“I want everyone of you to have a reason to be outraged”
Thorsten, a friend in Germany, kindly sent me a copy of Time For Outrage (Indignez-Vous), October 2010), a powerful 4000 word political critique of our wretchedly compliant society by Stephane Hessel, a former French diplomat.
Born to a Jewish father and Protestant mother in Berlin, Stephane Hessel, 93, the French writer, activist, joined the French resistance against Nazi occupation in world War 2 and survived a Nazi concentration camp. In his booklet, he has appealed with determination and conviction for a new form of resistance against governments, banks and the financiers.
“We, the veterans of the Resistance movement and fighting forces of Free France, call on the younger generations to revive and carry forward the tradition of the resistance, and its ideas.
“We must not be overwhelmed by the current international dictatorship of the financial markets.
“I want you, each and every one of you, to have a reason to be outraged. This is precious. When something outrages you, as Nazism did me, that is when you become a militant, strong and engaged,
“You join the movement of history. ..History’s direction is towards more justice and freedom – though not the unbridled freedom of the fox in the henhouse.”
This small booklet (18 pages in the English) has sold some two million copies worldwide since its publication last Autumn by a small French publisher. It has gripped the imagination of thoughtful citizens in France and Germany.
Time for Outrage sold more than 1.5 million copies in six months in France It is a best seller in Germany, has been widely translated in other European languages, and now available in English. The only advertising has been word of mouth. Royalties go to causes that Stephane Hessel supports.
Here are some sentences from the book. He writes: “This is a vast world. We see its inter-dependence. We are connected in ways that we never before were but some things in this world are unacceptable. To see this, you only have to open your eyes…
“The worst possible outlook is indifference that says, I can’t do anything about it. I’ll get by.”
He identifies two great challenges – the gap between rich and poor such as those living on two dollars a day and issues of human rights.
“You will find things that vindicate your outrage.”
In this remarkable polemic, Stephan Hessel then turns his attention to his outrage over Palestine and the open air prison of Gaza. On his visit there, he reports: “It is the behaviour of the Gazans – their patriotism, their love of the ocean and the beach, their constant preoccupation with the well being of their countless laughing children – that haunts our memories.”
He then refers to Israel’s air and tank invasion of Gaza and 1400 deaths of men, women and children in January 2010.
I will be in Israel from April 11 to May 3, 2011, It will be 20 years of annual journeys to Israel plus regular visit to Nablus in the West Bank.
As we say in metaphorical English, Stephane Hessel shoots from the hip when he writes ”For Jews themselves to perpetuate war crimes is intolerable.
“Unfortunately, history gives few examples of people who learn the lessons of their own history…
As a former diplomat, Hessel should know that simplistic generalisations outrage some of us. Certain Jews, and others, can come across anti-semitic, just as certain Jews, and others, can perpetuate war crimes.
“Societies must be based on right whose violation prompts outrage – no matter who has violated them. There is no compromising these rights.
“Did it serve Hamas’s interests to launch rockets into the town of Sderot. No.
“I am convinced that the future belongs to non-violence, to the reconciliation of different culture. It is along this path that humanity will clear its next hurdle.
“…We cannot excuse the terrorists who throw the bombs, but we can understand them.”
After condemning the “West’s obsession with productivity”, he writes:
“We continue to call for a true peaceful uprising against the means of mass communication that offers nothing but mass consumption….
“To you who will create the 21st century, we say with affection.
“TO CREATE IS TO RESIST
TO RESIST IS TO CREATE”
Yes, outrage is a passionate response against the violence and exploitation many endure.
Thank you, Stephane,
Bless you.