PREFACE
As always, when I finish this article, I will stamp it with the date of its completion. But today is November 1st, and I have just watched an excellent video by The Wade Show with Wade. Entitled “Experts Hate Him For This One Weird Trick,” it walks through the different ways Trump and Harris have attempted to appeal to men. After seeing the examples from the Harris supporters, I realized that it will be important to bring these strategies to light no matter who wins the election.
But alas, I just released a video this week; and QC and HR demand I not attempt another before the election. So I’ll just have to go on the record now to clarify that I am planning this video before having any idea who will win, and that my objective will be the same regardless. That’s all for now. Meet me over on the other side.
HARRIS’S LAST WALZ
Okay, I can now not only continue writing, but I can do so without having to wonder if it will be illegal for me in the near future. After the confirmation that Harris’s presidency will not get put on paper, some conservatives may want to give their memory a cleanup on aisle 46. As much as I share in this sentiment, we’re not quiet yet at the point of “the former shall not be remembered or come to mind.” Vice President Harris said in her concession speech that she does not concede the fight that fueled her campaign, therefore we must study her tactics to avoid the mistake of putting her movement in office again. So bear with me as I briefly place a comma after Kamala.
One of the most noteworthy tactics of her supporters was the attempt to appeal to masculine men. By the grace of God, they failed because they didn’t know the plays. But they tried their damnedest and knew their target. The left has long bullied women and minorities into voting their way, but that well has begun to run dry. So, much like the elders of Gilead begging Jephthah to come back, they have begun offering masculine men positions in their army.
FROGS AND SNAILS AND PUPPY DOG TAILS
The YouTube channel “White Dudes for Harris” could not have a more fitting name, seeing how most of its videos are long, boring conference calls. Its launch video solicits men who don’t want to be associated with the MAGA movement, portraying its members as loud, obnoxious, and acting like they speak for white dudes. Considering that falsely claiming to represent all other demographics is the beating heart of liberalism, the most glaring flaw in this argument is hypocrisy.
But there’s a deeper lie here, and it’s not that the MAGA movement is loud and obnoxious. That’s the truth the lie hides behind. By accusing Trump of acting like he speaks for white dudes, the ad assumes identity politics to be an inescapable reality. The leap of logic assumes that since he doesn’t speak for the left, he must speak for those the left has declared to be enemies: white dudes. Yet this imaginary marriage was never a product of MAGA in the first place, but rather of identity politics—the very thing MAGA rebels against. Now, in doing so, have they created their own counter-culture identity that has gotten out of control? Absolutely, but that’s a separate conversation. Racial and sexual identity politics are not part of this equation.
The remainder of the ad uses evocative rhetoric like “you’re your own man” and “I’ve been doing my own research,” but never provides any examples of research. The channel’s other short ads consist largely of appeals to exceptions, offering testimonials from habitual Republicans, gun owners, and the worst overachiever of all: a farming minister. “Trump screwed us over,” they say. “Harris has my vote,” they say. These would make for passable opening or closing statements; but when each course of the meal is just another soundbite, they become arguments by assertion and repetition.
Because Harris had few decisive policies to speak of, the campaign is like a balloon: blown up big and soaring high, but containing nothing of substance. Thus, the name of the game here is aesthetics. A beard. A bench press. A cactus. A southern twang. They have painted a picture that masculine men could see themselves in, attempting to build rapport by what effeminate men might call “vibing.” These sights and sounds may be refreshing to men who are tired of dragonfruit hair and oversized glasses; but they no more guarantee wise counsel.
1 Samuel 16:6-7
So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before Him!” But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
ONE OF US, ONE OF US!
In early 2020, I attempted to console a conservative radio host as he spent his morning bewailing a passive gag made at the Oscars about Trump’s impeachment. He asked if I thought he was overreacting, and I politely explained that I did. Celebrities are humans with opinions, and I find obsession over this unhelpful. When their opinions turn into haranguing, I have been known to dismiss them with the line, “dress up, shut up, and act.” But every once in a while, these voices call for thoughtful rebuttal; and this year, I would be remiss not to point out their presence in our topical niche.
Sean Astin is a hot name on the evangelical film industry’s “we got him” list. But I’m curious to see what kind of cancel culture would play out if they knew he was the battleground states director for the Harris campaign. Mark Hamill and Josh Gad also cheered her on, which is less surprising coming from icons of increasingly woke franchises. Jeff Bridges was delighted to speak up on account of his being “The Dude.” I could make plenty of jokes about how that character would definitely vote for Harris, but it might come across as a recommendation.
The important thing is what all these men have in common: they give rousing speeches of how inspirational it would be to vote for a woman, how much our children need Harris, how much they despise Trump, and how important it is to register or donate. But why? There are no positive reasons, and their only attempt at an argument is to remind us that they, famous white men, are voting for a woman of color. They are so dependent on leveraging their status that it almost seems self-aware.
At a rally in Pennsylvania, Jennifer Garner addressed both men and people of faith. The Methodist actress, who has said her backup career may be ministry, opened with a discourse on loving your neighbor while campaigning. She then famously commented that there is nothing sexier than a man who’s “like, ‘Men for Kamala! Woo!’” She is exceptionally consistent in her amiable, conversational attitude; but this does not override truth and nature. Discerning men do not want to take attractiveness coaching from a twice-divorced woman who owes her ongoing relevance to a bottomless pit of comic book patchwork.
While entertainers are expected to speak out of turn during election season, it’s noteworthy that they were much more synchronized this year. So men must remember not only how to lead in a masculine way, but how to follow in a masculine way. Celebrity crushes do not tend to be masculine, and following their lead in the future of our country is not a wise motive in any direction.
BUT THE LEVEE WAS DRY
Fact-checkers would like to inform us that the “Man Enough” ad was not sponsored or endorsed by the official Harris campaign. I haven’t seen anyone say it was, but now we know for sure that it was just made by supporters. Since we’ve already covered most of the tactics it uses, I’ve saved it for last so I may address its most weaponized words: the two in its title. The idea of “being man enough” or “manning up” is frequently used in a manipulative way, and Michael Foster has been warning us about this for years.
“They aren’t selling a masculinity which calls men to be powerful, wise, disciplined leaders of the church, home, and society. That’s the sort of culture that they very much want to smash. ‘Man up’ means something like ‘get busy being a servant leader.’ It means ‘beta up.’ The servant leader, the beta male, leads by satisfying the desires of those under his care.”
— Michael Foster
Building upon this, the ad goes on to use vague rhetoric like “control her own body” in reference to what we all know means infanticide. An honest translation would be, “If she wants to kill her own baby, I say go for it.” This is followed up by another man who says he supports IVF because he’s not afraid of families. I wonder if he’d sing a different tune when reminded that the same lazy fallacy has been used to justify incestuous, pedophilic harems.
While canvassing for my state’s newly elected anti-abortion senator, I saw a yard packed with radical leftbook signs, one of which read “Vote like your daughter’s rights depend on it.” This will remind observant readers why cant like “pro-choice” was concocted in the first place: men will not support abortion unless the wall is whitewashed a hundred times over. Masculine men want to protect the weak and innocent. There is nothing more craven than depriving one’s daughter of the right to life in the womb; so to get men on board, the barbarity must be rhetorically reversed. But if we are to be masculine men, we must see through such duplicity and double down.
What have we learned? Harris’s supporters were forced to abandon their self-declared strength and independence. They needed the masculine men, and they let it show. But praise be to God that there is still enough courage in our country to avoid falling for campaigning that is so expensive, yet so cheap. But we cannot assume that all of the people who voted against these things did so for Christian reasons, which is why the spread of the Gospel must be only just beginning.
My charge to men is this: in your victory, do not get drunk on your champagne. Swing voters will still swing, and we can expect to see these mantras again. So when you hear the call to be manly, obey it. But never lose sight of who created manliness and where He has defined it for us. When the result is much different from what the enemy expects, humbly smile at them like Joseph and say, “You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.”
Psalm 147:10-11
He does not delight in the strength of the horse;
He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man.
The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him,
In those who hope in His mercy.