Masculinity Amidst Madness by Ryan Landry

Masculinity Amidst Madness by Ryan Landry

Author:Ryan Landry [Landry, Ryan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Terror House Press, LLC
Published: 2020-06-18T22:00:00+00:00


Chapter 8

Not all men are suited for the fine arts, but any man can work with his hands and mind for the betterment of his home and community. The Greeks valued techne, what we call the mechanical arts or trades. This is an area in which all men should accumulate skills.

Our very names reveal familial history in the trades. Explore your own lines and look for the stories behind the names. A surname related to a trade is how your ancestors were identified. Can you fulfill an old role? The contemporary man places himself above his ancestors, yet cannot perform the basic functions these dead men found second nature. How many contemporary men reach for their phone the moment something breaks? It is not just not knowing how to do handiwork, but not even exhibiting the curiosity to learn small skills. Contemporary men can hang a picture. The rest they outsource.

This is the core of modern man’s problems. He has outsourced everything but the most basic, immediate functions. The modern man can never leave his room if he wants. The Japanese suffer this growing problem and call these adults hikikomori. There is someone else available to do anything he needs. This has pervades every aspect of a man’s life. He has forgotten what he is capable of on his own.

He will not install a cabinet. A contractor will do it. He will not teach his child about sex. The schools will do it. He will not befriend his neighbors to better police his neighborhood. The city will do that. He will not guide his daughter’s relationships or protect her. Magazines and restraining orders will do that.

Modern men are programmed to avoid such tasks because broader society does not value them in such roles. The tasks themselves mean responsibility, duty, and if they fail, blame. Your grandfather had a wall of specialized tools for a myriad of applications. Your father had a toolbox in the garage for emergencies. You have a hammer and two screwdrivers in a drawer. Maybe your father was absent or failed to explain the hows and whats behind quick fixes. Maybe they didn’t want you to have to do them.

Many a blue-collar father’s dream is that his son never has to sweat or break his back on the job. His son can avoid the daily grind he endured. It was a well-intentioned hope for an easier future. What those fathers did not imagine was that their sons would lose all of those skills that generations of fathers found perfunctory. Those fathers did not imagine their sons would find emptiness and no sense of accomplishment in their comfortable, air-conditioned offices. There is no satisfaction in ten percent close ratios, contract evaluations, or supply chain management that compares to a newly-painted home, an assembled engine, or a finished cabinet.

As a first step to reclaiming this part of your birthright, tackle small tasks and learn basic skills that were once considered second nature. Once a trade is learned or a new skill is developed and refined, it can never be taken from a man.



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