Maggies Farm (Subverting Empire, Part Deux)

Maggies Farm (Subverting the Empire)
Parte Deux

I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more.No, I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more. Well, I try my bestTo be just like I am,But everybody wants youTo be just like them.They sing while you slave and I just get bored.I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more.

-Bob Dylan

“I aint gonna work on Maggie’s farm no more.” So sings Bob Dylan and also Rage Against the Machine, depending on your version. But, what would it mean if we really did refuse to work on Maggie’s farm? Kind of like the bumper sticker that says “What if the Hokey pokey is what it’s all about?” What if we refused to take part in the economies, systems and rules of the empire? First we would have to decide what parts of the empire go in direct contrast to the teachings of Jesus. Those could be war, nationalism, greed, lust—for power, fame, sexuality. It could be the worship of Mammon, even in the name of our “financial” security.

However, once I started to think of what ways I am controlled by empire mentality, I realized the lists were endless and to such a drastic level, that I had to eat a whole gallon of ice cream before my head felt well (I also went on a shopping spree.) Even in so called “spiritual aspirations” I can see the empire mentality and the evil within my own heart seethe out. For instance, I want to live a radical lifestyle of following Jesus that includes communal living, activist demonstrations, subversive love and that hopefully, will get me killed one day. But, and there is a big but, at the beginning of this sentence. But, one day I realized that I don’t want to do those things in isolation and out of pure obedience so much as I want people to see me doing all these things. I want people to notice me doing all these great things.
I honestly don’t know if I would do all the things I do if no one was watching. I mean I hope I would. I want to. But I don’t know.