The Readers Blog is a group blog, a collection of provocative, passionate people who represent a broad geographical, professional, personal and vocational range. New bloggers from other places and other points of view will join the conversation from time to time. Here, we invite them all to share their perspectives and opinions on the issues that matter to them most. And we invite you to respond. Let the dialogue begin!
What is a man?
There's a thin line between action figure and father figure. And when it comes to kicking fatherly ass, Steven Seagal is your daddy. Off-screen he is an actual Aikido sensei, the first Gajin to open a dojo in Japan. He tests his students with the famous three man attack.
If we follow Seagal we learn that for young men anger and sometimes aggression are perfectly natural things. But they have been pushed to the edges of what we call civilization. It's great to want to be civilized, but what about the impulse? Violence dominates the media and we seem to have projected all our darkest urges onto 'the bad guy'. Only there are no protectors, no heroes, no rolemodels. Some critics complain that young men have lost their manhood. Have we no anger? Are we not men? What is a man? This lack of definition seems to be at the core of our current existential crisis. Let me answer that question, bluntly and honestly, the way real men do.
Men dish out justice. Swiftly. Strongly. And most of all, autonomously. A man fights through frustration and anger, but always for justice. But in a world where children are being sacrificed in the name of freedom, the injustice and sometimes overwhelming sense of powerlessness make it hard to choose sides, let alone to find a cause that brings justice to our personal lives and the world at large.
If there is a crisis of manhood, it is one of righteousness. The new stereotype is only a reflection of the fact that we are losing our grip on power-structures. If there is a role for men in society, it would be to manifest righteousness, moral authority and leadership. But more and more, we live in a climate of fear, where doing something stupid that could save the world, could also mean you're 'the bad guy'. The revolution that lies in acknowledging our anger and experiencing our aggression is best portrayed in the movie Fight Club. Real men do bare-knuckle boxing as occupational therapy. They plan ridiculous strategies and are easily distracted. But sometimes we do save the world.
I want to applaud you for your strong feelings and words about justice and righteousness. And, I don't want to suggest there is 1 truth. My response is that team sports and individualized competition are a time tested method of ritualized aggression that society can use to channel some of these impulses. Death, mutilation, and/or the public humiliation of gladiator type combat/war are not in the interest of society as long as the uniqueness and value of all human life to the continuity of the tribe is treasured. The myth of the hero, one man surviving overwhelming odds against many is not an impossible construct. However, it is not the optimum survival strategy. Fostering cooperation, and improved communication skills within the safety provided by the tribe are again time tested.
Of great concern to myself are the lack of multi-dimensional role models for boys, as well as lack of appreciation for maleness. If you are bombarded in the media and on the streets by men with Homer Simpson physiques, socialized to not question authority, have no father in the household, drugged as a small child by the authorities with Ritalin for being “too active” and exposed to vast quantities of estrogenic material through your diet, water, and natural environment it is no wonder that boys are in crisis in the Western world.
posted by caribou on 4/ 8/2008 5:07 pm