I must admit that now I'm over 40(!) I can't really relate to the word "rebel" and I'd rather help the "system" be more functional than bring it down but I have written a couple of songs about the current zeitgeist and was invited to go and sing at "The Extinction Cabaret" in Leicester recently, which was very well compared by Dr Kevan Manwaring, author and lecturer.
The Extinction Rebellion was a sort of open mic with a couple of headliners including myself and Paul Francis, a fine spanish-guitar player and songwriter; and by the end of the evening I was inspired by the democratic spirit that had been created by inviting everyone to share their thoughts in response to the challenges we're facing.
And then something rather curious happened on the way home - I serendiptitiously met a gent in a restaurant whose name was "Andy Van Driver" and he claimed to have been on previous "mission" with the (apparently committed christian) co-leader of Extintion Rebellion, Roger Hallam.
This prompted me to look Hallam up and watch a couple of videos on his website, and oh dear he does come across as being desperately serious about the state of life as we know it; his message is a cry of such despair with biblical proportions that I just can't accept it for fear of losing my own sanity!
Although he has written a book about "common sense" which he compares with the book of a similar title that inspired the
American revolution (see my previous blog); tactics he seems to think we need to resort to in order to overthrow the elite which he believes are lying to us! Hmmm...
Listen again to the Extinction Cabaret to hear a range of poems and songs around the topic as well as an insight into the cause from Leicester XR.