To say George Will is an influential conservative columnist is to say Mt. Everest is a mole hill. In today's piece entitled "The end of feminized politics?" Will writes:
"New Hampshire confirmed what Iowa intimated. Democrats who are serious about the candidates' electability understand that seriousness requires a retreat from the feminization of politics.
That explains Democrats' short-lived flirtation with Wesley Clark, the empty uniform who, were a Democrat now president, probably would be on the right flank of Republicans running this year. And the Democrats' movement away from feminization explains John Kerry's brisk forward march, with a military cadence."
Unfortunately, feminization has taken root not only in politics, but in society at large. I've written, albeit briefly, about the stranglehold of feminization in Hollywood. When one of the most popular shows on television is Queer Eye for the Straight Guy you know there are problems. Newspapers and magazines sing the praises of the "metrosexual" with British soccer star David Beckham as the metrosexual par excellence.
If former president Bill Clinton did not introduce feminization into American politics (which I don't think he did) he certainly carried it to dizzying new heights. He could cry at the drop of a hat, he "empathized" with the American people. The American public fell for his act hook, line, and sinker. Al Gore lost the 2000 election because he wasn't sure whether to follow in Clinton's footsteps or become the "alpha male."
While the Dems may be retreating from feminized politics this week is it only an aberration? If the answer is based upon our present culture, then it can only be an aberration. Hollywood is not the only source of feminization of our culture. We must also look at the rise of households where children are raised by single mothers. Single mothers shoulder a burden few should have to bear. The fact remains that children, though boys most especially, need the male influence to stabilize the home (e.g., Bill Clinton was raised by a single mother).
The feminization of society continues at school. No longer are the days of recess or P.E. for elementary school children. High schools are beginning to do away with honors awards so as not offend those that "underachieve." Emphasis is placed on the students "feelings" rather than that child individual ability to perform educational tasks.
The Democrats bucking the feminization of politics are only affecting masculinity. Riding a Harley and dropping "F-bombs" in Rolling Stone magazine does not a man make. Allow me to quote from Will again when he writes:
"Feminized politics, according to Carnes Lord of the Naval War College, justifies all policies with reference to their impact on children. In his book "The Modern Prince: What Leaders Need to Know Now,'' Lord says leadership is a problematic concept in today's democracies. Modern technology has produced prosperity, which has produced a middle class growing in size, competence (education), security (homeownership, 401(k)s, etc.) and self-confidence (assertion of rights). All this, plus the egalitarian, anti-hierarchical spirit of the age, plus the rarity of great wars, threatens to make politics seem unimportant and leaders seem dispensable. Leadership, Lord says, presupposes some element of ``such traditionally manly qualities as competitiveness, aggression or, for that matter, the ability to command.'' Because ``leadership that is not prepared to disadvantage anyone is hardly leadership at all.''
Leadership cannot be affected. It cannot be faked or placed on like a mask. Clinton was never a "leader" because he tried to fake it. We knew he was pretending and I trust that the American people will see that John Kerry is pretending as well.
