The Golden Era of Virtuous Bahamian Men
Barrington H. Brennen, 2002, 2020
Virtuous men? Wow! Yes, we do have them. Is it surprising to
say that many Bahamian men are certainly noble and gracious? While some of our
Bahamian men are being captured by the vices of greed, power, and immoral
behavior, and while others have abandoned their responsibilities as fathers and
husbands, yet, we must pause to talk about those noble men who are making a
difference in the home, community, industry, government, and the Church.
This column is dedicated to dispensing the truth. Whenever I
write about our men’s negative behavior, which is so prevalent, I am accused
of male bashing. The truth is that I "bash" anyone who needs bashing
— fathers, mothers, men, and women. The truth is often painful. Too often we
only want "grace" — that which makes us feel good and gives us a
sense of hope. Certainly, we do need grace. But we cannot have grace without
truth. Truth is the revelation of that which cannot be easily perceived. Truth
is the exposure of that which causes pain and healing, growth and maturity, life
and death. Interestingly, when I "bash" the women of our nation, it
also sends shock waves across the vestibules of traditional homes. It creates, a
repulsive response from the female supporters of the patriarchal system.
Today I pause to present "grace," delicately
seasoned with the old-fashioned spice of truth. The gracious truth is that more
and more Bahamian men are not afraid to change traditional behaviors that in the
past have divided homes, destroyed marriages, and devastated children. More of
our Bahamian men are not afraid to ask the painful questions that would reveal
the tumors of mistrust, potential abuse, risky emotional entanglements, and
financial ruin. These men are quite aware that without the painful truth, these
tumors will, without a doubt, become cancerous and soon metastasize through the
entire family structure, marriage life, and eventually the community. These are
the men who use their minds. These are the men who try to raise our standard of
living. Similarly, author Robert White writes about great male thinkers of the
past who transformed societies. He states: "Not society. Not a
nationalistic identity. Not a race. Not a mindless human herd. Not a collective,
but an individual. The men who took on the responsibility of thinking, and
thereby raised all of humanity from the drudgery of mere survival to the
opulence of an affluent civilization."
Virtuous Bahamian men are not afraid to think. They have a
passion for searching truth, no matter how painful. When the majority of
our men fall in the pit of corruption, a few act differently. They do not expect
the majority to agree. They do not expect nation-wide support. But one by one,
they make a difference. As a small piece of Bahamian crab grass gradually covers
a hungry ground of rich Bahamian soil, so will this small, yet tenacious group
of noble Bahamian male thinkers and doers spread throughout the sunny shores of
this archipelago.
Congratulations to those bold individuals who are ushering in
this golden era of virtuous Bahamian men. They refuse to be slaves to tradition
and be puppets of power-hungry leaders. For many years, our women had to fight
for their freedom. The truth is that our women knew they were slaves to
tradition and began that journey to freedom about 150 years ago in Pennsylvania,
when 300 women and 50 men marched to Seneca Fall to rewrite the Constitution of
the United States. They called this new constitution the Declaration of
Sentiments. Among the signatories of this document was a noble Black freed
slave, Frederick Douglass.
Unfortunately, not many men have marched since then. Could it
be that our women know that they need to be free, but our men are still unaware
of their need to be liberated? The good news is that this golden era has begun
with a male liberation movement. It is a liberation movement that is different
from that of women’s liberation. Women want and need freedom from laws that
limit their growth and demean their personhood. On the other hand, men’s
liberation is freedom from internal laws and false value systems.
Dear men, the pathway to change is going to be long and hard. Do not give up.
Do not be fooled by men’s groups that are rising up to bring support to
traditional men. The truth is that many of these organizations have started
because these men are afraid that "women are taking control." They are
uncomfortable with the economic strength and political power our women have
gained and will continue to gain. On the other hand, if our women are trying to
"take over" then they are as guilty as the men who do not want to
share power. In other words, virtuous Bahamian men and women believe in
partnership, mutual sharing of power and wealth. Virtuous men are endeavoring to
reinstate the Edenic structure of family dominion over the earth and not
domination over each other. The first is productive. The latter is
counterproductive. Men, let us continue to change. Let’s continue to be
thinkers. Could it be that the future of our nation is dependent on the
development of the golden era of virtuous Bahamian men?
