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What If Rebellion, Culture, and Memory Could Reshape the Way We See the World?

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By

Paul Hudson

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7–10 minutes

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Rebellion is seen all over the Bible. Satan rebelled against God, Adam and Eve rebelled against God, Jesus rebelled against the religious leaders, etc. Rebellion is defined as “opposition to one in authority or dominance”1. In the ancient world, as well as in our contemporary world, rebellion led to transformation that changed societies and the world as a whole. In Biblical literature, god flooded the earth because the people rebelled against him, literally changing the landscape of the world at that time. However, I don’t think rebellion can take all the credit for the different phases of the world. The traditions and identity of a group of people mash together to create a civilization’s culture. The stories told amongst community members are remembered through generations, creating a collective memory for the citizens to identify with. The more these cultures began to interact with one another, the more they began to exchange stories and ideas, some hostile and others collaborative.

I believe rebellion could be one of the first signs of growth in thinking. As I’ve stated in previous blogs, I believe there are stages in the cycle of spirituality, one of them being the Renaissance of Spirit and Thought. This stage is the last step of the cycle, where previous interpretations of religious and cultural understanding are critiqued and questioned to explore and reconcile tradition with modernity. I believe to finish the cycle a person would benefit from understanding the collective memory of their traditions, seeing how culture exchanges impacted their collective memory, and processing how rebellion influenced their collective memory. I believe once this process is done, perceptions can be changed and new ways of thinking are sparked within an individual and possibly a community.

Reshaping Rebellion

I do not believe rebellion has to be violent. Though there have been plenty of examples of religious rebellions that have left many dead and parts of nature destroyed, I believe rebellion could take the form of removing yourself from an action. For example, the stereotype around monks is they remove themselves from society, rebelling against the civilization lifestyle, and live their life in isolation or in a much smaller community. I believe monks reject parts of what civilization or the world says is true and seek their own truth, to become a better version of themselves. In a way, the monks “die” to a version of themselves that previously existed, to “live” in the world they are attempting to create for themselves. I believe the monk’s rebellion is a personal rebellion, reshaping who they once were to reach their full potential.

The Stay Spiritual, the Youtube channel, released a video reacting to a video from Harmony, an Orthodox Christian organization2. James and Justin watch the video for a few minutes before pausing, recognizing it is quite early to pause the video3. Justin agrees with the video, that there is truth to human pursuits, being “fast-tracks to corpse hood”4. Justin clarifies that he doesn’t believe money, luxury, or sex is bad5. James bursts in, realizing, money, luxury, and sex will not get you the thing you are chasing6. Justin then goes on a tangent, relating their conversation to the movie “The Wild Robot”7. Justin eventually gets to the point that Harmony’s production and “The Wild Robot”, are dealing with being’s development of consciousness and how each individual is on different parts of the development8. Justin elaborates further saying that it is hard to explain to someone who may be compartmentalizing and projecting, that there might be a kingdom to be a part of9. Justin gets quite fired up, expressing people say they want to know the truth and say they want to be good, yet the person recognizes their own limits10. Justin believes this is the basis of humility, relinquishing their confidence in knowing and a person admitting they just don’t know. Justin rants on stating the nature of Satan is all-knowing, “I know, I’ll conceal, I’ll hide, and I’ll do it for myself”11. Lastly, Justin thinks “that is the dragon of universal destruction for us all”12.

There’s so many ways I could take Justin’s monologue, but I will try to stay on topic. In the religious traditions I am familiar with, the dogma encourages the individual to be as detached from our current consumerist and superficial society, while still living in a community that holds you to a certain standard. However, I would like to look at detachment with a different lens. In Biblical text, the patriarchal figures who brought change to ancient civilizations didn’t just detach themselves from the society they were in, but they rebelled against aspects of their society to bring change. I believe this brought freedom to the individual, and also brought clarity to the individual’s followers.

I believe it’s important for each individual to understand the traditions they practice. I believe understanding one’s traditions will allow them to rebel from these traditions, not in a destructive way, but in a way that is true to themselves, that facilitates the individual to become the best version of themselves. If possible, I would encourage anyone to try to find one tradition daily, and alter/rebel against it to better themselves. I believe engaging with your thoughts intentionally is one practice that could help growth in spiritual rebellion. Additionally, I believe finding routines for mindfulness with a humble mindset, approaching your judgmental thoughts with curiosity instead of condemnation, can assist your reshaped spiritual rebellion.

Reshaping Memory

Division can be sparked by memory. I believe without memory, there would be no division. I believe judgment would be removed without memory. I am not a psychologist, but with my current knowledge this is my understanding. I believe memory sparks division, and division sparks pride and possibly solidarity. I believe memory is very powerful and has the potential not just to divide, but build bridges if structured in a way to do so. I believe there are plenty of examples in American history of one group of people remembering or being reminded of something negative about another group, influencing them to fight for division. However, I think this expands outside of the USA’s borders and impacts the world as a whole.

Cultural Diversity released another short about current events in Algeria13. I translated the title to learn the video is about an Egyptian analyst reacting to people who are trying to insult Algeria14. The video starts with a man in a collared shirt speaking in front of a digitized map of the world, similar to how I see other world news networks portray their reporters15. There are Arabic words written over his head and under his torso16. We only see the upper body of the man and two Algerian flags are shown on the side of each of his shoulders17. In the bottom right corner of the frame, an Egyptian flag floats over a play button with what I believe are broadcast symbols surrounding the play button18. The man looks from what I assume is his computer screen to the camera, as he expresses himself with passion19. Throughout the video, the Algerian and the Egyptian flag bounce in the corner, one fades away as the other replaces it in a solid form20. The man also looks down at a tablet to read and analyze more information21.

I believe analysts and reporters have a great responsibility. Not to present information without a bias, but to recognize their bias and to present their information, acknowledging their bias in their delivery. I believe the history of people sharing information “objectively” is never really objective. I believe everyone’s experience impacts the retelling or the history of the stories they share, influencing the respect the audience has for the reporter or the event they are reporting on. I believe the way an analyst evaluates a situation can drastically transform the mind of an individual, to either build bridges or destroy bridges between the ideas an individual may have. I believe the bridges that are destroyed can lead to moments of conflict, destroying opportunity for understanding and harmony.

I liked the way the short displayed the Egyptian flag fading away into the Algerian flag and vice versa. I believe this is a small example of what building bridges can look like. Though the European and Western world had some influence on the land borders of the two nations, I believe the short from Culturaldiversity, is attempting to rebuild a bridge between two cultures who previously engaged in more fluid harmony. I would like to believe the Egyptian analyst had tried to learn about the Algerian insults and reshape the narrative to bring more unity. Though Algerian culture and Egyptian culture have diverged over time, I believe the Egyptian analyst remembered and was aware of the harmony these two countries have shared and currently share. I would like to believe the Egyptian analyst empathized with the oppressed Algerians, to foster synergy in the African nations and possibly the world as a whole.

Reshaping Reflection

Rebel with intention. Inhale different cultures. Be aware of your memory. Reshape your spirituality. Take time to have personal dialogue with yourself. Detach from the collective when necessary to be the best version of yourself. Learn from unique perspectives. Challenge practicality. Journey through your insights to cultivate your full potential. Rebel, Reflect, Repeat.

Bibliography

  1. “Definition of REBELLION,” Merriam-Webster: America’s Most Trusted Dictionary, last modified October 11, 2023, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rebellion. ↩︎
  2. Stay Spiritual, “Death To The World I The Last True Rebellion I Part 2 I Harmony REACTION I Christian Orthodox,” YouTube, last modified November 19, 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-qxa17_voI&t=44s. ↩︎
  3. Stay Spiritual ↩︎
  4. Stay Spiritual ↩︎
  5. Stay Spiritual ↩︎
  6. Stay Spiritual ↩︎
  7. Stay Spiritual ↩︎
  8. Stay Spiritual ↩︎
  9. Stay Spiritual ↩︎
  10. Stay Spiritual ↩︎
  11. Stay Spiritual ↩︎
  12. Stay Spiritual ↩︎
  13. Culturaldiversity, “رد محلل مصري على من أراد ان يتطاول على الجزائر,” YouTube, last modified November 19, 2024, https://www.youtube.com/shorts/iv5dkiq6k5A. ↩︎
  14. Culturaldiversity ↩︎
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  20. Culturaldiversity ↩︎
  21. Culturaldiversity ↩︎

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