Gossiping, spinning the yarn are two types of the oral tradition scorned in most company, but the history of the oral tradition perhaps relays the truest form of historical preservation. Because history is written by the victors or those with the biggest soap box, the truth is sometimes lost. Telling stories have informed us of the times before us. It speaks of our family history and the reasons for why we are in the positions that we find ourselves. It is certain that the tradition is dying. Growing up we would stand around the electric box till late at night listening to the stories told by our friends and their older brothers and sisters. We were educated about street culture and the rules governing these places. Without the stories we may not have learnt enough to become who we now are.

In the eighties and the nineties we grew up with a clearly defined idea of what a hero was. A muscular man with a penchant for breaking people in half. It changed with the introduction of MacGyver and the like and as the world changed the idea of a hero changed. For many Gen Xers the idea of Sara Conor as a hero revolutionised the way we saw women but we were not the epitome of a negative male stereo type because we were taught respect in our homes. In this episode we explore the idea of a hero and what that means. We discuss the need for them and what that looks like today. As usual we go off topic for a bit but hopefully by now you have forgiven us for that. Please enjoy.

What do you have in your pockets? What do you need to get through the day. I need a few things like a knife, pen or sharpie, bandana, business card holder, fire scorcher, some kind of pocket tool, my coin, skull ring, 133 ring and my wedding band and flashlight. These were not carefully thought out, I just started using these things daily. They now form part of the ceremony every morning before I leave the house. It goes without saying that a tablet, phone or laptop forms part of these but it differs for each person. I find it interesting when my friends and I do random pocket dumps to see what we carry around and different occasions require different edc. You wouldn't necessarily carry in the field what you would carry to a wedding. We explore this male obsession and try to justify why we like gear so much.

It is painfully clear that South Africa is at a pivotal moment in history as it was is 1976. Th latter came to a critical mass with in 1994 with the first free and fair elections which removed the system of apartheid. This time we must remove what has been put in place by democracy without accountability. We must remove predatory capital practices giving rise to unabated corruption in our government. But how do we even start as citizens? Well we need a shift in ethos. We have the conversations without the commiseration and those conversations must encourage us to make decisions about every path we choose in our future. We must hold each other to account for not being active citizens. We should take the time to comment on draft bills, we should take the time to form opinions on topics of national interest. So many of us live with our heads down and do nothing but live and work with an ever shrinking resource base. Tomorrow we shrug our shoulders and we do it all again but this time its harder. This is not living this is being the frog in the pot as the heat is slowly turned up. Are you a frog?

There is profound value in failure. Many times we look at our failure as an indictment on us or a gauge for our capabilities, or self worth but this is not the way. We must look at our failure as an opportunity to fix our mistakes. We are not the sum total of one mistake, but the sum total of our experience and if we learn all the time we will increase that sum total all the time. We also fail when we don't hold our leaders to account. If we allow them to manipulate us they shine a bright light on our ability to make choices for our futures. We must adjust our behaviour progressively. We must lead by example and teach our successes to others, so that we can build strong communities. We must be less divisive and more inclusive. We must accept our responsibility for each other in order to build a better society beyond the wants of the rich or governments.

We must all, regardless of whether we possess criminal intent, operate inside the boundaries of a moral code. This code governs every aspect of our lives. It does so even without us knowing that we have a code. We are determined to deny the existence of such. Particularly when we attempt to justify the lives of inconsistency we lead. How often we break our own moral codes determines how healthy we are, emotionally and mentally. Codes determine our sense of character. It forces us to engage with the world through the lens of things we will not do, lines we will not go beyond or people we will not cross. In fact it should but some men forget to temper their words and invite trouble to their door and we will not be young forever. When we cross someone a debt is always owed and at some point someone will come to collect. Our personal codes revolves around an unspoken justice and must protect us against such brash action. It should!

When you need to make critical decisions, do you procrastinate? What about when you you have to make decisions under pressure? This is a skill we should all have. being calm under pressure while leading is something sorely lacking in our society. Leadership in business and government is so hard to find and I would venture to say that it is largely absent. Yet there are practical ways you can deploy it and it all starts with dealing with your fear of confrontation.

The world is designed to make you bow to the will of those who are more powerful. It is not a sinical view of the world but a fact. How do you determine your freedom? I have done this through reinventing myself. I do this every few years so that I may control my happiness and define my sense of service and morality.

Ah yes the time honoured tradition of taking the piss, talking kak, skietting kaa'te, gwara! We find that it happens everywhere and is part of that process of defining the social hierachy. We realise that it is necessary to experience this because it teaches such important social lessons. At the end of the day you are robbing yourself by not engaging in this beautiful life experience.