We Need Heroes, Not Men | The Good Men Project
The philosophy I call the Heroic Life is now my only religion. It has four tenets:
- You have a purpose in life.
- If you don’t know your purpose, travel.
- Humans are capable of extraordinary things. Learn to do them.
- Follow your ideals, not a set of rules.
For the past year I’ve lived by these tenets and refined them. I’ve spent that time training and getting ready for the greatest adventure of my life, an 8,000 mile walk from the source of the Mississippi River in the U.S. to the mouth of the Amazon River in Brazil. It starts in June. The purpose of the journey? To meet the gods.
So that’s my spirituality. How does the Heroic Life tell me to be a better man? Well…
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I like this concept/idea. I disagree, however, with the idea that “masculinity does not support heroic action”. Defining masculinity as not being female is incorrect; masculinity and manhood should more properly be defined as the opposite of boyhood, just as womanhood is the opposite of girlhood.
Heroes can be men or women. In doing so, they act as men and women, not as boys and girls. Any badge that is worn by men or women, as referenced in the last sentence, is more a sign of play-acting, a symbol of childhood.