A growing chorus, including voices like the late Charlie Kirk, warned that many young men are “checking out,” opting out of work, abandoning notions of calling and responsibility, amid what he calls a war on masculinity.
In her speech at her husband’s public memorial, Erika Kirk spoke to this negative trend: “Charlie passionately wanted to reach and save the lost boys of the West — the young men who feel like they have no direction, no purpose, no faith and no reason to live. The men wasting their lives on distractions. The men consumed with resentment, anger and hate. Charlie wanted to help them.”
She passionately pleaded for all men around the world to accept Charlie’s challenge—embrace true manhood. She asked men “to be strong and courageous for your families. Love your wives and lead them. Love your children and protect them. Be the spiritual leader in your home. But please; be a leader worth following.”
When Charlie Kirk went on to college campuses across the country, one of the audiences he was particularly fighting for was young men, leading them toward a better path.
The truth is that women now outnumber men in classrooms, on graduation stages and in leadership roles. Nearly half of young women earn bachelor’s degrees, compared to only about a third of young men.
This isn’t just a shift in gender statistics. It’s a cultural moment that demands us reconsider what it means to raise men with purpose, courage and conviction.
The economic picture is no different. While some elite men sprint ahead, many more are falling behind. While women’s economic opportunity is rightly expanding, too many men are failing to keep pace. Don’t misunderstand me, we are thrilled with the success of the women on our campus and the incredible opportunities now afforded them. This is a cultural milestone worth celebrating, yet we should not fool ourselves that men’s retreat comes without fallout.
Yet alongside this progress, another reality has emerged: too many men are struggling to find their footing. As women’s earning power rises and traditional roles shift, some men feel uncertain about their place. Too often, they withdraw—into isolation or resignation—while adulthood, marriage and meaningful work pass them by. A healthy culture depends on the strength and contributions of both women and men, each living into their God-given potential.
More than 60 years ago, writer and theologian C.S. Lewis warned of this moment when he wrote of producing “men without chests;” young people stripped of courage and moral purpose. “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.” The risk in America today is that of raising a generation of men who lack both purpose and place.
The problem is not that young men won’t take responsibility—it’s that in today’s society too few boys know what that responsibility should look like. The model has been broken but not replaced. For decades, society has celebrated new opportunities for women (and rightly so) but has failed to offer men an equally-compelling calling. The result?
Too many settle for what is fun and distracting, investing in hobbies or entertainment, instead of stepping into their calling. Without the vision of healthy constructive manhood, too many are ill equipped to meet the challenges of life, or just as concerningly, swayed by the toxic masculinity projected by influencers on web.
I have the privilege of serving at Colorado Christian University and interacting with both next generation leaders. And, to be honest, some young people need a boost of encouragement on a daily basis. As a university, we reject the idea that women’s advancement requires men’s decline. Both are made in God’s image. Both are essential for strong families, churches and communities. And that requires reviving an old-fashioned virtue in new form: moxie.
Moxie is not bravado. It’s not bluster. True moxie is grit, courage and resilience—the ability to face failure, learn and try again. Every successful entrepreneur, leader or athlete will tell you their greatest growth came not from triumph but setbacks. Yet many young men today are afraid to achieve because they are afraid to fail. Instead of risking, they retreat. We need to teach them that failure isn’t fatal; it’s the very soil where strength and wisdom grow.
Parents must also hear this clarion call. Boys do not simply grow into men by accident. They need models, mentors and guidance. They need to see that achievement is worth the risk of failure, and that strength is found not in domination but in service.
Many decades after his death, Lewis’s words echo still: we cannot afford to make men without chests. America needs men of conviction, resilience and faith—men with moxie.
And when we do, everyone—women and men alike—will flourish.
Eric Hogue is president of Colorado Christian University, which was included in the Wall Street Journal’s College Pulse Ranking for a second consecutive year and named one of the fastest-growing universities in the country for the ninth year in a row.
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