The
Numbers Just Don't Add Up
(And "They" Still Have The Guns)
By Mickey Z.
19 February, 2007
Countercurrents.org
In the Vietnam War protest song,
"Five to One," Jim Morrison of The Doors sings:
The old get old/And the young get stronger
May take a week/And it may take longer
They got the guns/But we got the numbers
Gonna win, yeah/We're takin' over
In my youth, I took solace in the whole "we got the numbers"
thing. The very idea filled with me hope...but little did I know, the
ones with the guns have had it all figured out for a very, very long
time. Philosopher David Hume governed, the governors have nothing to
support them but opinion. It is, therefore, on opinion only that government
is founded and this maxim extends to the most despotic and most military
governments as well as to the most free and most popular."
"The corporate grip on opinion in the United States is one of the
wonders of the Western world," adds Gore Vidal. "No First
World country has ever managed to eliminate so entirely from its media
all objectivity dissent."
This potent combination of muscle and misinformation manifested itself
in the events leading up to the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq. On February
15 of that year, tens of millions of earthlings marched and carried
signs to declare their unambiguous disapproval of America's plan to
drastically ratchet up what had essentially been a 12-plus year war
against the people of Iraq.
The massive global protests were barely noticed. The shock-and-awe invasion
went on as planned.
The repulsive occupation continues to this day. Doesn't say a whole
lot for "having the numbers," huh?
"We" also had the numbers last summer when it came to who
did and didn't support Israel's assault on the Lebanese populace. Outside
of a select few in Israel, Great Britain, and the United States, the
vast majority of our planet's human population were vociferously against
the actions of the Israeli government and its U.S.-funded armed forces.
But once again, the numbers just didn't add up. As long as America's
ruling elite avoided any mention of a ceasefire, Lebanon remained doomed
to its fate...no matter how many of us didn't like it.
In these and countless other cases, "we" have had the numbers.
"We" still have the numbers. Morrison's "they,"
however, give no indication they'll be surrendering their guns any time
soon. As a result, dissent in America is pretty much limited to marches,
protests, boycotts, petitions, candlelight vigils, Michael Moore documentaries,
the occasional vote for a third party candidate, and articles like this
one. All of these methods (at least in their safe-for-mass-consumption
versions) are deemed "legal" by those with the guns and, in
their own way, legitimize the power held by those with the guns. Thus,
all such tactics are ultimately impotent in terms of provoking
systemic, long term change. If you don't believe me, ask yourself why
you haven't taken your rebellion beyond the methods listed above. Your
answer is likely the same as mine: "We've got the numbers, but
they've got the guns."
Maybe author Derrick Jensen had it right when he said: "We still
think we have something to lose. That's what's stopping us. As soon
as we realize we have nothing left to lose we'll be dangerous."
After all, as Jim Morrison sang: "No one here gets out alive."
Mickey Z. can be found on the Web at http://www.mickeyz.net.
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