Take a Rebel to lunch and see a new world
How many rebels do you know? Or perhaps a better question, are you a rebel? Are you possibly a rebel ho does not know they are a rebel? A rebel is an interesting person to know. They come in all shapes and textures. I can make an iron clad money back guaranty that you know at least one, as they seem to be everywhere there is dissension or friction.
They usually make their first appearance in your classroom around the age of twelve or thirteen. They were normal kids who suddenly quit doing their homework, or suddenly have problems with one or more teachers. They may not like authority figures at all and lump every adult in the school as being something other than a normal human being trying to make a difference in a kids life.
Perhaps you have identified a rebel in a family gathering where your folks, aunts and uncles came together to celebrate something. There is generally one in each generation who feels they are on the outside looking in, or they are the black sheep of the family. They are usually quiet and then for the silliest reasons make an issue out of something trivial trying to make a point.
Rebels are sometimes difficult people to understand. They see the world a little differently, or they want something that they have not yet found, usually attention or respect. There is an old movie starring an actor who died young, who was a famous name when I was a child. The movie was Rebel Without a Cause, and the actor was James Dean. James Dean was known for his restlessness and moodiness when he was not acting so that made him a natural in the parts he played.
If you ask people who’s workplace is ‘plagued’ by a rebel what they feel about that person, they generally relate only semi-coherent sentences about how all they do is cause problems and make work life miserable. If you ask the boss of a rebel how they feel about that person, what you will probably hear is not too different. One rebel in a workplace can single handedly take the place of a handful of problematic employees from a bosses point of view.
Yet all is not really as bad as it sounds. The world in general, and every place of work needs rebels to thrive. Rebels serve a noble purpose in the world, and we would not be as happy as we are today if it were not for all the rebels in history who preceded us. Rebels for their part provide a very valuable service to the world in general and the workplace, perhaps even family groups.
Everything we see bad in a rebel personality is an asset to the big picture. In the workplace for example, without a rebel working there, innovation and advancement of methodology and technology would crawl forward if it were not for the rebel. Rebel’s rebel at the way they are taught their job, and find ways to do it differently because that is their nature. Sometimes those changes are nothing but a different way to do the same thing, and sometimes those changes reshape the way work is done.
Rebels advance our thinking by challenging the status quo. If it were not for rebels rebelling throughout the ages, who knows what sort of governments would be in place today. It may be a stretch to say that democracy would not exist, but it is also quite possible that we would be living in a feudal world where nothing has changed in centuries.
Even if you despise people who are rebels in your life because it seems they have to make an issue out of everything, remember we do not enjoy change, and given a choice we would not participate or support any change, but Rebel’s using their need to buck the system, force us down different paths, mostly as unwilling participants but we are forced to change all the same. If you know a rebel, give him or her a break today. Buy them lunch or dinner, that short time with them in a social setting may be well change your perception of the world and your place in it!
