Two years have passed since one of the great political and social thinkers of our time Stephane Hessel died. Hessel enjoyed a long life, from his birth in Berlin to his final breath in Paris, where one of his last works Indignez-Vous, (Time For Outrage) was published.
The book packs a large punch and it came to life from a fiery speech Hessel gave in 2008 commemorating the French resistance. The 37-page book was translated into many languages and emerged during a time when the Occupy Movement was breaking out of social networks and onto the streets. It was a time when the Arab Uprising was spreading across the Middle East, a time when the Sarkozy presidency was ending and Greece was in the throes of social and economic upheaval.
Indignez-Vous showed the spirit of Hessel, who penned the work at the age of 92. The resistance veteran strived to resurrect the resistance sprit for this generation not only in France, but across Europe and further afield. The resilient nature of Hessel and his generation of resistance fighters is a missing element for today’s socially oppressed.
Indignez-Vous warns us of how social rights can fall victim to harsh economic changes. Hessel painted the capitalist machine as the agitator of such harshness. The power of money, which the resistance fought so hard against, has never been as great and selfish and shameless as it is now. Hessel used Indignez-Vous to call youth out against the social oppression that a recession brings. The book was his last great call to the current generation to take over, keep going, get angry. Indeed the youth took over when they occupied Wall Street and when the Arab Uprising spread like wildfire and voters got angry and dumped Sarkozy from office. But in 2015, the fight continues. Hessel writes in Indignez-Vous: “to create is to resist, to resist is to create.”
Across Europe, an austere way of living has created a harsh reality, especially in countries such as Spain, Ireland, and Greece. In Greece, we have seen people there pushed to their limits and in its recent general election they chose left-wing values in the form of the anti-austerity party Syriza. In Spain, we might see the same trend in its upcoming election as a similar anti-austerity party Podemos has become a beacon in the Spanish political landscape. In Ireland, the support of the Labor party, which oversaw strict governmental austerity measures, is being eradicated by anti-austerity left-wing parties such as Sinn Fein. A general election in Ireland is a year away, but the rise of Sinn Fein and other left-wing parties may also display the same social courage and values that Hessel advocated for. Stephane Hessel lived a long and rebellious life. It is a pity he didn’t live long enough to see this generation through these hard times. But his words remain as a legacy of a permanent revolution: “to create is to resist, to resist is to create.”
Z
