12/21/2017
In this new day and time, men are facing many challenges just to identify as a man. Could this possibly lead them to the harsh life of the streets? Below is an illuminated article of interest concerning men. I hope you enjoy the read. Feel free to comment your opinion and thoughts.
On a Podcast by Craig Wilkinson, he shared an illuminating story about his native South Africa. In some areas, he explained, elephant populations grow too large. So park rangers have two options: They can start shooting the elephants, or they can move some elephants to another location. In one case, rangers opted for the latter, relocating a population of young elephants across the country.
Not long after, the young male elephants began running riot. They killed lots of other animals, not for food or protection, but for the sheer thrill of it. No one could figure out what the problem was. Finally, someone decided that the adolescent elephants needed some male role models. Rangers introduced older male elephants into the population, and within two weeks, the problems cleared up. The killing stopped, and the population grew tame. The older elephants both policed the younger ones and modeled good behavior.
So what can we learn from this tale of elephantine teen rebellion?
Put simply, no one is born knowing how to be a man. We learn the right ways from good men around us. In the past, that meant a literal father. But as Wilkinson points out, the crisis of masculinity is the crisis of fatherhood. In fact, UNICEF cites absentee fathers as the main driver behind the biggest social issues of our time. And “‘fatherless’ doesn’t just mean a father who isn’t there,” he explains. “It’s a father who’s not engaged.”
So how do we, as men, deal with masculinity in crisis?
According to Wilkinson, it starts with identifying what we really need in our lives to feel like men. Next, we must realize that society is trying to sell us a bill of goods as false substitutes for true masculinity. Then we have to explore how we’re counterproductively trying to fill that hole in maladaptive ways. Finally, we can begin repairing ourselves by realizing that we’re already all the man we need to be — and helping other men to do the same.
