Strengthening Constitutional Self-Government

No Left Turns

Sarah’s Abundant Moxie

...is recognized in a fairly positive way even by the NATION, and actually this author usually prefers attributing to Sarah private parts she doesn’t actually have to saying "moxie." Even you disagree with her politics and question her readiness, it’s impossible not to root for her to pull this thing off. She has, this very liberal author sees, the kind of ambitious self-confidence that we ought to cultivate in our daughters. I would add that cultivation can take us only so far. As Sara herself says, you also have to be "wired" to embrace a great challenge without debilitating "issues."

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the kind of ambitious self-confidence that we ought to cultivate in our daughters.

The entire goal of American society seems to be to build up the self-confidence and self-esteem of young girls. At some point we might want to spare a thought for the young boys.

We may find a lot more of the latter so "wired," I'd add . . . at least as people come to us by nature. What happens after birth is another story. One problem today is that so many boys who are "wired" with the kind of moxie that is cheered in girls like Sarah, find no similar approval or congratulations (or, more important, tutelage) when they exhibit it. Indeed, they are likely to learn that they need to hide their "aggression" (as it is called when they have it) or to learn that they are not welcome in polite society (thus finding other more welcoming though destructive company). The other problem is that such inherent moxie will out whether it is tutored and disciplined or not. And when it is not tutored or disciplined, we don't tend to like it or the attendant results of it very much.

So, if it's fair to say that a vice president (or a president) needs a fair share of the good kind of moxie, perhaps it's also fair to say that we'll be much more likely to find people with it among the female of species these days. While I don't think it is bad to see more women with cultivated moxie, I do think it will be a shame if they begin to outnumber and outshine their male counterparts. And I also believe that if it's true that males naturally have more moxie (good, bad, or otherwise) then all these women and their cultivated moxie are going to have their hands full of trouble as they deal with the results of so much untutored moxie in men.

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