I’ve been thinking a bit about the nature of rebellion vs. principled resistance, or civil disobedience, as it’s sometimes called.
The reason for that is that it’s not in my nature to do something like defy rules such as the suite of covid-related restrictions required for re-entry into Canada, as I did recently. In fact, I’m something of a stickler for rules most of the time. My Mexican husband and friends sometimes joke about how I keep them on the straight and narrow by insisting they do things properly (Mexicans are notorious for disregarding rules or finding creative ways to skirt them).
However, there comes a time when even the most rule-following person has to decide whether certain rules ought to be followed, or whether there’s a higher law or principle that has to be obeyed instead. And for me, that time has come with what I perceive to be a creeping tyranny introduced under the pretense of protecting the Canadian population from a not-particularly-special flu virus.
Resisting unjust rules involves a choice. First, it means recognizing that the particular rule or law is in fact unjust, based on a higher law. For me, that law is God’s character and nature as expressed in Scripture and the person of Jesus Christ. Others may make this judgement based on other religious faiths or the belief in principles such as justice, truth, and human freedom.
Secondly, it involves a principled choice to resist the unjust law or rule. This principled choice differs from simple rebellion, because it is not based in selfish will. It is based in the belief that the higher principle outweighs the unjust law, and that adherence to the higher principle is worth the price of disobedience.
For example, I don’t refuse to wear masks because I find them uncomfortable and I just don’t want to bother because I’m an anti-social, selfish beast who doesn’t conform to social norms. I refuse to wear them because I believe that to do so is to participate in a dehumanizing lie and tyranny.
The same type of reasons lie behind why I won’t take covid tests or fill out the ArriveCan app to cross the border, or undergo two weeks of house arrest for the crime of visiting my family. The principle is much bigger than myself, and avoiding fines, social disapproval, and inconvenience is simply not worth the concession to tyranny that all of these things represent.
However, for me it’s more than that: I believe that I am personally responsible to God for obeying his law over man’s when they contradict. It’s not just that I believe x or y to be right, I believe I will answer to the One who gave us those principles. This, I think, is often a key difference between those who perceive the right thing to do but don’t do it (as with the doctors who confess to Paul Alexander that they are fully aware of the covid scam but don’t speak up), and those who obey their conscience and do what is right.
Thirdly, principled resistance involves a clear-eyed understanding and willingness to accept the risks it involves. Civil disobedience often comes with a cost. Tamara Lich, one of the Canadian Freedom Convoy organizers, was arrested during the original convoy and recently re-arrested just before Canada Day for a supposed breach of her bail conditions. It seems obvious that the Canadian government is making an example of her, just as it has with the outspoken Pastor Artur in Calgary.
I am not a leader in the freedom movement, just a very ordinary Canadian involved in the smallest ways. But resistance, even if you are not one of the kingpins that draws the government’s wrath, incurs a cost. Shopping during mask mandates was admittedly stressful. I’m facing $7000+ worth of tickets and a court date (unbelievable for someone who is such a law-abiding citizen) for my choice to cross the border and defy covid rules.
Civil disobedience is not for the faint of heart. It must involve a willingness to suffer for the cause you are fighting for, because you almost certainly will. That’s been the case throughout history, from Martin Luther to Martin Luther King Jr. and of course long before and since.
It makes me think of the words of Jesus:
Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:27-33)
Rebellion
In contrast, rebellion is different from principled resistance in some key ways. Firstly, rebellion is rooted in unconstrained personal will, not in a higher principle or law. Secondly, rebellion is often unreasonable, rebelling simply for the sake of asserting one’s defiance. Rebellion often defies legitimate authority or rules.
Rebellion is childish. In the end, rebellion defines you by the person or entity you are rebelling against. You are still being controlled by them, only instead of compliance, you are defining yourself by your opposition.
A recent example of childish rebellion is Green Day frontman Billy Joe Armstrong, who threatened to renounce his US citizenship as a result of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade. If he really thinks abortion is such a good, he could stay in the US and fight to promote it (not that I’m in agreement with that, but that would be the principled choice).
Civil disobedience is the opposite of childish. It demonstrates mature reasoning and moral sense. It does not define itself by the thing it is defying, but by a higher principle. It says, I am of age to determine what is good and what is bad and I will choose the good and accept whatever cost I may incur by doing so.
These are my thoughts as I’m figuring this out for myself. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Such wise words.
Thank you!
Very thoughtful distinction. Much appreciated.