Diane Sears on what we need to do to make this a better world for men and boys.
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“Make A Difference For Men and Boys” is the theme for 2015 International Men’s Day.
So, how do we make a difference for Men and Boys?
We can begin by telling the Men and Boys who are in our lives how much we love them . . . how essential their presence is in our lives . . . and how their presence in our lives completes us . . . The Men and Boys in our families, our communities, and in our world need to know unequivocally that they matter. They need to know that they are not invisible. We see them. We hear them.
More importantly, let’s seriously rethink how we are raising Our Sons – the global village’s Next Generation of Leaders, Husbands, and Fathers. We need to give Our Sons – the same level of emotional freedom that we allow Our Daughters to enjoy. Our Sons emerge from the womb as “whole souls” – whole souls who laugh when they are amused, cry when they are in emotional or physical pain, sing when they are happy – whole souls that soak up knowledge like a sponge – whole souls that have an insatiable curiosity about every one and every thing – whole souls that are empathetic, compassionate, and resilient. Somewhere along the journey from childhood to manhood, Our Sons are told to “act like a man”. How does one “act like a man”? Well, Our Sons are told that a man does not cry. Some of Our Sons are even told that it is unmanly to express the wide range of emotions they emerged from the womb with. They are given a “Code of Conduct” — a “Code of Conduct” that helps to make them spiritually, emotionally, and psychologically toxic. – a “Code of Conduct” that robs them of their “wholeness”.
As much as International Men’s Day is about celebrating the contributions and selfless sacrifices made by the Men in our lives – our sons, fathers, husbands, grandfathers, uncles, brothers, fiancées, cousins, nephews, co-workers, and neighbors – it is also a time for reflection.
- Let’s reflect upon making a commitment to the Men and Boys in our lives to help them reach their full potential.
- Let’s make a commitment to reduce the high school dropout rate for boys and young adolescent males by at least 50% over the course of the next 12 months.
- Let’s increase the literacy rate for Our Sons – boys and adolescent young males – by 80% during the next 12 months.
- Let’s identify and help work to eradicate the causative factors — poverty, Fatherlessness, lack of education and access to economic opportunities, and lack of positive role models – that are attributable to the rising number of Boys and Men being incarcerated.
Why not look at and implement existing models that eradicate the causative factors that place Men and Boys on the “fast track to prison”?
- Let’s reduce by at least 50% the rising mortality rate for prostate cancer, colon cancer, and heart disease for Men as well as the rising incidence of diabetes, Alzheimer’s Disease an suicide over the course of the next 12 months.
We need to do more for the Men who have served in our nation’s military. Let’s reduce by at least 50%, homelessness, suicide, unemployment and Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome among veterans and military personnel.
- Let’s create the “Promise of a New Day” for the Men and Boys in our lives!
Happy International Men’s Day!
Photo credit: Getty Images