The real revolution?

[Sunstone]

D.H. Lawrence somewhere says that youth should not be misled into believing that it must rebel against authority and tradition in order to achieve freedom. Lawrence asserts that those battles have already been fought and won. Youth is largely free to do as it pleases today, and so it is misleading youth to tell them that they should be battling against authority and tradition.

On the other hand, Lawerence points out that the real revolution youth must accomplish is "to find the undiscovered and unsuspected door." That is, to find and exploit the aspects of life that youth does not even as yet suspect are part of life. Doing so will bring about a greater revolution in youth than will battling against authority and tradition.

What do you think of this? Is the real job of youth to find the undiscovered and unsuspected door, or is it to battle against tradition and authority? Which brings greater freedom? Which is more revolutionary?

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

..., Lawerence points out that the real revolution youth must accomplish is "to find the undiscovered and unsuspected door."

If we're lucky, many will find the door to the library.

 

[Ceridwen018]

Vive la resistance!

I think it's both. We need to do whatever we need to do to acheive whatever it is we've gotten in our minds to acheive. If that means rebellion or "opening doors", so be it. If not, oh well.

 

[Sunstone]

What is there left to rebel against? Lawrence doesn't think much of anything is left to rebel against, because former generations have already done the job of winning the freedoms necessary to discover oneself and one's boon in life.

But is Lawrence right about that? Are young people today free to pursue their boons in life, or are they still restricted by oppressive authority and traditions?

 

[Feathers in Hair]

What is there left to rebel against?

Whaddya got? Wait, I just remembered I'm not cool enough to pull off that phrase.

But is Lawrence right about that? Are young people today free to pursue their boons in life, or are they still restricted by oppressive authority and traditions?

I think there's a certain amount of feeling like one has to rebel at that age. The things I can think of that were taboo, like I believe Sunstone was saying, are no longer so, in most areas. I grew up knowing I could have friends who were of another race, other gender-preferences (err... Or the same gender preferences, since my friends tend to be gay guys) and, in some cases, other religions. I feel a great deal of gratitude to those who demonstrated for civil rights, and other such causes, so that I can grow up in a more tolerant world.

Perhaps the few of the few things left to rebel by doing is to to change ones religion, which is why some spiritual groups are flooded by people of a certain age. (Children of Satanists rebelling, and turning Hindu... that sort of thing.)

 

[Sunstone]

Back in the day, society tended to have laws against freedom. For instance, there were Jim Crow laws against civil rights for blacks. But nowadays, society tends to take a different tactic when it wishes to prohibit freedoms. Instead of passing laws against something, it propagandizes against the thing. We live in an age of media. And the shackles and chains that some in our society wish to forge against freedom are more likely to be made of media than of iron. Yet, propaganda is immensely effective in persuading people to do (or not do) something.

Look at the propaganda that's put out against human sexuality. We no longer pass too many laws against teen sexuality, but we still try to achieve the effect of those laws through propaganda directed at scaring teens into compliance with the moral views of certain elements of our society.

 

[linwood]

Look at the propaganda that's put out against human sexuality. We no longer pass too many laws against teen sexuality, but we still try to achieve the effect of those laws through propaganda directed at scaring teens into compliance with the moral views of certain elements of our society.

And thats exactly what the youth of today need to fight against.

Unfounded bigotry and blind faith, it is what they will always have to fight against.

Sadly.

 

[Sunstone]

I agree, Linwood. And I also agree with Ceridwen that one does not just fight against something in order to fight against it. That is merely a negative goal. As she puts it, one fights for what one has got it in one's mind to achieve. And hers is an ultimately positive goal.

The sad thing is that youth has always, and will always, have to fight for what they've "got it in their minds to achieve."

 

[Scuba Pete]

I am always probing for that hidden door, even though I ain't a youth.

 

[Sunstone]

I am always probing for that hidden door, even though I ain't a youth.

I'd frubal you for that, ND, but it says I've got to spread them around some. Lawrence's notion of an unexpected door is applicable to all ages of life.

 

[Doc]

I guess it all depends on what we define as being a 'rebel'. Kids who wear different clothing sometimes think they are rebels when they wear like black clothes or something dark and mysterious when in fact they are just individuals. A certain degree of rebelling occurs in any and every generation. Some for bad and some for good. Ghandi or Martin Luther King could be considered and they did great things. Jesus was seen as a rebel but no doubt his deeds were great. Individuality is strongly supported in kids, so they feel the need to follow what they believe is right. I could be considered a rebel by some, although I wish not for the title, because I strongly oppose the bans on gay marriage and one of the few in my class that do. I am an Abolitionist, a Vegetarian, Buddho-Christian, and many other things yet not a rebel. I have written numerous stories and poems about different labeled rebels. Some characters work for constructive purposes and others are destructive.

 

[Sunstone]

How do we determine, Doc, what's constructive or destructive rebellion?

I'm tempted to say that rebellion merely for the sake of rebellion is foolishness, and merely destructive. But, then again, maybe a little rebellion merely for the sake of rebellion is not such a bad thing in so far as it can teach us a great deal.

At any rate, if you take Joseph Campbell's advice and follow your boon, then I think you are on the right track. And if that track leads you to fight against something in order to continue to pursue your boon, then your fight is constructive, rather than destructive, of your values.

 

[Sunstone]

So, what did D.H. Lawerence mean by "the unsuspected door"? Was he merely refering to the fact that into our lives often come opportunities we never suspected were possible? Or did he have more than that in mind?

 

[Doc]

Sunstone
I meant to say that it is hard to understand when rebelling is good and bad. Just look at the French Revolution. The cause was just and they succeeded but look at what cost. France was ruled by a guilotine and fear. You were killed for anything. Sure the monarchy was gone and a republic formed, but many lives were lost.
In my stories and poems, there are 4 stories and 3 of them have a main character branded as a rebel by authroity. The first is emotionally unstable and though he casts down an evil empire and frees thousands of slaves, he becomes a hypocrite and turns around and puts slaves in his empire instead. He himself becomes a feared tyrant just like the one that he hated so much. His destructive rebellion was driven by hate, fear, and anger. Half a century later, one of his slaves escapes and attempts to get rid of him. He has a more constructive way of rebelling. He for example does not believe in war or killing. He believes in Tolerance and Justice. Sadly, he and his men find themselves in war and both sides are almost entirely destroyed.
The 3rd one appears not long after. He is probably the most sane because he was not a slave at all. Although many of the slaves had been freed, there was still segregation when they returned home (much like in America after the Civil War) This last one disapproves of the monarchy, killing, fighting, or any wars. Through tolerance and acceptance, much like Dr. King, he ammends his country and creates a strong voice for the diverse cultures.

Today, youths grow up hearing the heroics of rebels in the past, such as Martin Luther King, and many others. They feel it is their duty to rebel against something or anything because most generations behind them have done so. ALthough most of their complaints are unimportant and corky, some bear certain truths to them. Adults may say that we have no respect or dignity, but look how much more accepting the youth have become. Blacks and whites can marry and have children. Kids can be friends with anyone. If anything, I believe it is sometimes the adults that still have the prejudices and not the kids.