This insightful message was shared with his congregation by Reverend Mark Adams, Senior Pastor of Redland Baptist Church in Rockville, Maryland:
Television’s “60 Minutes” ran a segment recently that shows the importance of mentoring.
The segment told about the park rangers at a South African wildlife preserve who were concerned about the slaughter of 39 rare white rhinos in their park. The surprising thing is it turned out that the rhinos were killed — not by poachers — but rather by juvenile delinquents. However, these juveniles weren’t of the human variety. No, the cause of the rhino problem was misbehaving teenage elephants.
The story began a decade ago when the park could no longer sustain the increasing population of elephants. They decided to kill many of the adult elephants, whose young were old enough to survive without them. And so, lots of young elephants grew up fatherless. The entire herd had no older role models to follow.
As time went on, many of these young elephants roamed together in gangs and began to do things elephants normally don’t do. They threw sticks and water at rhinos and acted like neighborhood bullies. As the young bulls grew, they became sexually active, producing excessive testosterone and exhibiting aggressive behavior. A few young males grew especially violent, knocking down rhinos and hippos, stepping on or kneeling on them, crushing the life out of the smaller animals. The leader of the elephant “gang” was a young bull named Mafuto and things got so bad he had to be put down.
The park rangers theorized that these young teen-aged elephants were acting badly because they lacked role models. They felt the solution was to bring in a large male to lead them and to counteract their bully behaviors. They did this and soon the new male established dominance and put the young bulls in their places. The killing stopped. The young males were mentored and saved.
And, Reverend Adams concludes his message with a quote from famed 19th century orator, writer and statesmen who, after escaping from slavery in the early 1800’s, went on to become a national leader of the abolitionist movement and a noted intellectual of his time, including advising presidents:
Remember, Frederick Douglass once said,
“It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.”
Relating this to my industry of radio broadcasting, I immediately think of the mentoring work being done by Dan Vallie and his creation, the National Radio Talent System, which offers an annual series of 10-day workshops — known as Institutes — for well-educated college-age individuals possessing a passion for radio.
As stated on their website:
“Our industry offers young people the opportunity for entrepreneurship, personal fulfillment, and financial success. To attract these bright and talented students, we have the brightest and most talented radio industry professionals teaching the sessions in each institute.”
In closing, let me share another Frederick Douglass quote to which I can relate very well, as I did not come from a family of privilege or wealth … “If there is no struggle, there is no progress” … yet I was blessed with many “riches,” including being cared for and loved in my young years, and being shown the values of hard work and kindness to others.
As I’ve written about previously and describe in my memoir, RADIO … My Love, My Passion … while I have had a few periods of struggle, throughout my 84 years on this earth, the blessings I’ve been showered with fall in line with the famous retort by radio host and financial guru Dave Ramsey: “Better than I deserve!”
Do you have a story to tell? I’d love to read it. Won’t you send it along to marlin@marlintaylor.radio Thank you.
Image Credits: Frederic Douglas copywrite George Kendall Warren (1834–1884)
Unfortunately, the poverty-stricken ghettos in many major American cities show similar behavior of young males brought up in homes with fathers being absent. Crime, gun violence, car-jackings…mostly by males (rarely females) are an epidemic.
Politicians, community and religious "leaders" offer no plan and the necessary funding to address all facets of the problem.