Time for a US Revolution - 15 Reasons
Tuesday 09 March 2010
by: Bill Quigley, t r u t h o u t | Op-Ed
(Photo: Jer Kunz)
It is time for a revolution. Government does not work for regular people. It appears to work quite well for big corporations, banks, insurance companies, military contractors, lobbyists and for the rich and powerful. But it does not work for people.
The 1776 Declaration of Independence stated that when a long train of abuses by those in power evidence a design to reduce the rights of people to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, it is the people's right, in fact their duty, to engage in a revolution.
Martin Luther King Jr. said 43 years ago next month that it was time for a radical revolution of values in the United States. He preached, "a true revolution of values will soon cause us to question the fairness and justice of many of our past and present policies." It is clearer than ever that now is the time for radical change.
Look at what our current system has brought us and ask if it is time for a revolution?
Over 2.8 million people lost their homes in 2009 to foreclosure or bank repossessions - nearly 8,000 each day - higher numbers than the last two years when millions of others also lost their homes.
At the same time, the government bailed out Bank of America, Citigroup, AIG, Bear Stearns, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the auto industry and enacted the troubled asset (TARP) program with $1.7 trillion of our money.
Wall Street then awarded itself over $20 billion in bonuses in 2009 alone, an average bonus on top of pay of $123,000.
At the same time, over 17 million people are jobless right now. Millions more are working part-time when they want and need to be working full-time.
Yet the current system allows one single US senator to stop unemployment and Medicare benefits being paid to millions.
There are now 35 registered lobbyists in Washington, DC, for every single member of the Senate and House of Representatives - at last count 13,739 in 2009. There are eight lobbyists for every member of Congress working on the health care fiasco alone.
At the same time, the US Supreme Court decided that corporations now have a constitutional right to interfere with elections by pouring money into races.
The Department of Justice gave a Get Out of Jail Free card to its own lawyers who authorized illegal torture.
At the same time, another department of government, the Pentagon, is prosecuting Navy SEALS for punching an Iraqi suspect.
The US is not only involved in senseless wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan; the US now maintains 700 military bases worldwide and another 6,000 in the US and our territories. Young men and women join the military to protect the US and to get college tuition and health care coverage and are killed and maimed in elective wars while being the world's police. Wonder whose assets they are protecting and serving?
In fact, the US spends $700 billion directly on the military per year, half the military spending of the entire world - much more than Europe, China, Russia, Iran, Pakistan, North Korea and Venezuela - combined.
The government and private companies have dramatically increased surveillance of people through cameras on public streets and in private places, airport searches, phone intercepts, access to personal computers and compilation of records from credit card purchases, computer views of sites and travel.
The number of people in jails and prisons in the US has risen sevenfold since 1970 to over 2.3 million. The US puts a higher percentage of our people in jail than any other country in the world.
The tea party people are mad at the Republicans, who they accuse of selling them out to big businesses.
Democrats are working their way past depression to anger because their party, despite majorities in the House and Senate, has not made significant advances for immigrants, or women, or unions, or African-Americans, or environmentalists, or gays and lesbians, or civil libertarians, or people dedicated to health care, or human rights, or jobs or housing or economic justice. Democrats also think their party is selling out to big business.
Forty-three years ago next month, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. preached in Riverside Church in New York City that "a time comes when silence is betrayal." He went on to condemn the Vietnam War and the system that created it and other clearly apparent injustices. "We as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values. We must rapidly begin the shift from a 'thing-oriented' society to a 'person-oriented' society. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, materialism and militarism are incapable of being conquered."
It is time.
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Comments
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You say -->" ...We must
Tue, 03/09/2010 - 15:51 β Anonymous (not verified)You say -->" ...We must rapidly begin the shift from a "thing-oriented" society to a "person-oriented" society. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, materialism and militarism are incapable of being conquered."
You would grow government to solve the problem? And shrink profits of the private sector? Who pays for your agenda if there are no profits? Who will work if there is no "property" to work for?
We already spend more than half the year working for the government.
The dream of America is that people can move from nothing to making a comfortable living. To tax them, control them, redistribute their wealth and take away their property - destroys their incentive. Why work if the government is going to pay them not to? That's bigger government than we have now. We must shrink the evil beast of government - not grow it even bigger!
There is no argument here
Tue, 03/09/2010 - 17:57 β Ghospigeon (not verified)There is no argument here about "throwing out government" or "banning profits" to corporations, It's about excess, short-sightedness and inefficiency in both. Reform has proved impotent in the face of American power blocks and revolution is a rapidly becoming the last alternative to the consolidation of both private power interests and their government functionaries. Nobody wants to engage in one, but what choices are their left? We need reform that reflects a revolution in values and we need it now.
Please note the oaths taken
Tue, 03/09/2010 - 18:21 β Markosjal (not verified)Please note the oaths taken by US Military personnel. Their FIRST obligation is to defend the CONSTITUTION, Where are they now that the Constitution has been abolished? The oath to follow orders come AFTER defending the constitution.
In the Armed Forces EXCEPT the National Guard (Army or Air)
I, (NAME), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.
In the National Guard (Army or Air)
I, (NAME), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the State of (STATE NAME) against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the Governor of (STATE NAME) and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to law and regulations. So help me God.
I want a revolution,
Tue, 03/09/2010 - 22:16 β Anonymous (not verified)I want a revolution, too!
The problem is, it'll get ugly really quickly...and we will LOSE.
We will lose to people who are already full of hatred, who already carry guns, and who already have a lifetime of practice at single-mindedly focusing on promoting, protecting, and shoving down our throats their own best interests.
I want a revolution, too; but we must be careful what we wish for.
Anonymous 15:51, we need to
Tue, 03/09/2010 - 22:42 β Anonymous (not verified)Anonymous 15:51, we need to do both!
Consider all the things listed in the article: illegal wars, imperial bases around the world, and corporate bail-outs, to name just a few. Defund those--seriously, not one more copper penny--and you suddenly have enough money to pay for health insurance, provide an excellent education, offer preschool and daycare, forgive mortgage failures brought on by deceptive lending practices, restore shattered retirement funds, protect the environment and food supply, fight pollution, increase fuel efficiency, regulate monopolistic industrial giants, ..., and STILL end up with a smaller government.
"Smaller government" doesn't eliminate the possibility of new programs, new services, new agencies.
It's the underlying culture
Tue, 03/09/2010 - 23:29 β Jan Lundberg (not verified)It's the underlying culture that has to change. If a movement doesn't reflect this fundamental truth, then changes that are demanded are probably limited to slicing up the pie differently -- when it may be a poisonous pie.
We need to go deeper than a political revolution. First, it needs to be peaceful (to distinguish its values from today's dominant powers). But from Quigley's column it seems possible that the revolution he's calling for is of the outmoded variety, whereby it turned out there was a changing of the guard, a new boss, and the trashing of nature for progress continued. In any case, it's good to look to MLK Jr. who was and is right on.
Sorry to burst any bubbles, but far more significant to our lives and future generations than any social movement today is the impact of two runaway trains: the collapsing economy (or petrocollapse) and Nature's batting last.
To learn more about culture change, see http://www.culturechange.org
What mechanisn of revolution
Wed, 03/10/2010 - 00:08 β Staggo (not verified)What mechanisn of revolution do you advocate? I reject violence, as did Martin Luther King. With me, this basic tenet is not negotiable.
"You know, the I Ching says
Wed, 03/10/2010 - 01:02 β Anonymous (not verified)"You know, the I Ching says you must never confront evil directly, because then it learns how to defend itself. The hippies were certainly no threat to the government as a military force, but as an example, as a model for others to follow, I think they scared them to death. They were probably very happy to see them all turn into Weathermen and begin hurling molotov cocktails. *That* they understood. They could relate to that. But flowers in the barrels of their guns spelled ruin and defeat, and they knew it."
-Terence McKenna
If you want to understand
Wed, 03/10/2010 - 04:34 β Mark-in-Seattle (not verified)If you want to understand more deeply the steps necessary to bring about a radical realignment of politics in the US read the a very informative book "The Populist Moment - A Short History of the Agrarian Revolt in America" by Lawrence Goodwyn. This is the seminal (condensed) history of the Populist Movement which began in the 1880's. The author also comments on the relevance of the Populist Movement in the arc of modern progressive efforts.
Bless them, the populists almost pulled off a staggering revolution against monopoly capitalism, however I believe today we will have to settle for radical "localism"; breaking up large urban cities into smaller local neighborhood governments. Take 70% of what large city government does today and push that down to the local large neighborhood level, leaving only the things which benefit from city wide scale for the traditional urban city gov. I am proposing a new form of hyper-localism, which dovetails with the sustainability movement ... etc. IF - we could accomplish that huge task, in my hometown of Seattle, then the next step would involve pulling out of as many US federal programs as feasible in an effort to wean ourselves from the national government to the greatest extent possible - very hard stuff.
The only revolution we need
Wed, 03/10/2010 - 04:49 β Anonymous (not verified)The only revolution we need is to restore true CAPITALISM instead of corporate welfare state. Government should be used as a means of controlling abuses of power, resources by corporations instead of holding the bags for them while they steal. Capitalism mean FREE COMPETITION FOR PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION OF GOODS AND SERVICES AS LONG AS THIS FREEDOM DOES NOT POISON OUR WATER, AIR AND ENVIRONMENT. Profit should be reasonable, two to three times the money market rate, depending on the rate at different times. Under no circumstance should producers of goods and services should be allowed to take advantage of people's misfortune by jacking providers profit. We must create a party of the people united for true capitalism...
Hey folks, If that little
Wed, 03/10/2010 - 06:59 β Joe the dreamer (not verified)Hey folks,
If that little calculator app runs correctly- the banker 'bonuses' could have created about 1 MILLION minimum wage jobs...
Capitalism, real CAPITALISM' being the cure is f--king absurd. It has not and will not ever exist. Just the right wings favorite son- monopoly capitalism that tells them what to think...
Anyhow, a revolution will come or we, the Hu, will disappear from this planet. For the current way forward is into a wall at best.
Cheers,
Joe
A genuine revolution is
Wed, 03/10/2010 - 10:10 β Ancient Londoner (not verified)A genuine revolution is certainly needed and I'm watching these pages to see it develop.
One thing seems certain to me, however, this one will bear little if any resemblance in form to previous ones.
In the UK the most promising signs are to be found in the evidence of a new consciousness in such comedians as Marcus Brigstock. Even economic pundits sometimes show signs of sanity.
Truthout serves a noble
Wed, 03/10/2010 - 12:17 β You're looking in the wrong place (not verified)Truthout serves a noble purpose, but is completely devoted all the same to individual subjectivity as the font of all wisdom.
No revolution can ever succeed on that basis.
It's easy to call for
Wed, 03/10/2010 - 15:20 β Deaconblue (not verified)It's easy to call for "revolution" without providing any solutions. What would the revolution create to replace our system? Socialism? How's the track record for that system of government look? The US is the most successful country in history. We need less federal power, not more.
"smart bombs and dumb kids"
Wed, 03/10/2010 - 20:08 β Anonymous (not verified)"smart bombs and dumb kids" It's not just a joke anymore!
It has been time for a long
Thu, 03/11/2010 - 00:44 β Evolver Social Movement (not verified)It has been time for a long time. We need to rid ourselves of this messed up system called the US government. There are people that are working on doing so. www.evolver.net is a place where people are discussing sustainable living and alternatives to the system we are sold. There are spore groups where people meet in person in over 30 cities world-wide. This is a movement and it is gaining steam everyday. Things can change, will change and you can help.
Chris, It's our world to change
www.evolver.net
www.realitysandwich.com
""Young men and women join
Thu, 03/11/2010 - 02:48 β samosamo (not verified)""Young men and women join the military to protect the US and to get college tuition and health care coverage and are killed and maimed in elective wars while being the world's police. Wonder whose assets they are protecting and serving?""This is what people like dick cheney or w, or c.rice or rumsfeld, rove and a host of others ostensibly call keeping america SAFE when it is in reality protecting those responsible for the rape, grand larceny, harm and death of the people of this country while protecting the elite's assests and wealth. Unforturnately, those very victims are just as responsible for their own plight by not having the sense and curiosity to research and educate themselves about the reality of what is happening which does have the subverted MSM doing everything in the conservative owner's power to keep those victims pacified, dumb and numb and until the MSM is broken up and made so all views can be spread over the main waves of msm, absolutely NOTHING will change.
Most Americans are too damn
Thu, 03/11/2010 - 13:20 β Rick Reed (not verified)Most Americans are too damn lazy to plant a carrot.
We must? Darn right we must. But I think it too far gone to fix and the anchors hanging out our sterns are too many.
The 1st lady had it right when she hinted for people to grow a garden. OR?...stock up on 83 cases of BBQ sauce. HA!
Yes we must. We must learn how to take care of ourselves again and that starts in your own damn life and backyard with the beautiful grass that does no good.
*Logger who sits on a mountain top watching it all go to hell! Peace!
I am ready for the
Thu, 03/11/2010 - 17:46 β Cece (not verified)I am ready for the revolution.
I love Martin Luther King. Read John Cory's I am Angry.
I am Angry too. Aren't you?!
Haven't you had enough? Can we all really sit back and let it all be destroyed? We can sit here and read and write to a host of great sites like Truthout, but do NOTHING? and then blame the powers that be?
I just want to know to know - where do I sign up?
This article only purported
Thu, 03/11/2010 - 19:26 β Frances in California (not verified)This article only purported to give Reasons. It's been painfully obvious my whole life (I am not young) that WE have to come up with the Solutions. Stop jumping at shadows every time some rightwingnut tells you to fear "commies" - READ, and try to do so quickly because time is running out. Read Naomi Klein; read John Perkins; understand that the only salvation available to humankind right now is pure Horizontalism. Question every single order that comes from anywhere or anyone not willing to be eye-level with you. Do not act until you are satisfied that the order is valid; to check the validity of orders, look in your own heart.
Time and past time!!!
Fri, 03/12/2010 - 01:09 β anand arupo (not verified)Time and past time!!!
There is a revolution
Mon, 03/15/2010 - 04:41 β Mercurious (not verified)There is a revolution already going on; the fact that significant numbers of people are suggesting publicly we need one proves that. The more important questions is: Will the numbers of those already in revolution be sufficient to manifest real change in society?
I think it's possible today. We have already seen a 'revolution' in consumer spending as we turned as a herd from spending patterns considered to be nearly inviolate. Things can happen that fast if there is a galvanizing event or perception.
I suggest that we all tune out commentary on the political process, who is winning, is my side going to prevail, how can those cretins on the left/right do whatever, ad nauseum. It gets us nowhere.
We don't need leaders. We need to BECOME leaders ourselves. Figure out what you can do to save your own ass, your family, your friends, your community, other communities, your country, your world. Get off you butt and learn. Turn off the diversionary narcotics of entertainment long enough to see how magnificently you are being hosed each and every day.
The revolution is already here. We just are waiting to find out if it's going to be successful or whether we're going to enter into another Dark Night for humanity.
We definitely need a
Thu, 03/18/2010 - 02:05 β Anonymous (not verified)We definitely need a revolution of some kind. A violent revolution will never work, but the system is so broken that it has to change in a fundamental way. This is because it has become impossible to make the necessary changes within the system. It is completely rigged for corporations and against people, for the rich and against everyone else, for warfare and imprisonment and against peace and freedom....
But how? And will enough people actually participate? I doubt it. People are too afraid, too selfish. I think we are doomed to failure. If a crisis as big as almost repeating the Great Depression isn't enough to cause meaningful reform, if the Bush administration lying and committing war crimes and disregarding the Constitution and federal laws isn't enough to get them prosecuted, if the biggest thread humans have ever faced (global warming) isn't enough to get us to change the way we generate power, only a huge crisis will be enough. But a crisis that huge will be enough to be the downfall of our country.