Avi, do you really think that humanity has progressed in the past few hundred years and not regressed? If people were engaged in fighting the yatzer hora and Knowledgeable of his tactics, they would see what chazal say that in regards to a yefas to’ar, a person js incapable of holding themselves back. If you want to know how soldiers have “progressed” beyond our righteous forebears, see Rav avigdor miller’s “awake my glory” page 105, quoting “a history of the Israeli army”, by zeev schiff, page 124. He (schiff) writes “entering the army at age 18, for most young women means their first experience away from home snd their introduction to *****(znus). At headquarters there is much socializing encouraged by regular army officers. Frequent parties are held and the easy going familiarity promotes a **********(culture) that is distinctly jewish”
….seems like the jewish army is a whole lot better off today. Indeed the world with its baby-killing, child castrating, tor’va embracing, immodesty-championing culture is far superior to the past when they *gasp* had slaves!
I do agree with the sentiment about jumping too fast though.
Also, UJM – I don’t know if accepting a chumra automatically equals a schar. Sometimes shu”a says “tavo alav bracha”…sometimes not. When halacha recommends it as a matter of practice then definitely! Schar and onesh aren’t by volume of action alone, as the rambam in hilchos teshuva makes clear – it depends heavily on quality of action, both sin snd mitzvah. So if someone takes it on and is ready for it, he will definitely get schar, but someone making a laundry list of chumros would be better suited to examine the spiritual deficiencies that he has – working on middos is a mitzvah too!