As I'm driving around in my work truck thinking, as I often do since I work alone, it occurs to me that there are no revolutionaries left. Now I'm not talking about some jihadist blowing up an ice cream shop because some people don't follow the same cartoon character as they do. I mean people who made things happen, gave us hope, helped us to advance because of the things they've done in their particular fields.
Where are the Einsteins and Edisons? Where are the Gerschwins and the Mozarts? The Zappas and the Lennons? The Carlins and the Bruces? The list of historical people that helped things progress in some way, or at least made us think about things or even upset the status quo could go on for hours. These were people who were not afraid to stand out and be different. They weren't afraid of what the next person would think of them. They say nature abhors a vacuum so why has no one stepped up and taken their place? Were individuals like these so unique that no one could ever come anywhere close to replacing them? Or have we simply peaked as a species and a society and are on the decline, meaning people like these have died out and simply left mediocrity in it's place?
A lot of questions to be sure and answers very hard to come by. Everybody has people they admire or even idolize. But no one wants to BE those people. It seems people in general are afraid to be different and are far too complacent. The pursuit of the almighty dollar is much more important than standing out and being a leader in some way or another. And I can't lie. I'm guilty of that to a degree myself. But in my feeble defense, I have no talent to speak of. Just another part of the mediocre masses.
And when I speak of people such as these, I purposely didn't mention any political or religious leaders. I feel people such as those are mere power mongers and greedheads, concerned more about themselves and their status than anything else. In my lifetime, I've seen no such leaders that stood out as what I'd define as revolutionary (the jury will be out on Obama for quite some time yet as he has not been in his position long enough to make a decent determination).
I suppose it could just be that we have created a system that drowns out and discourages any sort of breaking away from what's considered the norm. Most brilliant scientists and inventors work under corporate or government masters. When something new is created, it's either behind a label name or hidden away for future weapon application or somesuch. Musicians are hounded by record labels to churn out anything that they can market instead of letting the artists take their time and create in the best way they can. Stand-up types follow a fairly common path, looking for a way to get their big tv or movie deal. No one stands out anymore.
Frank Zappa said "Without deviation (from the norm), progress is not possible". Never were truer words spoken. We have stopped progressing. We have come to a standstill, perhaps even started sliding backwards. I don't know about the rest of you, but I want our renegades and revolutionaries back.
Where are the Einsteins and Edisons? Where are the Gerschwins and the Mozarts? The Zappas and the Lennons? The Carlins and the Bruces? The list of historical people that helped things progress in some way, or at least made us think about things or even upset the status quo could go on for hours. These were people who were not afraid to stand out and be different. They weren't afraid of what the next person would think of them. They say nature abhors a vacuum so why has no one stepped up and taken their place? Were individuals like these so unique that no one could ever come anywhere close to replacing them? Or have we simply peaked as a species and a society and are on the decline, meaning people like these have died out and simply left mediocrity in it's place?
A lot of questions to be sure and answers very hard to come by. Everybody has people they admire or even idolize. But no one wants to BE those people. It seems people in general are afraid to be different and are far too complacent. The pursuit of the almighty dollar is much more important than standing out and being a leader in some way or another. And I can't lie. I'm guilty of that to a degree myself. But in my feeble defense, I have no talent to speak of. Just another part of the mediocre masses.
And when I speak of people such as these, I purposely didn't mention any political or religious leaders. I feel people such as those are mere power mongers and greedheads, concerned more about themselves and their status than anything else. In my lifetime, I've seen no such leaders that stood out as what I'd define as revolutionary (the jury will be out on Obama for quite some time yet as he has not been in his position long enough to make a decent determination).
I suppose it could just be that we have created a system that drowns out and discourages any sort of breaking away from what's considered the norm. Most brilliant scientists and inventors work under corporate or government masters. When something new is created, it's either behind a label name or hidden away for future weapon application or somesuch. Musicians are hounded by record labels to churn out anything that they can market instead of letting the artists take their time and create in the best way they can. Stand-up types follow a fairly common path, looking for a way to get their big tv or movie deal. No one stands out anymore.
Frank Zappa said "Without deviation (from the norm), progress is not possible". Never were truer words spoken. We have stopped progressing. We have come to a standstill, perhaps even started sliding backwards. I don't know about the rest of you, but I want our renegades and revolutionaries back.
