21st C Revolutionary

By Thoko Banda

One of Webster’s definitions of revolution is “the orbiting of one heavenly body around another”.

All too often, we are conditioned to think of revolution as a violent overthrow, of a government, of a political system, a way of thinking, a status quo, of an hierarchy! We are programmed to conform to uncomfortable existence all in the noblised name of non-confrontation.

Nobility, however, in its purest constellations, is less about non-confrontation than about sophisticated influence. Nobility is about standing out above the crowd just enough so as to derive an effective privilege of opinion, privilege of influence, privilege of perception. It is a berth from which one is gifted with the responsibility to influence change for the greater communal good rather than for self-serving purposes. Nobility, if it is to be sustainable, is similarly about fitting in with the crowd while standing out. It is only by fitting in with the norm that nobility is then able to effectively and sustainably facilitate a sometimes imperceptible change within the norm,within the community which, in free-willed respect for the selflessly noble, finds itself transforming in a quiet, non-violent, empowering revolution.

Modern nobility, as epitomised by celebrities that is, derive their influence not via the power of the bully pulpit or from the bows of their gunboats, but rather via their leveraged privileges having retained their boy/girl-next-door credentials. Sharing human frailties and fallibilities, wearing the scars of their rise and fall and rise again to celebrity-status for all to see, and aspiring to, in their own genres, excel beyond expectation, they (if I may borrow the words of bestselling executive coach Debra Benton) “stand out while fitting in“.

From such berths, with such (at times fragile) borrowed credibility, and with the support of those among the masses who share their passions and aspirations, these nobility are then able to become 21st century revolutionaries. They live out their predestined roles without having planned on doing so. They had set out to be sports stars and action heros and bollywood dancers. They endured the ups and downs of commercialism and excessivism. They end up as environmentalists and humanists and geopoliticians and spiritualists with far more meaningful influence and ability to actually change the world than the traditional politicians and scientists and theologians - combined.

Revolutionary: one whose life path influences the life paths of others by virtue of sharing the same heavenly spaces of passion and purpose - virtually, artistically, sociopolitically.

Revolutionaries, in this sense, remain young enough in spirit to still believe in changing the world. They do not have the handicap of having to wait until they are coronated by archaic institutions and disillusioned peers. They are still young in mind and often increasingly also in body. They rise and fall with the fortunes of those they seek to ‘serve’ - their fan-base, their natural, free-willing constituency. They are blind of the convoluted theories that have been worn thin by repeated trial and error policy implementations. They are emboldened by their independence of thought and craft and affiliatory abligations. They are boundless in their energies, committed early to their sense of legacy, and thereby free to be, well, revolutionary in their influence.

Are you young enough to still believe in changing the world?

We live in a world that is politically disillusioned, culturally discordant, spiritually distanced, emotionally distressed, and economically disadvantaged.

We live in a world that is straining under the weight of its desperate urge for meaningful change, for meaningful revolution.

To change the world as we know it, as it has become at the staid hands of policy wonks and those who still believe in old school institutions ( note a vital distinction between old school institutions and ageless values), to change this world the revolutionary needs first to open his or her eyes, to see through the stagnating lies that disguise a reality that should no longer be permitted to be.

To change the world as it has become, the revolutionary should not allow limitations that attempt to marginalize, limitations that at their core are in fact too hollow to paralyze.

To change the world, ignore that cynic, avoid that coward, pen that book or script you have always wanted to write, sing that ‘song’ you know you are destined to sing, audition for that role that is suited to your taste, make that ‘move’ you know will free you from past fears, declare that ‘love’ you have been feeling deeply within, build that better mouse trap you know you are good at building. Be heard. Be bold. Stay young.

To change the world, simply - start - changing – your – world !

http://web.mac.com/zaniphilosophy