Big Think - Back to School with Punkle Henry (Rollins)

Henry Rollins has become a regular feature on Big Think, and that is a very good thing. In this post, Rollins suggests that kids today might want to consider developing a set of moral beliefs, some personal ethics for how they want to live their lives. 

That may sound funny coming from the Icon of Punk, but Rollins has always been sure of his ethics and forceful in sharing his ethics, either through music, or spoken word, and books, or on the radio. With all the rage he had as a young man, had he not had some ethical foundation in his life, he may easily be another dead rock star.

Back to School with Punkle Henry (Rollins)

Jonathan Fowler and Elizabeth Rodd on September 17, 2012

Henry Rollins says he thinks he's starting to sound like "a cranky old man." His advise to young people today is to develop "a moral and civic backbone, to have a moral and civic true north." That means young people need to develop a heroic altruism, or, to put it another way, "almost Boy Scout-like." These might be qualities that young people might want to rebel against, which is ironic considering that Rollins himself is the ultimate rebellious role model. 

And yet, Rollins is remarkably consistent in his rebelliousness. He says rebellion should not involve chest-beating or flag-waving but merely upholding a sense of decency, which is itself a rebellion against all of those who would put you down. 

Watch the video here:



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