What do Kurt Vonnegut, Samuel Clemens as Mark Twain, Timothy Treadwell as Grizzly Man and Bob Dylan have in common?

Well it certainly has been a week of input! I didn’t plan it this way, but some themes have revealed themselves in these 4 stories.
In the core of each story, is a person who truly does not fit any mold and bumps up against the collective desire to speak from the same voice. They all see things in a very unique way and simply cannot fit into the uniform society craves. Even the left, the protesters, youth culture, environmentalists and folk singers come across as quite rigid in the presence of these unrestricted souls.
I’ve heard Kurt Vonnegut speak twice, seen the Werner Herzog movie, Grizzly Man, watched lots of the PBS Bob Dylan film by Martin Scorsese and finally the life of Samuel Clemens on also on PBS.
What I did notice in each of these stories was a superficial displeasure and rebelliousness when these 4 fella’s were restrained, boo’ed, speaking things or playing a style of music that the public wasn’t ready to hear. On a deeper level, they were and are on a mission to speak their truth in an uncensored way and implied in that act is an optimism and hope for humanity. Why else bother, especially with the scrutiny that they were faced with?
At the Q&A that followed the Grizzly Man movie, it was fascinating to see how many audience members needed to declare Treadwell crazy and dismiss him. I mentioned the "Fast, Cheap and Out of Control" movie, especially the lion tamer's story. (See my last post). There were several people, including myself, who understood that living with grizzly bears every summer for 13 years was beyond our comprehension. We were inspired that he lived true to his vision. We also saw the love he had for the animals and his ability to communicate and live among them. Judgments be damned! I encourage you to check out some of these “living outside the box” folks. Listen and be inspired.