Strong Men Armed

“When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe.” — Luke 11:21

A just society relies on strong, armed men with good moral character to function. In ungoverned chaos, the strong impose their will on the weak with impunity. Whether it’s individual physical strength or strength in numbers, force is the currency for autonomy. The adage “might makes right” is the colloquial encapsulation of this concept. While strength may be enough to bring civilized order to chaos, it's not enough to establish any semblance of uniform justice. Strong men with the means to inflict violence must also be taught morals and instilled with discipline. Otherwise, they will merely become bandits or barons that exploit those less fortunate than themselves.

A society can’t have virtue without strength. Capability is a prerequisite to action. Just as someone can't be generous without having something to give, men can't be virtuous from a position of weakness. A weak man is incapable of having compassion or demonstrating virtue because he lacks the means to do so. The weak can merely accept their fate. They are at the mercy of the strong, who can impose their will on others unless restrained by an opposing strength.

A just society requires strong men with virtue to oppose strong men with malice in defense of the weak. There are those that want to mock physical strength or render it obsolete with rules, social norms, and ridicule as a means to prevent its abuse. Their attempts inevitably fail because they weaken virtuous men and allow malicious criminals and cowards to use their new-found relative strength to seize power. Humanity can’t eliminate hierarchy or create equity, it can only breed enough strong men instilled with moral virtue to make exploitation untenable. These men answer evil with swift and righteous violence. Only then is peace and prosperity possible.