THESE are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated.
Tom Paine
Did you people think this was going to be easy? Did you think it would be quick and painless? Did you think there was a single solution, an easily implemented plan, a Silver Bullet…….that Superman would appear and save us?
That someday the clouds would part and the sun would shine through and peace and freedom and prosperity would suddenly appear?
It just doesn’t work that way. It is not just a single battle, or just one war, not even a LONG war. It is a continuum, an ongoing project, a running firefight throughout the history of man.
If any time ever illustrated a battle of good versus evil, this is it. If there was ever a doubt that evil exists in the world and must be actively and doggedly and eternally fought by the forces of good here we are.
Again.
Still.
.
Evil is ascendant right now….in fact evil is getting ready to bomb the crap out of Iran.
And this time evil is not just threatening Poland or France or Great Britain. It is threatening the whole damn planet. The very same people who are mongering war are the ones who are preventing mitigation of our rapidly accelerating Climate Crisis.
There are two forces at work in the world, two entities struggling or control of the future, two ideas at war….just as it has ALWAYS been. Being part of this battle is what it MEANS to be human.
You can couch in religious terms or philosophical ones or in military terms. It doesn’t matter. Your choice on Earth is simple….Good or Evil.
Your next choice is how hard to work at it……and/or, how much to ignore it.
Did you think it would be easy being human? Walk in the park, a day at the beach? That you would get to enjoy the labors and sacrifices of all the billions of human that came before you, that fought the battle? That died for it, that lost their families and everything they owned, that were made to witness and participate in any of the huge battles between good and evil that have been fought here on earth….for as long as there have been humans? Did you think the fight was OVER?
“The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing people he doesn’t exist” Verbal/Kaiser
.
.
I will leave it to the pedants to decide if what we should call this current embodiment of evil, Fascist or Authoritarian….or even if we “should” call it evil at all. I will leave it to them as well whether ranting works to fight this evil. I don’t care.
I intend to fight.
My body is broken now, but not my spirit and not my voice. What I can do is to to yell….and I intend to yell as loudly as I can, while changing my life, while changing myself, while changing what of the world I can.
OPPOSE!!!
RESIST!!!
FIGHT ON!!
and
On November sixth there is the BEGINNING of a General Strike.
This weekend there is a protest in 11 cities around the US…..do strikes and protests ‘work?’
You bet your ass. The people who say it doesn’t are the people who are made uncomfortable by protest. The function of protest IS TO MAKE PEOPLE UNCOMFORTABLE. To wake them up, to make them think, to burst the bubble of comfort that the Powers That Be wish us all to build and enjoy and live inside of ….as they rape the world and propagate evil unopposed. So if it makes you uncomfortable to see your brothers and sisters in the streets protesting…..good. But instead of blaming them….or Code Pink….or ANYONE else, look in the mirror and ask why someone actively fighting against evil makes you uncomfortable. Whatever the answer I will NOT condemn you. Nor will I tell you what you should be doing. All I ask is that each and every one of us look into that mirror.
And ask what YOU can do to help.
In YOUR own way.
What is the change YOU can become?
OPPOSE!!!
RESIST!!!
And never, never, never give up.
Things are fucked up….but things will only get more fucked up if we don’t all fight back. Each in our own way, each in our own time…but as hard as we can. And tomorrow, just a little bit harder.
“All that is required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing.”
— Edmund Burke
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if we’re going to fight, on which battle field?
how do we get collective action and focus? being willing to fight is one thing… actually putting a plan into action… a non-violent plan is what i’m talking about
i’m inspired… i’ve been inspired.
now, it’s time to do something
we need to figure out that thing and work it… more than write it… need to do SOMETHING
and i don’t mean to belittle those working to end hunger, save tigers, et al
but this act local thing isn’t working. we need to get us acting on the systemic problems… halting climate change would do more than all the people giving time and money to feed starving people.
but how do we do that? and those decisions are up to us… the people living on the planet. seems to me we have a tool to organize people in far-flung places.
we need a powerful and doable action that people understand and join in
or am i talking like a crazy person?
I just thought everybody else would realize that…
One of the awesome things about being raised by a mild pessimist is that when bad (not traumatic) shit happens I have already been programmed roll my eyes and say,”Yup, saw that coming.” Yeah, sure it can get in the way of making revolution but those who are doing the critiques always assume that they will also be leading the revolution and toppling the dictators and circumstances have a way of sticking out the collective tongue.
Part of the reason many centrists or critics of protest also say it doesn’t work is that they believed in structured change and protest often evolves to less than predictable ends.
trying to imagine a picture of a “collective tongue”… is it a big logo style Rollining Stones thing or a whole bunch of little tongues unifying… I have to get back to you on that.
detatchable tongues, collective tongues….my dears, you are speaking the language of Angels.Give tongue to your dissatisfaction. At an appointed hour stick out your tongue. If everybody goes “Blaaah!” at the same time a massive harmonic may cause havoc with the architecture of evil and, perhaps, one dodgy bastard’s pacemaker.
entrenched denial of the price ones paying is seen on a community level. Just as this is a community so is your street your town your state and on. Globalization has enabled community as well as enslavement. All of globally can be known! We can change. Change is scary for some as it’s the unknown, perhaps the known has become such a nightmare the unknown can turn into a good dream.
My neighborhood stood firm, united and kept a Mac Donalds from opening on our main street. We stopped a big box development that threatened our small businesses. One step forward, even if you go back two, just keep it moving.. Progress is having cars with IMPEACH on them when fear stopped them 3 years ago. They cannot rule with out the will of the people and they are loosing it, 24% and falling. Demonstrations won’t get covered but locally people will witness them , and the fear of speaking out will diminish.