Co-Host: Tommy Breedlove - Legendary
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Without rites of passage, we aren’t as well-equipped to face the reality of adult life. This used to be a foregone conclusion in cultures all over the world, for both men and women. There was a clear rite of passage from childhood into adulthood.
But such has become purely symbolic in Western culture, if not rendered completely irrelevant. What happened to rites of passage? And more importantly, WHY did they all but disappear? And what has the impact been on our lives?
My guest is bestselling author Tommy Breedlove. He is not only returning for his third appearance on this show, he’s an erstwhile member of the board for the Rites of Passage Council.
We have bar mitzvahs, graduations and weddings…but why do those ceremonial rites of passage fall short of really turning boys into men? Indeed, elaborate and far more intimidating ones are still a big part of cultures like the Maasai. What are rites of passage meant to teach us…and how are they still relevant in today’s world?
Is fatherlessness part of the problem? Expectation of a university degree, delayed marriage and generally prolonged adolescence is a 20th century development…how has that messed up taking on adult responsibility?
Whatever the societal trends, the end result is there are WAY too many ‘man boys’ in today’s world. Is an unsung value of military service that nobody has ever emerged from it still a little boy? A particularly troubling issue occurs when men who don’t leave their parents house by the end of adolescence.
And what about other rite of passage…from childhood to adulthood, student to workforce, single to married, and especially from adult to elderhood? And isn’t it a travesty that the next time we see some of our family is at their funerals…after they’re dead.
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