Endangered
Species
In the world today there are many species
that are no longer in existence and a great deal which are on the verge of
extinction. In The Bahamas, we too are suffering from this
epidemic. We have in our country a species that is on the precipice of
obscurity. This dying species has no protective habitat or
laws in place to preserve its survival. There are no
civic groups raising awareness. There are no fund raisers coming to
aid in the protection. There are no programs in action plans in place to
counteract the depletion.
This species is experiencing a daily decrease in
numbers and if something is not done all will be lost. The extinction of
this species will not only affect food sources or the environment, but it will
also affect the homes, the churches, the government and the
community.
This species I am speaking on is the good,
strong, Godly man.
What makes a man? The number of
children you have, the amount of wealth accumulated, or the positions
obtained does not define you as a man. Simply because women have
found ways to achieve and compensate for all those things. What truly
makes a man is his ability to be a leader, a protector, a provider, a
priest not only in his home, but in his workplace and his
community. A man is not measured by his size or stature, but by his
influence on those around them. So how do we revitalize this depleting
stock? How do we take the few and turn it to many? How do we take
this species off the endangered list?
Firstly we have to highlight the
problem. In our society today, oppose to a century ago, men are no longer
the leaders. Men were the breadwinners of the family, the
leaders in the society and active in the homes. Due to various reasons
the roles have now been adopted by the female counterpart. Some persons
trace back the lack of men to slavery days, where black people were seen
as cattle and the family unit was not respected, therefore in turn
passing down through the generations. Some even trace it back to more
recent history during the Contract. During this time Bahamian males went
to Florida to work and only sent back funds, with some men never
returning. This resulted in a male figure not in the home; therefore
no one was around to teach the boys how to be men. Whereas the women did
an exceptional job with what they had, with a great deal of success stories,
the average home suffered. It is difficult for one person to properly
raise children and lead a home. Children need their fathers and wives
need their husbands, ultimately society needs its men.
Next we have to revitalize the
stock. A simple way to do this is
by following the Wolf Credo. The Wolf Credo penned by Del Goetz
in 1988 used the habits of wolves and applied it to the successes of life.
The first stanza, if applied correctly, will help
grow our species and it reads;
“Respect the Elders, Teach the Young,
Cooperate with the Pack.”
Respect the Elders simple means
respect those who come before you. Respect the men who place
the ground work that allowed your paths easier. We must learn from
our elders, for they are far wiser than us. Proverbs 19:20, "Listen
to advice and accept discipline, and at the end you will be counted among the
wise." Therefore seek out elders to absorb their wisdom.
Learn from their mistakes and improve on their successes. We should
not look at the old generations as relics of a life that once was, but herald
them as forefathers of the greatness that is to come.
Legends oftentimes die with the hero and unless we take pride in our past
from whence we came, we are doomed to have
to no future. And this ties in with the next line, “Teach
the young”. This is important for succession leadership. Seeing
that we are only promised 3 score and ten, we must put measures in place that
greatness will not only be capped at a generation, but will run through
future millennia. We cannot look at the younger generation as
competition that needs to be snuffed out, but as young men who will
take the society far beyond where we brought it. Proverbs 22:6, train up
a child in the way they must go and when they are old, they will not
part. The last line
is “Cooperate with the pack” which means to learn to work with
those around you. Conflict resolution is key. Too
many males are losing their lives because they do not know how to
speak to one another. It was once said the 90% of daily
conflicts are cause by not what is said, but how it was said. A
great deal of men do not know how to act around other men, because they
were never around other men. It is one thing to be a man amongst women,
but to be a man amongst men is vital. We must not contribute to the
black crab syndrome, for when one fail we all fail and when one succeed we all
succeed.
A body of like minded men is a juggernaut that will mow
down all societal ills and set us back on the right course.
Finally, if we do not settle down and
acknowledge this epidemic then we are doomed. If the men are lost,
then the people are lost. If the men do not set the standard then anything
will do. But society does not need just any type of man to step up.
We need quality over quantity. A hundred sheep is no match to 10
lions, however if there are no more lions, then only the sheep will be left to
rule. W E B Dubios wrote,
"The Negro race...is going to
be saved by its exceptional men...first of all deal with the Talented
Tenth...developing the Best of this race that they may guide the Mass away from
contamination and death of the Worst."
We are the top 10 percentile that needs to
lead the country. We are the top 10 percentile that need to lead the
community. We are the top 10 percentile that needs to lead our
homes. A true leader is not measured by the number of followers he
creates, but by the number of leaders he creates. Therefore we need to
make sure that we create quality leaders who will take this country to the next
level. We are already here. We need to think of the men of
tomorrow. We need to do what we can do to make sure they are prepared
with adequate tools to face this ever changing world.
Something must be done. Maybe
then we can take back our community, our homes, and our country. If we
continue to sit on our hands, if continue with to be passive aggressive
with the growing problem men will be second class citizens. Men will
be the dependents and burdens to their families, opposed to blessings to them. The Real Men will be as the dinosaurs are today, once larger
than life creatures that are now relics that are only displayed in museums or spoke about in history
books. The true being of a man will be extinct. But there is hope ahead, hope for equality, hope for self-actualization, hope for a better tomorrow. Hope that men will be men...
