Downpayment of Discomfort
So, how and when do we stop putting up with it? The trouble with all of these answers that are proffered by people in the media is they don’t get it. If the biggest problem is the fact that the Constitution is not being adhered to, how is it possible to peacefully use the Constitution to rectify its own flaws?
My take is that one must go back one step further than the Constitution to the Declaration of Independence. What we face is not an oppressive force as the colonialists did. Neither are we facing troops being housed in our homes. We are not enduring a lot of the physical oppression of the British Crown, but we are facing more or less treason from within our government, or fidelity to an opposing ideology, which might be the same thing.
What do we do about it? Shall I put on my Tea Party hat and go carry a sign?
TL Davis is spot on when looking to the Declaration of Independence instead of the Constitution, because let's face it, the Constitution brought us the corrupt, bankrupt government we've got. I must quibble with him a bit however ...
Because King George III was a piker compared to the Leviathan we face now.
What We Need For True Change
You've seen the 9/12 Rallies.
The Glenn Beck Rally.
The Stewart Rally.
And none of them have done a thing to influence Washington DC policy, have they?
Nope.
Nor will they.
Why?
Because you go home the same day.
President Obama, The Senate, Congress, Ben Bernanke - they look out their window and they see you. Or do they? Well, no. You time the rally to be convenient for you. It's on a weekend. They're not at work.
You're preaching to an empty church!
Oh yeah, they know you're there. So what?
The next morning they go to work and you're gone. You've gone home. You made your "Statement", such as you claim it, and that's all.
You're ignored because there's nothing uncomfortable for them in what you did.
Now contrast that with MLK. He literally got in the administration's face. He rallied, he protested, and he did it daily. He didn't speak and then go home, he spoke and then came back the next day and waved more signs!
You want results?
You don't need a leader. In fact, some "charismatic leader" is exactly what you don't want. It wasn't MLK saying "I have a dream!" that made the difference. It was black Americans all over the country marching daily, being jailed for speaking their minds, continuing to protest and wave signs under people's noses - in short, refusing to shut up and go away - that made the difference. (The same thing, incidentally, is why the Vietnam protests eventually worked.)
It was, in fact, the implied threat that MLK was going to come to Washington with 100,000 ****ed-off black men who might riot that caused the administration - which had been hostile to his message - to crack and support him instead.
But that implied threat didn't develop overnight. It developed over months and years of protests in places like Birmingham, where people took to the streets, waved signs, and even when jailed came back the next day and did it again.
You don't need a leader.
You need balls.
The proper question is when will you find them? If not now, when?
I've got news for you folks. Republicans "winning" the House means nothing. And being happy over it is nothing more than enjoying your battered wife syndrome. Wake up and smell the coffee people!
If you can think a moment, how Sam Adams or Thomas Jefferson must have thought about the Crown, you'll have an idea of what I think about our current government. I don't like it, I don't trust it, and there's been a very long train of abuses. The regime based in Washington DC is not only corrupt and abusive, but every bit as much an enemy of the People today, as King George III was to our founding generations.
That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
For those of you who think revolution, I "feel your pain," I share your temperament. But it's not the answer. Violence is never the answer. Besides, there's no way to predict the outcome. We live in a society where people think getting molested at the airport keeps them safe and thinks Ben Bernanke is a man of the people. Sorry, but you're smokin' crack if you think a violent revolution will bring liberty.
Denniger outlined how to bring about genuine change and liberty above. It will take fortitude and perseverance. Electing "Republicans" as a goal is like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. We need real change ... right now!
The Albert Einstein Institution is a valuable resource for strategic, non-violent political change. Please spend some serious time learning everything they have to teach you. We can make a difference. We can turn this around. But you have to stop looking for "leaders" and become one yourself. You have to take charge.
A good place to start: 198 Methods of Nonviolent Action.
