Imagine Adam and Eve, in perfect joy walking in the Garden of Eden; the very Paradise created especially for their enjoyment. Everything they needed was there; everything, including freedom. The freedom to choose right or wrong; the freedom to disobey their Father. Any parent understands this bittersweet gift.
Along slithers the slimy serpent, who takes advantage of Eve. He tempts her and she succumbs. Eve chooses to disobey, and Adam is mysteriously silent. God created Eve to be Adam’s helpmate. Shouldn’t Adam reciprocate? What would Eve have done if Adam, ready to protect Eve, shouted, ” Eve, my love, don’t to listen him, he’s lying!” Would Eve have made a different choice?
Adam was supposed to protect Eve. Yes, Eve should have resisted the serpent’s temptation no matter what. Yes, she knew God’s instruction and God expected her to follow the law just as much as he expected Adam to follow the law. However, if Adam had used the birthright given him by his Father when he gave him dominion over the animals and the earth, Eve would have been much more likely to follow him. Eve needed Adam to stand up for her and protect her. But he didn’t. Where was he? Rather than stand up for Eve, Adam instead chose silence, then cast blame on Eve.
As much as today’s society tries to convince us that young women and girls do not need men, it is a lie. It is a lie that has grown since the beginning of the industrial revolution, the Suffragette Movement and the Feminist Movement. Yes, girls and women are valuable in their own right. And as JP II, (some call the “first feminist pope”) stressed in his Letter to Women and his apostolic letter, On the Dignity and Vocation of Women, women are valuable in their own right. Yes, women can contribute to society in many important ways. Yes, women have their own unique callings and gifts.
None of this negates the truth that women thrive when supported, guided, and led by their men. Women thrive when men love them, believe in their inherent dignity and refuse to use them or to objectify them.
I encourage every man, young and old, to speak up for women, to help them recognize their inherent dignity. “Why can’t they figure this out themselves?” one might ask. Some women can; most often those who have been nurtured by their fathers. Many young women however do not recognize their value due to the absence of paternal nurturing.
The short video at found at demandyourdignity.com shows young men imploring young women to claim their dignity and to resist “giving it up” for anyone, except their husband. They remind young women that their beauty comes from an inner beauty which has nothing to do with how sexual they look or act. This short video truly inspired me and it is my hope that it will have a similar effect on you.
Men, young and old, you are needed. Refuse to stand silently by any longer. Men, be the courageous, brave and protective Adam God created you to be. Be the man God created you to be.
