In Defense Of The 'Cowboy Mentality'

A professor blamed men's crisis on the 'cowboy mentality' in the Washington Post.

There’s something that offends modern liberals about the cowboy.

Last week, the Washington Post ran a feature on men’s groups attempting to fundamentally transform our concept of American masculinity. Niobe Way, a psychology professor at New York University, blamed the “cowboy mentality” for men’s modern mental crisis with male suicide rates four times higher than women.

“American men’s isolation stems in large part from a pervasive cultural belief, experts say: that men should be self-reliant and hide their emotions, especially from other men,” the Post reported.

Way told the paper boys are raised with “the cowboy mentality — ‘I can do it myself, I don’t need others,’” fueled by “the father wanting the son to man up and not be so soft.”

“The whole model of getting help is part of so-called femininity,” Way said. “Women end up being the therapist for their husband, and more are getting sick of it.”

Except anyone who believes masculinity is all about suppressing male emotions has no idea what they’re talking about.

No one denies emotions exist. No one is even denying men should get help when they are unable to cope. Masculine virtues channel those emotions into necessary action. In other words, what is one going to do about the situation that they’re in? What are the outcomes they desire? What are they willing to sacrifice to achieve them? Fewer and fewer seem able to ask those questions anymore. The cheap dopamine hits from drugs, alcohol and ultra-processed food have taken over.

Obviously, our male neighbors our struggling. Men have withdrawn from the classroom, withdrawn from the workforce, and withdrawn from their relationships, the latter of which is the primary key to longevity. Men make up half the population yet count for almost 80 percent of suicides. But masculinity isn’t the problem. It’s the solution. And our culture has a newfound focus on erasing it which promises an ugly future. Who seems healthier, Harrison Ford or Sam Smith? One of them is in their 80s.

Dissatisfaction with present circumstances should be all the motivation someone needs to change. Blaming all of one’s problems on other people, whether it’s society, tragic fate, or some manipulated concept of “toxic masculinity,” is the height of male femininity. The blame game is often just another vehicle for escapism, a way to abdicate responsibility from confronting circumstances that are uncomfortable.

The cowboy is offensive to liberals because the cowboy represents a male model of resilience and mission-driven stoicism that has defined American masculinity for centuries now being written off as cancerous. The cowboy himself is among the most iconic figures of American folklore, an aspirational mascot of lifestyle and character. Historian H.W. Brands describes the cultural importance of the cowboy in his book on the American west:

No image in American history has been so powerful — so evocative not simply of romance and adventure but of what it means to be American — as that of the cowboy. Astride his horse, etched against a lonely horizon, the cowboy epitomizes individualism, integrity, strength. The cowboy guards his herd, he guards his nation’s identity.

Vilification of the cowboy isn’t just an attack on traditional masculinity, it’s an insult to American patriotism. Disciplined to the point of being dangerous, the American white knight behind the “cowboy mentality” has been the thriving model on which generations built the nation. Dignity, self-awareness and perseverance are hardly toxic qualities.

The ideal man in the left-wing universe of a dismantled patriarchy, however, is Barbie’s Ken doll, with no real purpose and no real balls. Indeed, a lot more men have begun castrating themselves.

Links:

Washington Examiner: U.S. suicides hit all-time high in 2022, CDC says

New York Times: We Know Where New Weight Loss Drugs Come From, but Not Why They Work

Washington Post: Marijuana addiction is real. Those struggling often face skepticism.

Daily Caller: Medical Group Publishes Guidance For Kids Who Are ‘Gender Tootsie Roll Pops’

Daily Caller: Psychologist At Children’s Hospital Center Claims Kids Can Identify As Mythological ‘Minotaurs’

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