Thursday, August 09, 2007

Jack’s Winning Words 8/9/07
“What is a rebel? One who says, no.”
(Albert Camus) Rebel is an interesting word. I think of the Civil War and what it meant in that context. I think of the James Dean movie, Rebel Without A Cause. Having a cause makes rebellion okay in the rebel’s eyes. Look at the world situation. Have you rebelled for a cause? ;-) Jack

FROM M.L. IN ILLINOIS: how much time do you have? love, peace, and equality

FROM J.S. IN MICHIGAN: Camus who is praiseworthy in so many ways comes out of the negativism and relativism of post-war Europe....I think that colors this quotation. I would suggest that a rebel is often a person who says "Yes" as well as "NO". During the persecutions of Diocletain and Galerius many Christians answered the question "Are you a Christian?" with a resounding "Yes" Tories said "No" and the rebels said "Yes" during the American Revolution. I think Camus is too dogmatic in this quotation....of course, that is all relative, isn't it?!!!

FROM MOLINER, C.F.: Not necessarily. It could be the one who says "yes" when everyone else is saying "no".

FROM MOLINER, G.S.: I'm repelled by a cause: terrorism.

FROM S.H. IN MICHIGAN: rebel - a person who openly resists authority or opposes any control.
to resist authority, government, etc., openly and by force
to feel or show strong aversion; as, his mind rebels at the prospect of such drudgery.

FROM MOLINER, C.F.: Sounds like he Camus and Went.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Saying "No" to one thing leaves one exposed to a position for saying "yes" to something else. Often, a "no" refutes the conventional, agreeable, and/or social conformity. Thankfully, there are those rare few who were "awake" enough to say "no" to colonization by England, or to slavery in our new country, or the current few who say "no" to the socialistic tendencies and political movement openly promoted in our own country today by our current seekers of the highest governmental office! It's much easier to say "no" afterwards, in hindsight [watch the press conferences, I mean "debates", on TV].

Plato writes of the consequences for the rebellious-type in his Republic, referring to his allegory, The Cave. Standing up for what you believe [or know] just might get you killed -- if it is rebellious enough to the masses. Just ask John the Baptist, Jesus Christ, M.L. King, Socrates, martyrs and the like. The most important feature seems to be for that which one makes his or her stance -- for or against. Righteous is a much different position than self-righteousness, and worth being a "rebel" for.