Where have all the rebels gone? Don’t count Kanye or Bieber or Miley. Even though they promote parties and drinking, promiscuity, clubbing and fashion. There is not anything necessarily wrong with these pursuits; they are for the free and what the young hold dear, but they are a grandparent’s worst nightmare.
Today, the youth break away from the family at home to grow themselves in the city lights, to be an independent soul burdened with freedom of mind, to break conventions and to create ambitiously. But they still balance it with a good time of primitive leisure, to be high as the clouds with nothing to restrain “who we are.” What is not to love? Well, nothing—except that every single drop of the social patron is a neon-blotched, strobe-flushed pipe dream.
The real rebels died a long time ago. A noteworthy one was gunned down in 1965 and another in 1968. Malcolm X and Martin Luther King respectively were removed from the rebel image permanently with their assassinations. It is important to remember that in their prime, each was one of the most hated men America; they openly spoke out about various injustices that the mass media wouldn’t dare mention. Personally, I think we should be moving back to the times when a rebel had a cause.
They caused many questions to be asked and, more importantly, actions to be done on account of their revelations. What actions take place over today’s rebellion? It’s something usually a bit more immature than one might think. The rebelling being done nowadays is more centered on living free than change; in fact, today’s counter culture is focused on stagnation.
Back then, to live freely meant something completely different, because it was known that not all slavery was done with chains and links.Today, the goal is mainly to make money and to have the ability to show it, to increase appearance and to share it, and to know what is happening but not always to act.<–I think this is your argument here. It’s not that we aren’t aware, we just don’t act in the manner that we should. Your argument seems to say that we don’t act at all and this is not true. I think you should explore this point you’re trying to make and let us know what we should be doing. I feel that you are basically saying that our form of rebellion is not the same as our grandparent’s form of rebellion” class=”inline-comment collapsed”>
This state should continue on and on.
If one compares the rhetoric of a Martin Luther King speech and a modern Top 40 song, it’s obvious they have different goals. Though they were intended for the same audience, one is often obscene and careless, the other strong and sensible. Guess which one got more airplay when released? It may even be hard to call it a counterculture when it is so constantly welcomed by media powers at be.
There is a reason why every year, radio and TV seemingly gets a tad farther past risqué. It has become more and more normal to see an upheaval televised: a curious case of a rebellion inside a tradition. There is rebellion in what is shown and a tradition in showing it, all making a convenient scapegoat to poisoned troubled youth. While sex and violence may be shocking on the screen, it is not any more offensive than when the word “damn” was first used in movies or when rock and roll first entered the mainstream. However, any true revolution will not be televised. There is simply no time in the heavy schedule of gore and sensation to show the positive side of going against the grain.
Parents have been angry before, but slowly the image of riches spreads everywhere and now is just a part of life. Its the same in the concept of desensitization, except it affects both the supposed authority and the captives. A cat and mouse chase of accepting the new and breaking the tradition can ensue between parents and kids even after they are adults, or in college as the wish to be “progressive” becomes increasingly popular. Like a tornado, it spins from the ground reaching toward the sky and essentially “started from the bottom.” Good for social progress, but in what direction?
“Now its here.” A little wildness is not a bad thing, but one of the worst side effects of this false modern rebellion is its focus on appearance. Before when someone wanted to come off as different or dirty they dressed so; now, the rampant image of the white collar crook causes expensive to mean dangerous, as if the jewels obtained were through some sort of criminal activity. However, this is often not the case and, still, a standard of “fly” is set by the priciest of items and must be attained at all costs. That is why some people would rather buy a pair of J’s than eat, why grilles even exist, and the newest fashions are viciously consumed by citizens who live under the poverty line.
To apply to Georgia State, it is the difference between Spotlight Programs Board and Conscious Collective. One has no trouble of hosting an event in which B.o.B can bring girls on stage to have a twerk contest, while the other wouldn’t dream about it, plus hold a meeting in which students could personally meet the legendary poet Nikki Giovanni (an actual rebel) before her lecture in the distinguished speaker series. It is no coincidence that one is massively more popular than the other—and it’s not Conscious Collective. Who could blame someone for picking recreation over poetry.
So think Lupe Fiasco, Tupac or maybe even Kendrick Lamar as they are a little better than the usual suspects for the modern rebel role. And the best/most controversial work of which seldom makes to our ears through he radio. If not, Stokely Carmichael, Winston Churchill and Voltaire are timeless templates. Think of the people who can watch the news and disagree with some of the report. Think of the myriad independent companies run out of the university that realize the realities of business. These minds have always been around at different quantities, sometimes dwindling. A resurgence is what is needed. Where have the all the rebels gone? Many places, but luckily, some of them never left.
