Well, a national movement to take back our country from Wall Street sure would bring a smile to this boomer."
Our Only Hope Is in Unity with Others
Mr. Leopold has hit the problem dead on, as well as its solution. Every time some Second Amendment enthusiast buys another gun, stocks another month's supply of freeze-dried food in the bunker in his basement, listens to another crackpot tell him that there is nothing he can do short of taking up arms against the government to change things, he becomes someone the plutocrats do not have to worry about. That's because his paranoia will never permit him to join with others against the plutocrats in any sort of effective way. The plutocrats know how to deal with armed insurrection; they still have no real idea of how to deal with non-violent resistance.
Every time you or I see someone else's rights ground under the iron heel of authority and do nothing about it because his skin is a different color, or because he has a different political creed or belongs to a different religion, or because he was not born in this country, we empower the plutocrats and their minions to do the same thing to us somewhere down the line. If we withdraw from the world so we don't have to help others defend their liberties, all we are doing is insuring that when it comes our turn to be crushed underfoot by the plutocrats, there will be no one around to speak up against it, or to take to the streets in protest of our treatment.
Today, cynicism is easy--because so many of us had so much hope when we were younger and could look to a better future for ourselves and our children. Yet, we members of the Baby Boomers and Generation X, despite all our hard work, have failed so far to achieve that goal. We have failed both in our choice of ideas to follow and in our choice of leaders--often, sadly, by making no choice at all.
We have forgotten the simple fact that the economic depressions suffered by our predecessors taught them this important lesson: that we sink or swim together. Only the wealthiest Americans can afford, either materially or morally, to give the appearance of standing entirely on their own. And even their self-sufficiency is an illusion: they cannot exist in comfort without thousands of suppliers and producers providing for their needs.
To deserve liberty, you must be willing to actively support the liberty of others. As Mikhail Bakunin once wrote: "I am truly free only when all human beings, men and women, are equally free. The freedom of other men, far from negating or limiting my freedom, is, on the contrary, its necessary premise and confirmation." (God and the State, 1871; reproduced in Bakunin on Anarchism, edited by Sam Dolgoff, 1980.).
Thomas Jefferson once wrote:
"The equal rights of man, and the happiness of every individual, are now acknowledged to be the only legitimate objects of government. Modern times have the signal advantage, too, of having discovered the only device by which these rights can be secured, to wit: government by the people, acting not in person, but by representatives chosen by themselves, that is to say, by every man of ripe years and sane mind, who contributes either by his purse or person to the support of his country." (Letter to A. Coray, 1823. The Complete Writings of Thomas Jefferson, Memorial Edition; volume 15, p. 482; 1904.)
Together, we are not only stronger than we can possibly imagine. We are stronger than the plutocrat's deepest fears. We must give up the idea of armed resistance, until we have exhausted the arsenal of peaceful change. We must say "no" to all those who would pit us against one another, and embrace our common heritage as Americans. It is the only solution.
Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
1
