“A Revolution from the ground up” by Envoi Vates

I will not write another sad poem about this country.

No more. There’s one too many. I’ll write a hopeful one instead but it will not be on a page. It’ll be on the minds and tongues of young boys. Whatever corruption and decadence we see in this country didn’t start overnight. It took years to thicken. To lock horns with a rotten system that has matured over time will be hard. One will have to do more than chant for a reformation. I’ll have to be active in bringing about this reformation. To take a step back and consciously build another system, a good one. But then we must be reminded that nothing good comes easy or quickly for that matter. Whatever fine apple fruit you’re eating today was planted 5-8 years ago. And so we must start planting, right away. Let each man/woman play their part in bringing about this desired change and let us do so consciously and together. I am particular about boys because it has weighed heavy on my mind and because I used to be one. A very confused one who felt the sting of being clueless.

The boy child needs mentorship, guidance, healthy philosophy on how to be a man. The boy that hasn’t been rooted in virtue or mentored well will become the tyrant, partisan, extremist and cultist that we mourn about today. At the risk of sounding sexist (but not being my intention), men actually do run the world. I say this to bring to your attention the potential of the boy, whether he is groomed right or left to wander off on his own. … Imagine if these tyrants and extremists (most of them being men) were put on a better path from boyhood. I understand that people will ultimately choose for themselves and there will be instances when some will deviate from right to wrong but may it not be because we folded our hands and did nothing. So as a man, I must collect them [boys] like a hen collects her chicks and teach them. To simultaneously teach them how and what to think. To guide them without controlling them or manipulating. To let them see that I have not come to present myself as ‘godfather’ nor will I allow for any unhealthy allegiance to myself. Their allegiance must be to the TRUTH.

I often take into account the analogy presented in Orwell’s political satire – Animal farm. Carefully Consider 2 excerpts. The first – “Napoleon…said that the education of the young was more important than anything that could be done for those who were already grown up. It happened that Jessie and Bluebell had both whelped soon after the hay harvest, giving birth between them to nine sturdy puppies. As soon as they were weaned, Napoleon took them away from their mothers, saying that he would make himself responsible for their education. He took them up into a loft which could only be reached by a ladder from the harness-room room, and there kept them in such seclusion…”

The second excerpt- (after a period of time had gone by in the story’s plot) “Silent and terrified, the animals crept back into the barn. In a moment the dogs came bounding back. At first no one had been able to imagine where these creatures came from, but the problem was soon solved: they were the puppies whom Napoleon had taken away from their mothers and reared privately. Though not yet full−grown, they were huge dogs, and as fierce−looking as wolves. They kept close to Napoleon, It was noticed that they wagged their tails to him…”

Notice the progression?

Good mentors or bad ones will make a lot of difference in the life of a boy and society at large. The boy must not be left to himself. He is the mustard seed and the small beginning we can’t afford to take for granted. If he isn’t presented with good philosophy, bad philosophy will find him. He must be taught what and how to think. He must be exposed to resourcefulness , resolution, confidence, integrity, compassion, accountability among other virtues. This is the path to being a man….and a man that society so desperately needs. This is one way to start a revolution. This is my way. And I’m assuming I’m not the only one sold to this dream.