Defiance

By Jeff Long

Defiance is refusing to play Pokemon Go, even when your spouse and children seem devoted to the mobile phone-based game.

In recent days, I've seen folks -- and not just high-school and college students -- aimlessly walking down the street, heads down, trying to capture a Pokemon, or doing battle at a "gym," which in this scenario usually is not a place where athletic activity is occurring.

Recently, it was noteworthy to see two cars parked at a cemetery, the drivers inside with heads down, clearly playing this addicting game.

Play, by all means! A game that gets people, and not just the young, out of their houses and dormitories can't be bad. Please do not walk out in front of my car in traffic, though. With so many heads down, immersed in finding a PokeStop, unfortunate injuries may occur.

Reared in a more Luddite era, we didn't have cellular service to guide us into outdoor adventures. Tempted? Sure. If your wife and kids are doing it, resisting can be a challenge. But I am resolute. Defiant, even. No, I'm not doing it. This author has a certain amount of mental energy and is determined not to squander it.

Defiance is a politician refusing to endorse a fellow politician at the latter's national political convention -- despite having pledged to support the winner months ago. Goaded by the crowd to give in, the defeated candidate for high national office stood his ground. It's either brilliant strategy or an exercise in political self-immolation.

Defiance, along the so-called Missouri Weinstrasse, is an unincorporated town in St. Charles County.

Defiance was the final home of frontiersman Daniel Boone, but it didn't get its name from the famed hero.

In the late 1800s, the hamlet some called Parsons refused to abide by a decision to locate a single railroad stop in the nearby town of Matson, just a mile and a half away. The tiny burg wanted its own depot (and post office) and defiantly went about making sure it received both.

Today, Matson has dwindled to a few houses and U.S. mail is delivered by a rural route carrier based in, you guessed it, Defiance. Both Matson and Defiance are stops along the 240-mile Katy Trail.

The word "defiance" appears just once in the New International Version of the Bible: "Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, stepped out from his lines and shouted his usual defiance, and David heard it" (1 Samuel 17:23).

Defiance is seen in the life of Jesus. The gospels report Jesus defied Herod, refusing even to speak with the Jewish puppet king after his arrest (Luke 23:7-12).

Taken to Pontius Pilate, Jesus again showed defiance by refusing to defend himself before the Roman procurator of Judea. That defiance, which bewildered Pilate, led the often-bloodthirsty governor of Judea to say, "Don't you realize I have the power to free you or to crucify you?" Jesus' response showed his disinterest in backing down: "The only power you have has been given you from above" (John 19:10-11).

Conformity is prized in our society. Go along, get along.

You don't drink, but feel pressured to imbibe during a social event. You don't think buying gifts for people at Christmas is an authentic display of your esteem, but feel goaded by peers and advertising to give in and spend. The examples are legion.

Perhaps we need a little defiance in our lives.

Saying no to misogynistic banter, refusing to enter into negative talk about women and girls. Saying no to xenophobia, declining to condemn people just because they look different, speak differently, worship differently and happen to hail from a different part of the globe.

In this coarse and divisive time in our national life, maybe we'd all be better off if we were a little more defiant. If we said "no" once in a while, we might stop some terrible things from spreading.