“You say you want a revolution, well, ya know…” The questioning uncertainty in Lennon’s voice as he sings those last two words echo through time. They are an indictment against thoughtlessness and carelessness. Written for those who want to burn it down and rebuild.
It is a tiring effort to try and make sense of the watered down, hobbyist revolutionaries of our time, who push forward their illogical agendas in waves. Crying for resistance and revolution, easily stumped with questions of why, against who, and most importantly, how?
There are broken systems in place. No doubt. They should be fixed. But when you advocate they be fundamentally dismantled, I ask how? Nearly every revolution in history replaced old forms of oppression, with new ones. What makes you any different? If it’s just more of the same, you can count me out.
We live in bizarre and trying times. The lines of morality are blurred. Science is adjusted to support theories, rather than the other way around. Successful people are vilified, and personal responsibility is no longer a virtue. Every setback and obstacle in life is someone else’s fault, or the systems fault.
John Lennon was a great revolutionary. But not in the same groove that many modern day coffee shop politicians would like him to be. He was in alignment with many of the great thinkers of western civilization, like Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus. They advocated a spiritual revolution. Which is what we need right here. Right now.
We advocate for resistance and reformation and look outward, while the most outrageous forms of oppression lie within us.
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We advocate for resistance and reformation and look outward, while the most outrageous forms of oppression lie within us. Large and complex mechanisms of society, like government and institutions, can’t be changed, if we haven’t fundamentally changed the people who operate within, and benefit from, them. That is how we end up with a brand new – bigger and better than before – systems of oppression.
We are lost in our desires to feel good all of the time. We grab for smoke, and then seek more. Never thinking to try and tap into the abundance within ourselves.
Most people are operating in this world with the same ideas and belief systems society gave them as children.
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Tear yourself down, and build yourself back up.
Most people are operating in this world with the same ideas and belief systems society gave them as children. People interact with other human beings, and make decisions that will affect the rest of their lives, based on the same behaviors they have been using for twenty years. Do you have the same computer you had in 1997? What if you used the same cell phone you had twenty years ago?
Have you ever written down and analyzed your belief system? Most people have not. If you want to start a revolution, start there. List your beliefs on paper, analyze if they are still working for you. Ask yourself if they make you the best person you can possibly be in today’s world.
Take responsibility for yourself and your life. You can’t control what family you were born into, what socioeconomic condition you were born into, or who the President is. Quite frankly, no one wants to hear you complain about it either. All of those things lie outside of what you can control. What you can control is how you act, and treat people, on a daily basis. Take back the reins.
Introspection and personal responsibility are timeless virtues. They hold the keys to freedom and growth, for an individual, and for a nation. Be a revolutionary and start within.
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Photo credit: Getty Images
thank you Michael
“Introspection and personal responsibility are timeless virtues” and are very rare these days. Michael, very well said and a great article, thanks and keep getting this message out there.