to stand up to him. Would those men continue to act as if nothing had happened if the madman had plucked out the woman’s eyes or cut her throat?
What explains the phenomenon of cowardice and impotence seen here? Bray (2006) contends that men are no longer men today as a result of the feminist movement’s effort to deprive men of their manhood as a necessary step toward empowering women.
While Hudson (2013) contends that the cowardice displayed on that train is a relatively new phenomenon largely caused by the modern culture of social media, which has taken away men’s edge by depriving them of regular practice in the act of being men. Thus, the author argues that they were cowards due to a lack of practice in the act of bravery, a new phenomenon created by social media, which has removed the need for face to face human interaction and thus created men who have the body of an adult but are really toddlers inside, preferring to play with their toys rather than play their part in bettering society, unlike the real men of the past.
However, it is important to note that cowardice has always characterized the nature of man and did not begin with the feminist movement or social media, but rather has its roots in sin, which causes men to selfishly shave or avoid any circumstance that would complicate or even endanger their own lives.
Over two thousand years ago, Jesus preached to the people of Israel the parable of the Good Samaritan, encouraging them to overcome their fear and go out of their way to help those in need, to be kind and merciful.
In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus tells the story of a man who was robbed and was lying on the road, and how people passing by, some of whom were priests, saw the man and crossed to the other side of the road and went away.
They, like the train passengers, did not want to get involved or complicate their lives and wished that if they walked faster, the injured man lay bleeding on the road would vanish, at least in their minds, but Jesus condemns their actions, recommending the Good Samaritan as a better alternative. Jesus suggests that the good Samaritan did what God desired in that situation by going out of his way to assist the person in need.
Precisely because the Samaritan, despite being historically hostile to Jews, overcame his prejudice and stopped to help the injured man, lifting him up on his horse and paying for his stay at the innkeeper. By using this parable, Jesus is implying that we should regard everyone as a neighbor and come to the aid of those in need. Certainly, Jesus warns us against turning our backs on our neighbor’s problems.
A Good Samaritan would jump in and fight if he saw someone being attacked, even if it meant getting his shirt torn or getting a bruised eye, but that is okay because it was the only way to provide effective help to others, and God will reward you for it.
Jesus tells this story to demonstrate the concept of the Good Samaritan, the character of those who please God and go out of their way to help others.
There is no doubt that social media culture has created a deceptive illusion that making a video of a woman being attacked and tweeting was a way of helping hand, making people who tweet feel like they are doing something, but if no one gives a helping hand, like in the case of this woman who was being attacked to free her from the grip of the mad man, then humanity has lost its humanity.
This incident reinforces the notion that the teachings of Jesus Christ are very much relevant in our current time and are far from outdated, as modern philosophers argue that modern society, with great advances in science and technology, no longer requires Jesus’ moral teaching. On the contrary, I would argue that Christ’s and Christianity’s teachings are still relevant, and maybe the only thing that can save us from the anarchy of individualism and nihilism.
References
Bray, W.E. (2006) The Emasculation of Men in America: 50 Reasons Why Males are No Longer Men. Retrieved from https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-emasculation-of-men-in-america-william-e-bray/1120571735
HUDSON, P. (2013) Why Men Aren’t Really Men Anymore. Retrieved from https://www.elitedaily.com/life/culture/why-men-arent-really-men-anymore
Authors-choice: Hope & Revival 
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