ADVERTISING has a lot to answer for. According to a recent Australian advertisement
men don’t need to talk with words. As a person with a stake in the mental
health of Christians, and even those yet to believe and looking to the church
for help, I’m appalled. There seems to be this massive movement in secular life
– and the Media is its champion – that is bent horribly in the direction of
deceiving the hands that feed it.
Besides acceding to a rebellion – a revolution against the
powers that be – a state of anarchy against the dogs of this silent, spiritual
war – we have a role to make a noise; in this case, for men.
Men need to talk, too. Men need to talk with other men; about
significant matters, and especially about matters of life and death. Here are
some Australian statistics to ponder:
“Of all deaths classified as suicide
in 2010, over three-quarters (77%) were males (1,814), making suicide the 10th
leading cause of death for males. Male suicide occurs at a much higher rate
than that for females.” [1]
Let these statistics sink in a little.
Much of the time men will suicide because
they felt they had nobody to listen to them; they felt isolated and boxed in
without options. Not many people will suicide easily. For most it’s the last
resort. It comes after a long struggle in a foreign world.
But this isn’t just about suicide. Many men
are sick of the silly macho stereotypes that label men a tough bunch without
the need to connect meaningfully with other men. Whilst this is true, there
will always be a great number of men prepared to believe the lie that they
don’t need to ‘talk with words’.
If we have problems we can’t sort
ourselves, and many are those in this twisted life, we need to talk with words
– whether we are men or women or children; of all ages.
***
Our society faces a great crisis when it
promotes that men don’t need to talk with words. Men do need to talk with
words, especially to other men, about their irreconcilable problems – for we
all have irreconcilable problems. How else are we to come to an efficient
acceptance of those things we cannot change?
Men need to speak because they have
something worthy to say. As everyone has something worthy to say, about the
matters of truth occurring deeper within them, we must, as a society, open the
space for such crucial dialogue.
© 2014 S. J. Wickham.
No comments:
Post a Comment