Review: Manchild in the Promised Land
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 2, 2013
The title of this review, taken from Claude Brown's 1965 autobiography, focuses upon the term "manchild," its connotations of immaturity and pre-adolescence, and relates it to Jack Dusenberry's book "Standing Up to Maturity: Being the Best Person You Can Be."With the exception of a select few fortunate enough to have been born in fortuitous circumstances, the vast majority of human beings enter this world faced with hunger, poverty, premature death, civil instability and unrest, religious strife, anarchy, viral and bacterial pandemics, lack of educational and financial opportunities, and other unique struggles and predicaments. It's a lousy hand dealt to these individuals and unfortunately all of us are focused upon our own problems to such an extent that we can't afford the time, let alone the money, to worry about others.This does not signify or imply that the majority of humanity is uncaring---far from it. But our collective challenges and calamities can appear so overwhelming at times (witness AIDS; Hurricane Sandy; the Great Recession; Al-Qaeda; religious institutions and pedophilia; West Nile virus; tsunamis; etc.) that it becomes nearly impossible to focus upon all of them, much less prioritize what needs our attention right away.So where do we start?I submit we begin with ourselves.Being able to know who we are and subsequently learn from our actions is a major step towards shedding the "manchild" label foisted upon us by others. All of us crave attention and praise, and the positive choices we make in our lives earn us those all-important chits of respect. (Of course, it helps to have a healthy sense of self, which is also a sign of maturity.)Dusenberry's work provides the reader an important mantra: "(M)aturity is...a journey towards developing a stronger character by harnessing our inner strength." (intro.) He makes it rather obvious that the entire process has no set parameters or time limits: it is a lifelong journey that requires careful nurturing and frequent attention in order to minimize pitfalls and other vicissitudes of life."Maturity" raises a salient point---no amount of money or other external trappings of what is considered by many to define success can ever compensate for inner beauty: humor; gentleness; good manners; empathy for others; a cheerful disposition; and so forth.Take note, reality TV "stars" and politicians.Despite the prevailing national preoccupation with Snooki, fiscal cliffs, tattoos and Kanye West's tantrums, most Americans seem predisposed towards doing the right thing in their personal lives. This is certainly encouraging, as evidenced by the countless hours donated to soup kitchens, animal shelters, cancer research, libraries, and other charities that are important to us. These opportunities to give back reinforce our sense of obligation to those less fortunate and provide unspoken lessons in Basic Humanity 101---and enables us to demonstrate maturity in the process.Yet every living person experiences chronological aging. We progress from the breast to the sippy cup; we learn to crawl, then walk, then run; we are initiated into social groups while at daycare and progress to preschool and grade school; we form intense bonds with neighborhood chums and classroom peers, only to discard them just as fiercely.We stumble through adolescence in the guise of tentative first dates and intense social pressure to conform in middle school; we agonize over college versus vocation; we celebrate rites of passage such as passing driver's ed and showing proper identification when purchasing a Guinness or three.We fall in love; we fall out of love. We experience sexual satisfaction and its ennui. We gain that promotion at work; we get that pink slip and have to clear out our desk within the hour.We get married; we get divorced. We choose to have children; we choose to have abortions. We get crow's feet around the eyes; we get middle-age spread. Our breasts droop. Our hair grays.We pay closer attention to our health and its various symptoms of ever-incremental change---higher triglycerides; adult-onset diabetes; phlebitis; changes in skin tags and moles. We worry about our 401(k)s and if Mom and Dad will need our financial support should they have to trade in their personal and financial independence for the ubiquitous retirement community.Our family and friends gradually die. We rely more and more upon Skype and other various technologies to stay in touch with those whom we love, cherish, and respect. We assume a well-earned gravitas of wisdom, age, and credibility that a lifetime of human experience provides.Yet, regardless of the length of our lifetimes, there is always the possibility of remaining a perpetual manchild, forever cloaked in self-centered idolatry and living in a world of me-me-me. It is this world against which we must always remain vigilant, so as not to return to it.Despite the occasional usage and grammar errors, "Maturity" is a template upon which we can pattern our lives so as to effect true change.