From now,
I want to be in continuous motion; in agitated activity. I want never to be at rest again.
Hopefully this will manifest in touring, releasing and gathering companions and allies in what I see as a battleground.
Where forces are with me, foes are in force. That is why I need you: this will be a battleground.
Every generation is responsible for how they are remembered. Every person is responsible for defining their generation. My vision is that we are united by the same vision. That our identity lies in communion with each other, not in our style, looks, social standing, sexual orientation, wealth, location, colour or age.
We must be aware, fearless and unique; proud of our country and our principles, diligent in honouring that for which we stand.
The principle element that stands in our way is fear. The fear that tells us we have to define ourselves by what we wear, how much money we spend, what job we have, what music, clubs, designers we endorse, who we know, who we don't want to know.
This fear is relentless, well armed and desperate, for fear knows that when we are united against fear, we are truly free from it's claws.
That is why this is a battleground.
I once saw a photograph of Bob Dylan and Joan Baez in the early sixties standing next to a poster empowering people to stand up against the 'rising tide of conformity'. They were calling on people to think for themselves, to express themselves how they wanted to. That generation did change, and rebelled against the old and new ways of thinking and expression were born.
That rebellion has continued through the subsequent decades to the present day where we are still rebelling against an ethos that is no longer here. The result is that we are now conforming to a rebellion that doesn't stand for anything. This is displayed through obedience to sensation, an epic scale of frantic consumption, a break down of morality. The result of this is that we are conforming again, to something darker and more destructive.
This is the call to arms:
Let the great rebellion of our generation be one of purity. Let us not be known throughout the world for drunkeness, loneliness, broken marriages, teenage pregnancies, greed, drug habits, gang culture, and everything else that makes us look like people who are lost. But let us be renowned and respected for our wisdom, our restraint, our passion, our honour, our integrity, our joy, our fulfillment, our trustworthiness and most importantly of all let us be known as nation who loves each other.
Let us turn against this tide of conformity, turn from the values of the world and turn our backs on all the things that weaken us and embrace what makes us strong:
We are called to be in the world but not of the world: to see beauty with our hearts and not our eyes, to see love as a virtue and not a feeling, to value mankind equally, to be fearless, radical and transparent.
This is my war cry."
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