I know I haven't written in a while.
I've been busy working at my internship (which could soon be morphing into a real job, fingers crossed). But I felt compelled to write today, because of two stories in the news.
The first is about how the very stealthy and not-well-publicized crackdowns on Occupy Wall Street were being coordinated by the FBI and the DHS.
The second is about how the government is apparently ganging up on the opponents of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) by stacking the hearings with a 5 to 1 ratio of pro-SOPA speakers vs. anti-SOPA speakers. The government apparently is so afraid of people hearing how profoundly retarded their arguments are that they're turning up the volume to drown out dissenters.
People, this is it. This is the flash-point.
Call me crazy, but I feel like this historical node is where we stop the downward spiral into a very cleverly disguised police state, or where we forever resign ourselves to being ruled, subjugated, and shat upon by the rich and powerful of the planet.
There are two things we need to do right now: we need to fight back. And, whether we succeed or fail, we need to remember.
What do I mean by "remember"? Well, the wonderful thing about this era is that we have access to more information technology than ever before. We are more capable of recording events, opinions, facts, and data than any civilization in history.
So whether or not we fail to stem the hungry, stirring police state still in its infancy, we must remember exactly what sequence of events brought us to this point, so that we may avert that sequence and like ones for all time. It started with 9/11, I think. Or at least this recent stage was catalyzed by it. It drove people to seek comfort, made them crazy with paranoia. They gladly gave up rights and freedoms, gave up even
watching their governments if it meant being able to sleep soundly. It was like Watergate had never happened, and we forgot how terribly corrupt a government (by its definition, formed from people who seek power) can be.
And there were those that cried, "They will come for us one day! Today it's the Muslims, but we'd better keep in line!" People equate Obama and Bush with Hitler, but the truth of the matter is, Hitler was a stooge. It was the apparatus he created for policing and subjugating his population that was his true genius. "When they came for the Muslims, I said nothing, for I was not a Muslim." And so on. They were content to keep up appearances by harassing "terrorists", but the second we stepped out of line, we became "terrorists" too. The second we threatened to upset the wealthy's control on this country, the gloves came off like
that. So at least we know we're doing something right, which is nice.
But we need to
remember...we need to burn every second into our memories, every promise the government made that these laws were for our "safety", every twist and distortion of the Occupy message by a media clenched in the iron fist of business. We need to remember every lie, and every truth. So that if we succeed, we will know
how not to let it happen again. And if we fail, our children and our children's children will know what it was like to live, if not free, than more free. And they will know the path back to those days, so that they may rise up forever, never ceasing to fight.
And that's number two on the list: fight. With words, with tweets, with fists, guns, grenades if needed. The problem is, those in power (and especially the police and law enforcement) at the end of the day speak one language: power. In the case of law enforcement, which is delightedly learning them commie pregnant women and veterans to protest peacefully, their entire existence is based on the threat or exercise of violence: violence against the body (guns, billy clubs) and against the very nature of the human soul (incarceration, degradation).
So at the end of the day, violence is really the only language they understand. Let's be honest, the job attracts sociopaths. If you put out a wanted ad: "Wanted--person to hold a position of power over everyone in the country; gets to order people around all day, threaten them with violence or imprisonment, only token lip-service to 'upholding the law' needed; fellow officers may cover for you even if you break the law and are a generally terrible person". What the hell kind of person do you THINK would go for that job?
Now, it has to be said, although I love a good fight, I really wish it doesn't come down to violence. But if we sit back and let them put veterans in comas and mace people who are peacefully protesting in designated zones, we will be teaching them only that they can ram their fucking dick down our throats and we will do nothing but sit there and whimper as they thrust.
Instead, we need to bite off that dick.
I've heard of OWS protesters arming themselves. I don't like it, but it may be necessary. Those in power will always try to rewrite history, especially if it proves them wrong. So, though Jefferson said that dissent is the highest form of patriotism, expect that message to be corrupted, forgotten, or re-purposed in the coming struggle. Ironically, as butthurt as the Tea Party was about Obama taking their guns, it may be the very government apparatus they wanted from the Patriot Act that take them away, lest they actually get up the courage to strike back against an increasingly totalitarian government.
It doesn't help that we still have more to lose than almost any other country. That makes everyone less eager to take chances, to risk their lives or their livelihoods. But we don't want to stand around hesitating
until we're holding a nation-wide reenactment of
1984. We want to arrest the downward spiral now. If that means debate and legal redress, thank God. But if that means fighting in the streets...if a little blood shed now will prevent a reign of blood and tears later...
...then lock and load. And may God have mercy on us all.
