Speaking

In the last decade, martial arts and toxic masculinity have become toxically woven together through social media and popular sports.

In a world where violence in all its forms has become so prevalent, greater proficiency in violent uses of power will not give us the answers we need to disarm patriarchy.

Through the vehicle of non-violence, men can learn to embrace their active role of guardianship while at the same time, diffuse and disarm toxic masculinity within martial arts.

The modern world often tells us that we individually and collectively are unable to make a difference in our world.

As a result, many of us believe that there is nothing we can do to address or change the social ills surrounding us, everywhere we look.

The modern world is not always truthful.

The actual truth is that in all circumstances, we have power to act or not act. How we choose to use that power, determines our ability to influence the world around us.

If we wish to bring about change, we must accept the burden of our personal power and the responsibility to leave no one behind.

In North America, we live in a society that gives greater importance to what you own than who you are.

This teaches us the message that things are more important, more valuable, more intrinsic than human connection.

North American society is not always accurate or truthful in its messages.

All cultures that we know of across time had comprehensive, life-long processes and practices to discover what matters, (meaning), why it matters (values), and why we are here (purpose).

Once we discover the meaning, values and purpose that guide our choices, we become more sure of what we want and exactly why we want it. And there is no power greater than willing, committed choice.

patriarchy and the supporting historical and cultural mythology used to justify male supremacy is the most enduring and resistant cultural construct in all of recorded human history

patriarchy rests solidly on the shoulders of, and is sustained by, Toxic Masculinity and White Supremacy

all three are “agreed upon” cultural constructs that form a toxic, inherently hierarchical structure that condones abuses of power and acts of social and economic violence as “accepted practices” or, “it’s just how it’s done.”

the very nature of patriarchy; action without consequence, power without responsibility (thx Ben), status without character, arrogance without substance, invites the toxification of all typically “masculine” roles in our society, and an equally toxic minimization or vilification of all roles defined as “not masculine”

these toxic, masculine roles unfold in the local and global culture of the 21st century in the form of Nationalistic and Religious Fundamentalism, Fascism, Political, Racial and Gender-Based Isolationism and Factionism, on a daily basis at, truly, unimaginable personal and economic cost to the global majority

while many of us see and experience the shadow cast by these three, and while all males directly and indirectly experience the benefits of them, many folks forget that a construct, like a building, can be dismantled, recycled and repurposed into something else that is equally powerful and enduring

the purpose of this presentation is to offer a more open-ended framework for exactly how the collective “we” dismantles patriarchy so that our sons stop passing the pain onwards and so that our daughters, sisters, mothers, wives stop being afraid of the men in their lives

regardless of our individual, personal feelings, North America and other Colonial nations are race-oriented and race dominated cultures rooted in the belief that Caucasian people are superior and therefore destined to rule the world

a belief is an agreed upon construct, it is not reality

this belief is less than 600 years old and is directly responsible for millions of deaths and incalculable harm in that time

this belief has created an ongoing and evolving system of laws, principles, rules and attitudes that simultaneously dominate the global environment and oppress the global majority

to bring an end to racism requires that we (white folks) collectively do more than admit to its presence, we must also actively call it out when we see it, whether that is in our community, our organizations, our government, or most importantly, when we meet it within ourselves

step by step, issue by issue we must learn to notice where racism and white privilege are a factor, and act, beyond politics, beyond religion, beyond race, in the realm of shared human conscience 

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when we look at leaders, internationally, nationally, regionally, even locally there are more examples of “you shouldn’t have done that to us” than there are examples of “thanks for doing that for us.”

the story we tell ourselves about bad leaders says, power corrupts, always, every time

what if power is not the bad guy? What if power is not a corrupting force at all? What if power is neutral? What if how we use it, apply it, is actually the challenge?  How does that change the story?

if, maybe, power is neutral, what is the common factor in all this crappy leadership we see? The common factor comes through when we look at how we pick our leaders and who we let seek out and hold positions of power

the common factor is, the conjoined agenda of who picks the leader, in relation to the character of who they pick, which in turn brings us back to the character of who is driving the agenda. They are connected. One of the consequences the rest of us suffer is “personality politics”

while this approach to leadership may get the job done it also does a great deal of harm to the global majority and the planet because when we collectively allow agenda to enter into leadership in any way we surrender our collective power to limit the actions, the power of the folks at the front

the solution to bad leadership is the creation of a required, ongoing, character check of everyone we collectively let lead because there is a very large difference between an agenda and a purpose. The easy way to see the difference is that agenda benefits some of us and a purpose benefits most or all of us

at the end of the day, for leadership to function as it should, leadership in all its forms must be rooted in the character, the conscience of the leader. Not their bank account, or their “likes”, or, their  ”faith”, or their “race”. Their character

to quote Dr. King “Not by the colour of their skin. Instead, by the colour of their conscience.”

the world is on fire. There is no denying it

local decisions are having global consequences, and a large number of the folks driving our collective buses seem not to care where we are headed as long as they stay in the driver's seat

this is not a workable plan and never has been, thus we collectively pay a steadily increasing price with virtually no benefit. The top 5% controls 95% of the wealth, thus 95% of the power

that’s why it FEELS insurmountable. That’s why it FEELS unstoppable. It is out of balance and unstable, maybe not insurmountable

still, feelings are valid, and valuable. Not always true, not always accurate to fact, and valid and worthy of our attention

putting the fire out is insurmountable as long as we frame it as “me” vs “them”. And what if it’s not really a “me” vs “them”? Try out a “we” vs “them” mindset for a minute. Even better, try it with no “them” at all. How does it feel?

is it still insurmountable? Is the fire still out of control?  This is the power of collective action. We, acting collectively, from a sense of shared conscience and responsibility, have the power to change what we see unfolding around us

the future requires this of us, all of us, everywhere, now. This shift starts small and inside of each of us when we start owning our personal power as individuals. It grows momentum when we join our personal power to the personal power of others. It becomes collective, and therefore irresistible

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