This is a guest post by Colin Wright. Colin is a designer and blogger currently based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. You can find him on Twitter at @colinismyname and at Exile Lifestyle, where he blogs about lifestyle design and his travels.
I’m a rebel. Be afraid.
I tagged buildings in college. I ran off a handful of Sunday School teachers back in my middle school days. I wrote controversial columns for my high school newspaper that almost got me expelled and I’ve pirated more than a few MP3s in my day.
To most people who know me, though, I’m a straight-laced kind of guy. Definitely not a rabble-rouser. I may have different ideas about things, but I’m no in-your-face revolutionary. And that’s exactly the kind of reputation to I want to have.
Because you know what? I have done things (and intend to continue doing things) that make people uncomfortable, yet still I insist upon keeping a clean image and a sterling reputation.
I make it a point to obey the law most of the time.
Why? Because if I ever find myself on the wrong side of a situation, it’s much more likely that I’ll get out of it without too much trouble. Not only that, but in general society does a pretty good job at keeping things oiled and running smoothly. There are problems, sure, but the vast majority of everyday people, places and things don’t need my help to do their job because they’re doing just fine on their own; if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.
Many people I know who have revolutionary ideas don’t abide by this rule, unfortunately. They find something to rebel about and then keep on screaming at the top of their lungs (sometimes metaphorically, sometimes literally) for things to change. Once you’ve demanded one change, it’s easy to find little problems with anything, which leads to more demands, more yelling, more—let’s be honest—really annoying revolutionaries.
This is a serious problem for people with good ideas everywhere, because in all honesty, most people couldn’t care less about someone else’s ideas or complaints. To them, someone else screaming ‘Viva revolution!’ is the same as the neighbor’s dog barking or a baby crying or a garbage truck driving by at 6am…just more noise pollution to be tolerated until it can be ignored.
By exercising restraint, however, you are able to make it clear that when you speak up, what you are speaking up about is important.
If you, the clean-cut, helpful, friendly, cheerful boy/girl next door are taking action and instigating change, well, then something must really be wrong! Just make sure that something really is wrong, though, because you can only cry wolf once or twice before people start treating you as if you’ve been screaming your head off all along.
Then, of course, there are all the benefits of actually being a respectable part of society in general. Just be a good person and surround yourself with good people and you’ll have a good life. Help old ladies cross the street and hold doors for people. Be polite. Be honest. There’s no need for an ‘us versus them’ mentality for most things in life. Compete with yourself and not others and work on your confidence level. Obey the damn law.
Do these things, and your ability to influence change by drastic action will not be watered down by years of complaining and acting out. You’ll be more than ready to unleash the beast, should you really need to, and make tsunami-sized waves any time you speak up.
It makes me think how in many Western countries it’s harder and harder to stay on the right side of the law when the governments keep making new laws often taking away people’s liberties. More laws unfortunately mean more citizens been made into criminals.
Thanks for the post, Colin!
I think the keyword you used here is “demand.” If you demand change and revolution, there will always be those who will fight against you. I say work towards little changes, employ the help of others, and try to follow the rules where possible. A little change goes a long way, in my experience.
Thanks for the post!
Hey Colin I enjoyed your post. At times my own brother is guilty of talking too much and I just shut off. Other times however he approaches a situation with patience and more of my family is able to listen and follow him.
The possible problem I see with this patience perspective is the fact that some problems need to be addressed immediately. For instance, we Americans (generally speaking) take steps like changing to energy saving light bulbs and buying reusable bags at stores to help combat global warming. These seem like reasonable responses, yet this is because we are a wealthy privileged nation that rarely sees the detrimental effects of global warming. In places where the changes are clearly visible there are logically bigger responses.
So in everyday life be polite, network, and absolutely be honest in your relations with everyone! I agree that it should not become a battle of you against them; we’re all related anyway right? It is important however to see the perspective from another person in different circumstances and see if there needs to be more active vocal involvement.
I’m conflicted about this. On one hand if you look at history change usually happens very slowly. Revolutions are the result of built up pressure over years or decades. This applies to politics, science and culture. Have a look at the Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas Kuhn (he came up with the concept of paradigm shift)
On the other hand when I look around I think that things could be changed for the better almost instantly. Why would I not shout about it? Too many people have been too quiet over the past 30 years. I want things to change now!
This reminds me of something else you wrote about in another post: “There are things that are not worth fighting for and there are things that are not worth fighting for RIGHT NOW.”
I think that’s particularly relevant when choosing what you speak up about.
All in all, recognizing that your overall image greatly affects the reception of your message is important and perhaps something that is not considered as much as it should be in the heat of a passionate rebellion.
I think we all know people who complain about anything, eventually nobody cares at all. I’m really glad that this came up, great post! I have adopted the same mentality you have. It basically comes down to choosing your battles carefully if you want to be at all effective in your efforts.
This is the first time I have read an essay here. I enjoy reading others posted comments, and use their thoughtful insights to embellish my own experience.
In deciding what causes I wish to pursue, further discuss, or mentally align myself with, I keep the following quasi-military strategic question in mind:
“Is this a hill I would be willing to die on?”
My answer determines my course.
I tend to have a big mouth. I like to battle regardless of which side I am on. Sometimes it is just fun to argue.
I can be very critical at times, however I am even more passionate about greatness. It is good to speak up about large problems, but it is even more important to celebrate greatness.
When a person, company or organization goes out of their way to deliver superior service, they should be evangelized and supported with our full energies. In a world, when most are trying to do less we need to support the few that constantly are giving more!
One law that sucks bigtime is speeding limits. Why make cars that can go 240km/h and the speed limit is 120?? Speed limits and most rules are designed for the average and norm of society, because there are always people who cant even cope with the average laws, but there are those that are capable of more, so since there cant be execptions for some and not others, there is a average law that caters for the majority of people.
I don’t know if this makes sense or is just a random babbling:)
Anyways, I agree with your post Colin:)
Have an awesome day!
Diggy
Choose your battles, that’s what it comes down to. In fact, to be honest, I don’t think that most battles are worth it. Here’s a post I wrote some time ago about it (http://www.owlsparks.com/advice/choose-your-battles/). Great post Colin, thanks Cody for hosting it!
Love this title! Great guest post. I like your approach, because all too often I think people do get a sort of rebel-itis. It certainly can be taken too far.
I think it’s far better advice to figure out ways to ‘play the game’, while still pushing the envelope in your own way. This is essence of ‘obey the law most of the time’!
I really loved this post. I think Carlos said it perfectly with his comment, “choose your battles” wisely. The real trick is living life the way we want, without harm to ourselves or others, and yet…doing it the right, lawful way.
The title of this post is awesome as well!
Cheers,
Dayne
Thanks for your comments everyone, and thanks for the great guest post Colin!
As someone who’s been a little bit of a rule-breaker myself (been in cuffs twice—nothing serious—but let’s just say I agree with Diggy about speed limits
I have mostly grown out of that “rebellious” phase and I definitely see the value in being a law-abiding citizen.
At the same time, Gordie has a good point that sometimes the laws change so fast it’s hard to keep up, and sometimes the law just isn’t right. In those cases, I think we need to rock the boat. I agree with Nomadic Neil that too many people put up with ludicrous stuff we shouldn’t tolerate and keep their mouths shut.
Anyways, choosing one’s battles is definitely important, and you first must work yourself into a position of some power/influence to be taken seriously. I think I’m probably guilty of picking the wrong battles more frequently than I’d like to admit (let’s see in the past 2 months I’ve picked fights with disloyal bloggers, religious biggots, death… haha)