Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.
Muhammad Ali
One of the defining aspects of being
a man of virtue and character, a true Gentleman, is what you are willing to do
to help others. You see it in almost all their everyday actions and manners; be
it holding a door for someone to mentoring someone. What not everyone knows is
that this is the time of the year when the Gents head out in force to help
other men be more; so I thought it appropriate to call out some of the recent
and upcoming events that you Caballeros
out there might be interested to learn about and participate.
Last Sunday, September 27, was the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride. For those
unaware of the Gentleman’s Ride, this is a yearly even were “more than 37,058
smartly-dressed gentlefolk in 410 cities from 79 countries will straddle the
saddles of their café racers, bobbers, scramblers and other marvelous custom
motorcycles to raise awareness and help fund the cure for prostate cancer.” They
were able to raise about 2.25 million dollars worldwide, but are still accepting
donations. If you missed it this year, start planning for next year’s ride.
For something closer to this date and a lot easier to do, MAN MADE has brought up again their Gentleman Up campaign and has
determined October 9th as #FormalFriday. If
you use #FormalFriday on Twitter and Instagram that day, MADE MAN will donate
$1 to CAREER GEAR in support of the
development of men in need. So this Friday, suit and be counted. For those that
haven’t heard about the Gentleman Up campaign, I am including last year’s and
this year’s promotional videos below.
Also, please remember that “the hairiest month of the year
is almost here” as next month is Movember.
For those unaware what I’m talking about, “The Movember Foundation is a global
charity committed to men living happier, healthier, longer lives. Since 2003,
millions have joined the men’s health movement, raising $650 million and
funding over 1,000 programs focusing on prostate cancer, testicular cancer,
poor mental health and physical inactivity.” This is the big daddy of all Men’s
Help & Health movements.
It’s important to mention a couple of other charities
helping men be more. If you happen to have a suit you’re no longer using,
remember that you can donate them to That
Suits You if you’re in the New York area or Suited & Booted if you’re
in the London area.
Please let me know of any other charity organization helping
men and boys become more, so I can add them to future posts. It doesn’t take
much to make a difference, but that difference might mean the world to someone
else, so please be a charitableman.
Since it is so likely that children will meet cruel
enemies, let them at least have heard of brave knights and heroic courage.
C.S.
Lewis
As I have mentioned several times
before, every civilized society across the globe throughout history has members
who serve as examples of what an exemplary man is. These men dedicated their
lives to a code of self-betterment and development through service, serving as
the warrior-elite, scholars, and enforcers of justice. They served as
inspiration and example to how far a man could go when he dedicated himself to creating
a just society and promoting a good greater than themselves.
Sometimes I feel that those days are
gone, and it saddens my soul. When you look around you see a society that has
turned its back to the ideals of living the warrior’s exemplary life, as we
reduce the old warrior codes into happy quotes said by overweight old wise folk
who promote little more than helping helpless old people cross the street. Even
the words as powerful as Social Justice have been reduced to little more than a
keyboard activist providing socially acceptable cyberbully attacks with a passive-aggressive
political correctness that would make the worst Machiavellian proud. We have
turned community service into calling out “evil” in a virtual community instead
of working to achieve some good for an actual community.
Today, men are told that taking up
the role of protectors is a bad thing and, worse yet, some men happy embrace
this idea as words like service and honor have lost their importance. More
dreadful yet, we see how men, who would otherwise be given a purpose in life,
drift aimlessly unfulfilling lives as their serviceless existence ends up
having little meaning.
Others have bastardized the ideals
of the warrior; in an attempt to fill their egos as they become little more
than the oppressors the warriors of old would have fought. They strive for
recognition and glory as payment for service, seeing themselves as more
important than those they help.
Then we wonder where all the good
men have gone.
But before you lose all hope, know
that they are still around. The biggest challenge these men face isn’t leading
a warrior’s life, but finding room for a warrior’s life in a society that
refuses to recognize the need for these exemplary men. So, instead of listening
to a world that ignores the need for their help, these men simply help, and
create the space for other likeminded men to help. You see them teaching other
young men the importance of strength, both mental and physical. You see them
promoting the ideals of discipline and virtue. And more importantly, you see
them setting the example, as they apply these lessons to their own lives. You
can find them as the volunteer coach at your local schools, as the martial arts
instructor at your local community center, or the volunteer mentor at your
local resource center.
Some have gone even further and
created a much needed social justice service that can only be handled by these
old school warriors. The following are just three organizations created by
these exemplary men, just to give you an example of what good men can create
when given the opportunity and how we still need men to pick up the mantle of
Warrior in a world that is still dangerous.
Brothers
for Sisters
Many Russian cities at night are a dangerous place for
anyone, much more so for young women who are viewed as easy targets by the less
savory elements within the criminal elements. So what is a young man to do when
faced with the reality that his friends’ lives are at risk every night they
head home? He and his friends started taking turns walking the young women
home. And that’s when it hit him, how many more women have this same problem?
How many more men would be willing to help out? So, the call went out for young
men willing to walk women home safe late at night and young women needing an
escort to reach their home safely.
Next thing you know, the Brothers for Sisters are born.
All brothers are required to pass a rigorous selection
process, involving several interviews and background checks coordinated with
the local authorities, as many of the brothers are off duty police men
themselves. All candidates and members are required to be reasonably fit, and
aren’t allowed to smoke, drink, or swear. All volunteers are discouraged from
accepting invitations from the ladies they are helping out, even for something
as simple as tea or coffee, as it might give an improper message.
What started as a couple of guys making sure their friend
got home safe has grown into an entire social movement.
(I mentioned this group previously,
but have been unable to find more information about them. If you know anything
else about them, let me know as I would love to know more about them.)
B.A.C.A.
Some men volunteer to be strong, some men train to be strong,
and some become strong as life gives them little choice. This last group is
viewed with distrust and even fear by many within society, as they are men who
have often been forced to make do what it takes to survive, and not all these actions
are socially acceptable. So what do you do when you are strong and feared?
You go and help out little kids who need a strong and
intimidating man to protect them from the monsters of the world.
Bikers Against Child Abuse
(B.A.C.A.) is an organization of volunteer bikers who provide a sense of safety
to kids who have been victims of child abuse. If ever the child feels
threatened, scared, or simply wants someone to be there, they simply have to
call, and a couple of riders will come by. They are there to provide a safe
environment, a place for the child to feel secure. This might be to scare of
the abuser, to walk with the kid to school, or simply to stand guard all night
in front of the house to scare off nightmares.
Not everyone is accepted within the BACA. These men train
for their duty, as many are actual social workers and all are required to pass
a string of background checks although having a criminal record doesn’t disqualify
you as a candidate. Each candidate is evaluated and required to training
courses to deal with the emotional strain of their duty as the mission they
have taken up isn’t an easy one. Below is a short vid explaining who they are.
(I have spoken about BACA and my absolute respect for the
group before.
If some of the members who left messages would contact me and let me know who
to contact for more information, as I would love to make a more in depth post
about them.)
Safe
Passage
Many times the inner cities have been compared to warzones
and quite often they are not that far off. Many of those who grew up within
that environment want nothing more than to help change it into a better place.
They know from personal experience how something as mundane as a child walking
to school and back is a perilous journey.
Plenty of young men within these communities chose military
service as a way to find purpose and meaning in a world that keeps telling them
they will achieve little simply because of where they were born. Yet, when
their tours are done, these men are left again without the very sense of
purpose that allowed them to be more. So, instead of getting lost in a
meaningless life, a group of these veterans joined together to provide the next
generation of students a safe passage between the kid’s homes and schools.
Leave No
Veteran Behind (LNVB) approached the Chicago school system to see if
veterans could help out the kids by standing guard, positively engaging with the
youth and maintaining the peace in street corners previously known for repeated
violent incidents. So was born Safe
Passage, as now over 400 veterans within the program with about 130
veterans patrolling the streets at any given time. Below is a short video
explaining how the program came to be.
The days of the Warrior are far from
gone. Neither are gone the days of men doing what’s right because it’s the
right thing to do. All you have to do is find your purpose. The space needed to
manifest it will find you.
Warriors are not what you think
of as warriors. The warrior is not someone who fights, because no one has the
right to take another life. The warrior, for us, is one who sacrifices himself
for the good of others.
His task is to take care of the
elderly, the defenseless, those who cannot provide for themselves, and, above
all, the children, the future of humanity.
Sitting
Bull
Every so often I like to bring
attention to Gentlemen who have taken opon themselves to make this world a little
better simply because it’s the right thing to do. I have mentioned before importance
of organizations like the Café
Sospeso, the Brothers
for Sisters, and That
Suits You. Today, I bring you one that I learned about last year, one that exemplifies
that a modern warrior scholar should be, Bikers
Against Child Abuse.
Some men are forged by a hard life
and become hard themselves. These men don’t shy away from the stereotypes that
society places on them, but rather embrace it as an honor. Bikers are like
this. Their badass aura and an even worse reputation sometimes don’t always reflect
their gentle hearts and honorable intentions. But instead of trying to conform
within society, some use what could be considered a social stigma, and use it
for good.
Children who have been the victims
of abuse live in constant fear, as usually their abusers were someone they
trusted.To them, that monster hiding in
their closet or under their bed is more real than what it should be. Even if
their abuser is no longer around, the fear is still there. So how do you handle
a scary monster? By getting an even scarier champion.
Even kids know that nobody messes
with bikers. Bikers look big, and strong, and mean, both in real life and in
how they are portrayed on television and in films. They are easy riders, sons
of anarchy, not afraid of anything and, more importantly, they take care of
their own. A child who has been abused by someone bigger and stronger knows too
well what it feels like to be small and vulnerable. BACA shifts that balance,
by putting even bigger and stronger people, a lot of them, on the child's side.
If ever the child feels threatened,
scared, or simply wants someone to be there, they simply have to call, and a
couple of riders will come by. They are there to provide a safe environment, a
place for the child to feel secure. This might be to scare of the abuser, to walk
with the kid to school, or simply to stand guard all night in front of the
house to scare off nightmares.
Not everyone is accepted within the
BACA. These men train for their duty, as many are actual social workers and all
are required to pass a string of background checks and training courses to deal
with the emotional strain of their duty. But instead of trying to explain their
ideology, I think their creed says it better than I could.
I am a member of Bikers Against
Child Abuse. The die has been cast. The decision has been made. I have stepped
over the line. I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still.
My past has prepared me, my
present makes sense, and my future is secure. I’m finished and done with low
living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed
visions, mundane talking, cheap giving, and dwarfed goals.
I no longer need pre-eminence,
prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I dont have to be
right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by
the faith in my works, and lean on the strength of my brothers and sisters. I
love with patience, live by prayer, and labor with power.
My fate is set, my gait is
fast, my goal is the ultimate safety of children. My road is narrow, my way is
rough, my companions are tried and true, my Guide is reliable, my mission is
clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back,
deluded, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in
the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the
pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.
I won’t give up, shut up, let
up, until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, and showed up for
all wounded children. I must go until I drop, ride until I give out, and work
till He stops me. And when He comes for His own, He will have no problem
recognizing me, for He will see my BACA back patch and know that I am one of
His. I am a member of Bikers Against Child Abuse, and this is my creed.
