The weekly student newspaper of Bucknell University

The Bucknellian

The weekly student newspaper of Bucknell University

The Bucknellian

The weekly student newspaper of Bucknell University

The Bucknellian

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Modern men no longer fit to "survive"

Justin Marinelli
Writer

Men are no longer what they once were. The convenience of our modern lives, while being an overall blessing, has come with hidden consequences that are only just now starting to be revealed.

Recently, anthropologist Peter McAllister set out to write a book on how modern man is the epitome of evolution; he is stronger, smarter, faster and better than his ancestors.  However, almost every single bit of evidence he uncovered acted against this argument. His book, “Manthropology: The Science of Why the Modern Male is Not the Man He Used to Be,” details the results of his research.

McAllister reveals that men living in industrial, Western nations are some of the weakest, slowest and most cowardly men who have ever lived. Even our Olympic athletes can’t replicate some of the athletic feats that took place just a few thousand years ago, like matching the speed of Greek trireme rowers.

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Does it really matter if some caveman could run faster than Usain Bolt? Those who react in such a fashion miss the point. The real value of books like “Manthropology” isn’t in their accounts of the hard-core things our ancestors did, but in the inspiration they can provide to those of us alive now. It can mean a lot to be reminded that if we push ourselves to our limits, we can accomplish things that could be considered almost superhuman.

We are no longer as strong or tough because we don’t have to be. Our lives aren’t as physically demanding as they once were, so we don’t have to be like 73-year-old Kenyan farmer Daniel M’Mburugu who killed a leopard with his bare hands after it attacked him.  That said, modern men have their own challenges they have to grapple with.

Men are earning a smaller proportion of college degrees than women, are being thrown in jail at far higher rates and are suffering far more layoffs in the past few years. Boys are more likely than girls to be diagnosed with conditions like attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD), and scientists have recorded a shocking drop in average testosterone levels in men over the past 30 years. The dangers we face may not be as physically threatening as a hungry leopard, but we do face our own distinct challenges nonetheless.

While it may be men that are directly affected by these problems, women are also affected. They pay the tax dollars to keep men in prison, they have to be more competitive students to get into the same colleges and are forced to provide a larger proportion of family income. The decline of man is making life harder for everyone.

It’s to this end that I call for a men’s movement. I believe one of the core essentials to being a great person (of any gender) is to always be pushing yourself to overcome new challenges and to try to become a better person today then you were yesterday. If this generation of men took that heart and truly pushed themselves beyond their limits, then I firmly believe the decline of man can be halted, to the benefit of everyone.

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