The Art of Rebellion
by: Karamojo Advocate Michael Griffin
There is a rebel alive within all of us. It’s as if we have something in our DNA constantly fighting restriction. When people ask or tell us to do something, we weigh the options of insubordination. Like a small child, we tend to partially comply with this request while masking our own signature in the deed. Men and women throughout history have used this rebellious nature to cross the next river, see the next valley, build railroads, empires, and settle the frontier. In today’s world of video games and grocery store delivery, we need to harness our dissent for complacency and conquer the day.
Recently I listened to an old tape of my grandfather interviewing his uncle circa 1980. The questions revolved around odd jobs that he did during the tough times of the Great Depression in the 20’s and 30’s. My great great uncle shared a brief anecdote about how he helped butcher cows in his spare time because he was quicker than most and it needed to be done. He didn’t sigh when he said it. He didn’t go on about how you lift, turn, skin, and manhandle a 1,000 lb carcass. He didn’t mention whether or not he was over his 40 hour work week, but one can rest assured that thought never crossed his mind. He did it simply because it needed to be done.
Many of us sit behind a computer during the day as a part of our job. Most of our daily needs can be met by a quick drive to the store or by pressing a button on our laptop to make a purchase. We drive home from work, eat, put our kids to bed, read/watch TV, then drift off to sleep to be repeated the next day. We sometimes feel like it’s a chore to take our kids outside to play ball or sit down with them to do homework. We are surrounded by technology that invites us and our families to zone out and not think about the moment or reflect on our current situation. Oil changes, yard work, flat tires, and household maintenance can be outsourced and removed from our normal skill sets. Hard work and adventure are sought out as a release, rather than performed out of necessity. Mowing grass in 2018 should be compared to skinning cows in the 1920’s. It’s time for rebellion.
It’s time for some strenuous work hard enough for you to get callouses on your hands. It’s time to take your family out of the house on the weekends to see the beauty of nature. It’s time to teach your kids to be respectful and to never lose their natural tendency to be free-thinking individuals. It’s time to be thoughtful and intentional with your time. It’s time to love like you’ve never loved before. It’s time to make a commitment and honor it. It’s time to skin cows. MG
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