Men Without Chests

"We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honor and are shocked to find traitors in our midst. We castrate and then bid the geldings to be fruitful."

--CS Lewis

In The Abolition of Man, CS Lewis correctly predicted the moral state of the western world. With the decline of firm belief in absolutes, the modern world has been left with a moral code that is little more than a frail shell. This code cannot stand against serious onslaughts and shatters when the need for strength and resolve is greatest.

Perhaps the most tragic example of the consequences of weakened principles is the life and death of Terri Schiavo, the woman who, one year ago, was starved to death by the will of her own husband. At a time when protecting those too weak to protect themselves ought to have been the primary concern, America's moral code betrayed some of its greatest principles: the sanctity of life and the defense of the weak and helpless.

The only way to prevent a similar tragedy is to identify the underlying causes of apathy and moral sloth. The only way to safeguard others who are unable to defend themselves is to work to restore right thinking that right living may follow. The only way to neutralize the threat posed by men without chests is to point the way to God, the one who can give new hearts to those who seem to have none.