In the article, “Young Men and How the Democrats Lost Them” by Sebastian Junger, the focus included how “The recent and very American idea that the sexes are the same or at least interchangeable… loses sight of the evolutionary pressures that underly much of human behavior and risk wandering into ideological nonsense”:
I’m not saying that a rebel attack in Africa should be the basis for our gender roles, or that men and women shouldn’t be exactly who they want to be in our society. But when you lose sight of the evolutionary pressures that underly much of human behavior, you risk wandering into ideological nonsense. The Far Right tries to turn young men into political assets by convincing them they are the “true” victims of today’s society. And the Far Left tries equally hard to convince them that all masculinity is suspect and dangerous, and that the only proper thing for men to do is to back out of the room, apologizing.
Junger concludes by reinfocing the need to respect the differences:
We live in a world of bridges, roads, skyscrapers, foundries, coal mines, and oil derricks. These were built almost exclusively by men who were poorly paid, poorly educated, and suffered appalling death and injury rates. You can’t expect them to do that work, accept the idea they’re toxic, and also vote for your candidate; it’s not happening. If Democrats want to reclaim those votes – and they must – they will have to figure out how to honor the rough, dangerous work men have been designated to do. If they want to win another national election, they will have to figure out how to admire the very qualities – courage, toughness, physical sacrifice – that every society needs.
No political party has ever succeeded by dismissing half the population. Democrats are no exception.
I prompted ChatGPT to identify parallels in themes and roles between the article and biblical teaching—without endorsing or rejecting the article’s claims—just drawing theological and conceptual connections.
The Bottom Line Summary
Parallels:
- Complementary male/female roles
- Men as protectors and sacrificers
- Women as nurturers and life-givers
- Family as the foundation of society
- Identity and purpose tied to roles
- Mutual dependence between sexes
Differences:
- Bible grounds roles in God’s design and moral theology, not evolutionary pragmatism.
- Bible emphasizes dignity, covenant, and love rather than survival efficiency.
Big Picture Conclusion
- The article is philosophically closest to complementarianism, even though it is not theological.
- Complementarianism: sexes are not interchangeable
- It rejects interchangeability, emphasizes sacrifice, and affirms sex-based differences in function.
- Egalitarianism aligns with the article’s moral concern for equality, but clashes with its realism about biology, risk, and social survival.
- Egalitarianism: Men and women can perform the same roles equally
- Christianity historically tries to hold a tension the article does not fully resolve:
difference without disposability, authority without domination, sacrifice without dehumanization.Reference: ChatGPT – Prompts and Replies: Substack The Roles of Men and Women in Society, Biblical Parallels
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