Comments on: Manvotional: In an Age of Fops and Toys

By: Dawud

Dawud — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 11:46:37 +0000

I think it’s kind of sad that the only thought that springs to mind for many here when Emerson writes of the “fight for freedom” is military service. This will surely be controversial here, but Iraq and Afghanistan have very little to do with freedom for ourselves or for Iraqis and Afghans. Poor and workingthe class peopleis are simply fighting in wars that the wealthy profiteer from. Over the last decade and more, including in the 90s, I have witnessed young people fighting for freedom on the streets and picket lines of America. Raising their voices in protest to our government’s erosion of our civil rights and the fleecing of America by corporate greed and the politicians wbo are in the pockets of the super rich. They have taken beatings, been arrested, shot with rubber bullets and taken lungfuls of tear gas and facefuls of pepper spray. And they are doing it now on Wall Street, in LA, Boston, Philly, Chicago and more and more cities. And on top of that, there are Marines and other servicemen in their numbers and vets that have declared their intention to stand i have solidarity and as a barrier between them and the police that would brutalize them. They are as crucial, perhaps more crucial, to the cause of freedom than dropping bombs and putting boots on the ground in foreign lands. And we have seen over the last year how people in foreign lands are more than capable of standing together on their streets and overthrowing governments that sell out their own people.

Emerson isn’t wrong now. Some just have a narrow understanding of the poem and need to broaden their interpretation. I worry more about the disinterest of the Boomer generation, who often seem more cincerned with themselves than in what the younger generation has to say about what will be good for us

By: happy2bhere

happy2bhere — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 01:38:27 +0000

How much longer can we expect these young men to put their lives on the line to be slaughtered for what are often less than honorable causes? How much longer can we allow the innocent youth (read to young to know better or understand why or even ask), our brothers, our sons and daughters or our husbands and wives to be sacrificed at the whim and whimsy of men and women who lack integrity, decency, compassion and regard for human life (read politicians). By what right do we (read the collective) ask this of them? How many more men or women get blown up or become physically or mentally incompacitated and unable to function in society before there are no more willing left to go. War does not make the man, nor does his willingness to participate reflect virtue. The battle of today, yesterday and tomorrow is for mans mind. When i look around today i fear that is a battle that has already been more or less lost. They just dont make them like they used to (read men and women). It is amazing how we are convinced that somehow the same actions regardless of the geography or timeline always yields the same result (read war leads to death for many, destruction for many more and enormous profit for some). This social programming is the definition of insanity. The power lies in the fact that many of us refuse to see the truth (read if it ain’t broke don’t fix it). The world could surely use more men and women of integrity. My deepest appreciation to all those whom have served and died admirably for this coutry, You all deserved so much better than that. May we all rise against the tide to levels of intelligence , reason and integrity that our future generations would not even recognize “war”. May our future generations never know the pain and absence of a loved one whose life has been lost on some battlefield on the other side of the world fighting for whatever the current scheme may be (read freedom,. safety of americans, oil, spreading democracy, killing terrorist or whatever other crazy stories they are out to sell us). Since the battle of the future will continue to be for mans mind, in the future may that battle only take place in mans mind and resolve itself long before it gets to the battlefield of human sacrifice. C’mon people I know we are better than this and they know (read cabal of evil men who wish to keep the war machine going) we are better than this. They are betting on the fact we wont figure it we are only doing this to each other. Them and their families are cetainly not out there dying on the battlefields or coming home with invisible scars that will never heal. We just keep letting them send us and ours for that while we sit on this sidelines singing their praises, sighting their courage and wrapping ourselves in the honor of thier deaths. ENOUGH is ENOUGH already.

By: Grant Ashley

Grant Ashley — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 01:25:29 +0000

Also, I am homosexual, and I can tie a tie, do pull-ups, polish a pair of shoes, and pick a damn good suit better than most men in their 50′s who whinge about my generation not being ‘real’ men. When in fact this website tells you how to tie a tie, iron a shirt and be efficient in a business meeting. All things I can do naturally.

By: Grant Ashley

Grant Ashley — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 01:18:30 +0000

I was born in 1991 (I’m 20) and I have alot of toys (I study fashion= heaps of clothes and every other parapernalia you can imagine) and I like to look good and own nice things. But on the flip side, I care for my family and friends and look after the women in my life. Chivalry isnt exclusive to victorians/edwardians/war vets. Doing the right thing, owning up to your short-comings, being selfless and leading those with less than you is something I try to do and alot of young men today do. I find it insulting that people think just because you have an iphone and skinny jeans you dont know how to be a man. Gentlemen aren’t dead they just come in new packaging.

By: Nick L

Nick L — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 04:43:16 +0000

I believe each generation, just as every man and woman must, will learn it’s lessons in different ways. Each person, regardless of the year of their birth is born into a set of circumstances and has laid before them a path wrought with choices and abstentions, duties and distractions, opportunities and dead ends. Where this time around we are confronted with an age of vast technology, infinite databases of knowledge, unbound communicative ability, we are – like those before us – presented a choice between uses of the novel and powerful. While sad statistics and heinous examples are not in short supply, blame and doubt are surely not the answers. Like Emerson I too am optimistic; it takes but one man to change the path of many. The example of a noble few willing to choose “famine, toil and fray” in the vision of human kind’s potential fulfilled can curb the blindest of those preoccupied by the fops and toys and other comforts we’ve left our senses for. I only wish that we didn’t need to wait until we’ve done irreversible damage to our environment, our communities, our souls. I only wish that we need not wait to be told “we must” before we answer the call. It will be when we answer the call of “we should” with the same grace divine that we will truly feel so near God. It falls upon each soul, not each generation. Those affected by your example will remember far more clearly than those you’ve told your mistakes to at the end of your time. The duty we speak of is not just for fight of freedom, but for all things we cherish: love, virtue, honesty, manliness, etc. I pray I do not forget these things.

By: Dave M

Dave M — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 16:12:04 +0000

This poem is yet another reminder to me that I have a solemn duty to raise my sons to be men of honor, and to be an example so that my daughters will (hopefully) choose wisely when they seek a husband.

By: Ivey

Ivey — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 05:27:40 +0000

The hope that this poem brings to me is not in the youth, but in the message. Those in comfort and ease, beset with sloth, are captive to our culture’s lack of purpose. I believe that many youths are waiting for something great into which they might pour their lives. In he absence of that they seek meaning in war games, hedonism or entertainment. Offer real meaning, something worth giving all for, and many will rise to the occasion.

By: Tuesday

Tuesday — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 16:54:57 +0000

I agree with Joshua in that many of the young men in this generation don’t have grand examples of manliness to follow. I’m a girl in my 20s and most of my friends come from broken homes. I’m not saying that women aren’t guilty of neglecting their families, but the fact is, many men in my parent’s generation (my father included) either walk away from their families or are physically present but emotionally absent. It’s difficult for boys to become a mature, self-sacrificing men when the men who should be teaching them are engaged in selfish pursuits. Instead of criticizing and doubting the younger generation, everyone should self-evaluate to see what role they play in shaping those who follow…

By: Kevin

Kevin — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 13:27:45 +0000

The statisical fact is that most people (men and women ) of military age don’t sacrifice to serve. The statistics show that only 1% of the USA serve in the military. That is a shockingly small number. Most people allow others the do the majority of the sacrficing. This is not just this generation but is a fact since the military has been a voluntary institution.

By: Joshua

Joshua — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 13:48:27 +0000

I can see I am late to this conversation. Still, I think it is important to note that the total number of military personnel has dwindled since the use of the draft has gone the way of the buffalo. I find it interesting that many here are complaining about the lack of any expectation for our youth to step up and learn how to be men when so many of their fathers have forgotten how as well. I am not saying my generation is blameless, but without men in our lives to show us the way it takes a lot longer to learn to walk the path of manhood. If we expect our youth to become men overnight and answer that call we should also expect the same of the older men. My issue with many of these comments is that they seem to ignore the fact that the ills of my generation and those after did not develop overnight. If we lose hope for the future then we have only ourselves to blame. I apologize if someone already stated things like this, I don’t have time to read through all the comments. Thank you for your time.