[Dan]

Again, no time for an in-depth post on the economic crisis, but Verv did mention elsewhere that he wanted to see me write on vir, given my mistaken understanding of Latin (read the linked post if you care for an explanation).

Here's something from a better writer than me on the topic:

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings--nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!

From this you can gather a rough understanding of what some of the masculine virtues are. Here's a list of some of the masculine virtues (not all of which were touched on in the poem):

- Stoicism - To bear what needs to be borne without complaint or self-pity.
- Self-control - To not let your emotions, your physical wants, your desires, or your dreams control you, but to master them.
- Daring/Courage - The willingness to take risks and to face danger and, just as importantly, accepting the consequences without regret or self-pity should you fail.
- Prudence - To exercise sound judgment, even in times of chaos or uncertainty.
- Endurance - To continue on in your work and your struggle for what you believe in, even if it seems hopeless or futile.
- Confidence - To believe in yourself and what you value and to not to seek the praise of man.
- Humility - Not letting your confidence become arrogance and pride; remembering your place in the world.
- Duty - To fulfill your obligations to others and do what you must.
- Honour - To be a man of your word and to exercise integrity in your dealings.
- Justice - To render to all what is due them.
- Chivalry - To protect those who need protection and to assist the weak.

A lot of these are closely related to each other, and these virtues should be pursued by all men.

Sadly, many of these virtues are losing their percieved value in society. Honour and chivalry have in large part become antiquities. Duty, self-control, prudence, and stoicism have largely given way to hedonism and decadence and are often not even paid lip-service to anymore. Daring and courage are giving way as safety and security become more important; even when risks are taken, society is becoming more accepting of people avoiding the consequences. Justice has come to mean something entirely different. Confidence and humility have given way to arrogance and narcissism.

Maybe I am idealizing the past, but these virtues used to mean something and the loss of them can not be anything other then negative for our society. Even if they were only given lip-service, at least these were held up as ideals. But now the dominant ideals seem to be the narcissistic pursuit of self-esteem and staying true to yourself or your heart (which is different then staying true to your values), the pursuit of hedonism, the pursuit of rights and freedoms without the corresponding duties and responsibilities, and the pursuit of happiness and the easy life.

I don't know if a culture and society who have lost these masculine virtues could continue to exist without imploding on itself or being destroyed from the outside.

I put more into this than I was intending... I will likely write more on this topic at other times and will hopefully get the economic crisis post out soon.