Book Review: Indignez-vous ! by Stéphane Hessel

This is a small pamphlet to wake up the young and not so young to take a better look at the state of our democracy and hearts of men who see markets the true purpose. Hessel argues that the media holds too great power of our attention and minds, that we are losing our welfare state to the argument that the divide is somehow deserved between the rich and the poor, that our democracy is in poor condition, and we are reckless with our planet. Thus it is Time for Outrage! Time to revisit the ideas written in Human Rights and time to say enough is enough.

It is a thought-provoking piece. Meant to wake up the young and to say to them that there is a way to influence and that is to speak up. The call for resistance (to get angry) is not the call to take arms and use violence to get the desired outcome but to see and to speak up and to use peaceful ways to be heard.

It is rare to see someone say it is okay to get angry. That there is something good in anger. Most of us have been taught that anger is something to frown upon. But actually, we need that feeling to tell us something is wrong and to react.

I liked the pamphlet, and while I read it I watched a documentary on Stéphane Hessel. He is a true gentleman. It saddens me to think about how rare his kind is. A man who can quote poems and holds peace and human life as sacred and has a way to invoke people to listen to him.

Thank you for reading!