Thursday, January 27, 2011
30 year old revolutionary?
I thought that one of the most interesting parts of the "Weather Underground" documentary was when Mark Rudd turns himself in after years of hiding out and his father comments on this by saying something along the lines of "at 30, you get too old to be a revolutionary". As soon as he said this I immediately agreed. I mean wouldn't it be odd to see an over 30 year old revolutionary preaching to young adults, most of them would probably question themselves as to why this old guy is even approaching them. This brings up another question/idea, it seems as though revolutionary ideals are only passionately carried out by the young. I mean look at those revolutionaries now, Mark Rudd is a community college professor and the others just look like normal aged Americans. Does that kind of passion die with the increase of age? I know the situation is different now from what it was in the 60s and 70s, but those same revolutionaries seem conformist now.
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I agree; it was very interesting to hear Mark Rudd admit that there is a certain point where one becomes too old to be a revolutionary. I think that this statement really demonstrates how at the end of the day, no matter how radical one’s beliefs are, people have basic human needs. Protesting, for example, is a very effective revolutionary technique, but it has a high personal cost on an individual. Protesting takes time, effort, passion, and it can be dangerous.
ReplyDeleteGenerally, one of the basic needs people have is stability as they grow older. So, yes there is a point (for some people it is later than others) where revolutionary ideas and a revolutionary lifestyle becoming unappealing to most people. I think it is safe to say that most 30 year olds in the 1970s and now were and are looking for a stable job to support them and their families. Like we learned in lecture, there are certain characteristics that make individuals more likely to use protest and revolutionary efforts: living close together or willingness to travel, ability to take time off from work, and not having to risk the livelihood of one’s family due to missed hours or arrest. As one ages, it is harder and harder to fit into these qualifications. Therefore, due to the intrinsic nature of most people to value stability in their personal lives and their commitments to others (namely their families) the revolutionary passion dies as one increases with age. However, this does not mean that there are some people that remain committed revolutionaries as they age. Perhaps this explains why Mark Rudd said what he did.