Revolution
Just Ain't
What It Used To De
By Mickey Z.
17 February, 2007
Countercurrents.org
If you were to publicly declare
your discontent with the U.S. government and your subsequent desire
to abolish that government, the land of the free would likely reward
you with an orange jumpsuit and a one-way ticket for an all-inclusive
vacation at Guantanamo Bay.
Now imagine if you instead chose to stand in front of a crowded room
and utter something along these lines: "I think all men equal and
are endowed with certain undeniable rights, including life, liberty,
and the pursuit of happiness. To secure these rights, governments are
created and derive their powers from the consent of the governed. Whenever
any form of government tries to destroy or take away these undeniable
rights, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish that government
and replace it with a new one."
Bingo: you're a goddamned high school history teacher. Okay class; turn
to page 257. Today we'll be talking about Patrick Henry (and don't tell
me "give me liberty or give me death" sounds an awful lot
like what an insurgent might say).
Thomas Jefferson can pronounce: "Every generation needs a new revolution."
But that doesn't mean I can. Honest Abe once declared: "Any people
anywhere being inclined and having the power have the right to rise
up and shake off the existing government, and force a new one that suits
them better." Hey, a government that suits me direction, but making
plans to "shake off the existing government and force a new one"
would just about guarantee you a place on that secret no-fly
list.
Let's face it, revolution just ain't what it used to be. Mao Tse-Tung
warned: "A revolution is not a dinner party, or writing an essay,
or painting a picture, or doing embroidery." Today, revolution
a Chevy commercial or a Beatles song. Che Guevara believed "the
true revolutionary
is guided by great feelings of love." By 1994, Newt Gingrich and
his merry band of Republicans were using "revolution" to describe
a minor reshuffling of ruling class allegiances. "The most heroic
word in all languages is revolution," stated Eugene Debs, but if
he were around today and typed "revolution" into Google, he'd
find the top response was for a software company.
As long as you're not talking about the U.S. government, you can have
as many revolutions as you please. You can have 33 per minute, for all
Dick Cheney cares. Fitness, music, film, art, and countless ways to
make money...the mutinous mood is alive and well. This time around,
however, the revolution was indeed televised and is now enjoying a long,
successful run in syndication.
Can the huddled befuddled masses to snap from their self-induced trance
to recapture the subversive spirit of '76? I'll give the last word to
Abraham Lincoln: "This country, with its institutions, belongs
to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the
existing government, they can exercise their constitutional right of
amending it, or their
revolutionary right to dismember or overthrow it."
Remember: Abe said it, not me.
Mickey Z. can be found on the Web at http://www.mickeyz.net.
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