King of Fools

January 16, 2004

Donald Sensing takes on the modern male wimp in this long but worth while post. This has always been a very important issue to me. I really like what he had to say regarding 'values':

Moore does indicate a return to the concept of virtue would be good.

It is no easier to become a man than it is to become virtuous. In fact, the two are the same. The root of our old-fashioned word "virtue" is the Latin word virtus, a derivative of vir, or man. To be virtuous is to be "manly."

But today we neither teach nor speak of virtues, we blather about values. (I'm neither the first to notice nor to decry this development.)

Values. It used to mean that "value" meant to treasure something, as a verb, or as a noun it meant the monetary worth of something. Today it is used as a euphemism for personal preferences. In my town's public schools the standards of conduct are presented as the school's values. The pupils' obligation to adhere to them is contractual, not moral.

I think that the whole notion of values is corrupt. Neither the Bible nor the ancient philosopher talk about values, but they have a lot to say about virtues, and their opposite, vices. Virtues are godly, vices are sinful.

He goes on to detail five virtues which we should teach our children:

Courage
Commitment
Competence
Candor
Compassion

What I found most interesting about this article was that I read it immediately after reading this. Dooce shares about a past relationship which is a heartbreaking read. Heartbreaking, not only because of how she was treated, but also because it chronicles the waste of a person. A case study of wimphood.

One thing I am sure of...my boys will not grow up to be wimps.

King of Fools | 10:53 AM | 1 Trackbacks
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