Daniel Gwynn Blog Update
Date: 1/21/14
Subject: How Can I Be

How can I be a man when I'm trapped in a box devoid of life, liberty, and dignity? Although my will to survive is strong, I have no control over what I can do. Emasculated by society and a system that refuses to permit me to legally provide for my family, I'm driven down a perpetual spiral of degradation and self-destruction. I can't raise a family, protect them nor provide for them, as I'm forced to helplessly watch them at a distance through a haze of either drugs, alcohol, or prison bars for seeking not-so legal means to provide. Worst of all, the children and family I dream of will never be.

How can I be a man when I have no freedom to speak my mind and choose where I can go or do? I'm constantly being silenced, watched, and told that I'll never amount to anything. My movements are restricted, and if I break some rule, I'm chastised and punished as if I were a child.

How can I be a man when my dignity and self-respect are constantly stripped away or violated? I have no privacy to use the bathroom or take a shower. As I sleep, a night-light illuminates my cell so I can be checked on throughout the day and night; they want to be sure that I don't deprive them of the opportunity to murder me.

How can I still be a man after all of this? Through endurance, pride, and holding my head up high. I give respect and demand it when it's due. I stand firm in my faith and innate principles because I have a responsibility to be a better man and human being, as I pass through each character-building trial. I also lead by example, especially when I cannot provide for my family, friends, and community by any other means. Control is overrated and a matter of perspective for, although I cannot control the actions of others, I can still control my own. All-in-all, I can stand for something and speak out against corruption and injustice whenever I can, for the embers of my manhood stay stoked.

Daniel Gwynn