Petty Rebellion
Today, as I was driving back home, I turned down the side street that my apparent is located on. This side street is also adjacent to a city park, and a river, making it the hang out place for a large number of adolescents. One young man was walking back with an inner tube slung on his shoulders. As I was in an air conditioned car, and he was in the heat, I stopped so he could cross the street with out having to wait for me on the hot asphalt. I was angered when, with his jaw stuck out in the half sideways cocked expression that could only come from the self important arrogance of youth; he ambled along at a deliberately slow pace, half pretending that he did not seem me, all the while getting some small pleasure from the simple notion that he was in my way. I am sure many of my readers have experienced this before.
My annoyance quickly subsided however, as I began to see this small man for what he was: a man who wanted to rebel, but had nothing to rebel against. In a world saturated with post-modernity, where all is subjective at best, meaningless at worst and above all else with out order, he has nothing to lash out against. A society that has no great ideals can have no great rebels.
And yet there he was, a small man, panning for gold, but only finding Fool’s Gold. But when Fool’s Gold is all you get, you might as well keep it; at least shinny, and it if you have enough of it, the other fool’s you keep in your company will begin to think you are very rich.