I've always preferred the company of women. When a bunch of guys get together, there's very little else they can do except compete with each other as to who the biggest jerk is. The winner gets to be the leader of the pack, then they go looking for another bunch of guys to prove how big a bunch of jerks they all are.

There, in a nutshell, is how basically every gangfight, battle and world war starts. It's just testosterone frothing wild and unchecked, and civilizations get swept away by the hormonal tsunami. Just point to any place on the map that is experiencing some kind of conflict today -- Pakistan, Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, southern Thailand, southern Philippines, Nigeria -- these are all hotspots for all those in contention for the Jerk of the Year award. These are also places in which testosterone has completely overbalanced estrogen -- either by physical demographic or by willful repression -- and there's no holding back the tide any longer.

Whether it's a government-backed army, a people's movement, a rebel force or terrorist organization, it's usually a large number of grizzled, unwashed, female-deprived males making up the main body. Maybe that's why God created Eve. Adam didn't need a 'helpmate' for assistance dealing with the animals around him, he needed help reining in the animal inside him.

Women, I find, are a civilizing influence, when they have the power to be themselves. For the sake of female company, men take the effort to smell nice, look presentable, practice basic courtesy, and have the opportunity to think of someone else besides ourselves. Ok, there are women who will observe that men are still seriously lacking in chivalry here in civilized S'pore. True, but we're not exactly the Taliban either.

Still, Asian society is something of a concern seeing as how our traditions place more value on boys than girls even today. Somehow, Asian families are finding ways and means of tipping the odds towards bringing forth offspring of their preferred gender, leaving a disconcerting numerical discrepancy between boys and girls growing up in the years to come.

It's bad enough when boys compete against each other for "fun", but when men compete with each other over women, that's when the s**t really hits the fan. That eventuality looks like it's not going to be long in coming:
Hainan's missing baby girls
Why baby boys are more sought after in Asian societies
Who will marry us?

Doh! Let's enjoy civilization while it lasts.