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Wanted: One Revolution

By Paul Buchheit

22 July, 2011
Countercurrents.org

Rioters surged through the city, breaking windows, damaging the homes of
the very rich:

Catching the chief justice and his family at the dinner table, the
crowd smashed in the doors with axes...reduced the furniture to
splinters...destroyed the formal gardens in the rear of the mansion,
drank the wine...

Meanwhile, in the high-fashion districts, overtaxed and unemployed
citizens raided the shops where patrons spent hundreds of dollars on
'frivolities' while poor people starved.

Evicted tenants around the city stormed the properties of their landlords,
and prevented anyone else from taking possession. Their collective action
"chipped away at the notion that a few men of prestige and privilege could
exploit those beneath them with impunity."

This all happened because a small percentage of the population had
increased their share of the wealth from 30% to 50%, while the poorest
half of the population had seen their share of the wealth cut in half.

In response, the wealthiest citizens rose up, offered satisfaction to the
protest leaders, and spread the word that a battle should be waged instead
against the foreign menace, our true enemies.

Who were the wealthy citizens that tried to calm the protest leaders? The
Sons of Liberty. The year was 1765.

Now, almost 250 years later, we have more reasons than ever for
"collective action against the rich." Here are some of them:

-- $1 trillion a year to the richest 1% because of tax cuts and
deregulated financial instruments

-- 0% taxes paid by many corporations

-- 6% tax on a pair of shoes, no tax on the purchase of financial
transactions

-- $2 trillion held by corporations, no jobs for our college graduate
children

-- planned cuts in Social Security, Medicare, education, environmental
protection

And perhaps the greatest insult to mainstream America is the Republican
admission that their top goal is to defeat President Obama in 2012. Their
main objective is not to ease the pain of recession, but to win a personal
political battle.

It's time once again for a revolution.

References:

Ray Raphael, "A People's History of the American Revolution" (The New
Press, 2001)

Gary B. Nash, "The Urban Crucible" (Harvard University Press, 1979)

Paul Buchheit is the founder and developer of social justice and
educational websites (UsAgainstGreed.org, PayUpNow.org,
RappingHistory.org), and the editor and main author of "American Wars:
Illusions and Realities" (Clarity Press). He can be reached at
[email protected].

 

 



 


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