I love studying rebels and rebellion almost as much as I love hunting.  As a matter of fact, one of the peripheral joys that springs from the whole hunting, shooting and gun owning experience is that those who are involved in the shooting sports are looked down upon by the current smarmy elitists.  Thus, every animal I take, every gun I buy, every back strap I eat and every trophy I have taxidermied is not only a celebration of my freedom but also an act of defiance to the thought police who are daily at work to eradicate my right to pursue gun powder happiness.

Ah . . . the little joys in life. 

Anyway  . . . back to rebellion.

Yeah, I?ve got to confess, rebels and rebellion were my mainstay growing up.  In the movies it was the attitude laden dudes like James Dean, Clint Eastwood, John Wayne, Steve McQueen, Humphrey Bogart, Robert Redford and Paul Newman.  I always seem to gravitate towards characters that are always bucking the system, doing the opposite of what everyone else was doing, or offending someone who had it coming to them. 

These rebels fought against what ?the establishment? and what ?the man? had become.  As Sam Smith states, when the powers-that-be become ?a stolid, unyielding, unthinking, unimaginative wall of bland certainty . . .? which tables ?doomed fantasies to the mindless applause of its constituency . . .? and ?restricts freedom to think, speak, and act . . .? then it won?t be long before those who are gifted to rage against the stagnant machine will manifest.

When culture begins to spawn mindless conformity and cattle-like compliance to authority structures . . . when, via the media, we are sold thoughts we do not wish to buy, and when students are force fed agendas and propaganda in the classroom, then revolt becomes most necessary.

The rebel?s job is to fight against mindlessly accepted norms and exactly what those norms are fluctuate from decade to decade?just like Oprah?s dress size.  But one thing is for certain, the dissenter will always rise up against the tyrannical tide of public opinion.

Historically, positive rebellion usually came from the hopeful young person who understood prophetically what needed to be said and done and had the energy to fight against what currently is.  Yes, youth and rebellion go together like Michael Jackson and Jesus juice. 

The big question is: What would a young rebel look like today?  What would the new millennium?s James Dean war against and stand for? Well, if you?re talking about the young person who is unfortunately stuck in the public school system or in one of the multitudinous left leaning college classrooms, he would be bristling against the uncut atheism, secular liberalism and moral relativism that these places of propaganda ram rod down the throats of the masses 24/7. 

In addition, if you?re talking about fording the prevailing streams of postmodern media, then that too would entail going against atheism, nihilism, secular liberalism and hedonism. 

Yes, today?s rebel, today?s bad boy, would actually be a good, principled guy in the midst of culture that has the morals of a drunken alley cat.  Yeah, everything that was rebellious, hip, cool and avant garde in the sixties has pretty much politically and morally left us in shambles, has failed miserably and is very common place and pass?oday.  Continued...