Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Walking and Talking


A friend, fellow cynic and "stirrer of the pot" pointed me towards this article today:

http://tinyurl.com/br6ufwe

I have been a fan and admirer of Henry Rollins since my teens. I don't always agree with him, sometimes he is bitter and raw, but he is always thoughtful, brilliant and unafraid to speak his mind. What I hear him saying is that we are failing our young men in that we would rather let them loose on a sea of media and machismo then take the time to instill the values that would make them into men rather than "dudes", and citizens rather than self-centered consumers and power-seekers.

There are lessons missing in their lives that say they can be athletes as well as scholars and gentlemen. They can be emotional and have a healthy sexual identity without objectifying, vilifying or fearing those of other gender or sexual orientation.

These two men were rapists. They made the choice to do what they did regardless of what they were surrounded by. But they were most likely horribly cheated out of all the things I just mentioned.

Now what?

We can complain about parents, teachers, and the media until we are out of breath but in the end what does that really change? Until the men (and women) chose change, real change, nothing is going to happen. I live my life every day as an example of what I believe is right and good to my fellow human beings. If that makes me a role model to my sons, daughters, and all the young people I have a chance to influence then great, but in the end its all about trying to follow the Bard and to mine own self be true.

If you're going to talk it then you gotta walk it.

Rock on Rollins.

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