From Grim’s Hall, via Instapundit:
If we would have a stable society, we must have dangerous old men. This means that, if you are yourself on your way to becoming an old man, you have a duty to society to begin your preparations. The martial arts are not the only road–my own grandfather did it through a simple combination of physical strength, personal discipline, and an accustomed habit of going armed about his business. There was never a more impressive figure–or, at least, there was never a boy more impressed than was I.
This is an excellent short essay. The point is not just to be dangerous, but to be so in order to impress the young into doing the right thing in life because they want to be like you. Read the whole thing.