« | Home | »

Don’t Start The Revolution Without Me

Topics: Politics | 8 CommentsBy admin | June 14, 2009

Are you happy with the way things are? If not, are you brave enough to change them?


Are Americans Too Apathetic To Do This?

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about our social contract, and how the Right of Revolution is written right into the second paragraph of America’s Declaration of Indpendence. Why has this been on my mind? Because I honestly think our system of government is broken. I mean, broken from a citizen’s point of view; from the point of view of those who rule, everything’s pretty much how they like it. The masses are busy watching TV and laboring to buy things they can’t afford, and the power structure is resistant to anything short of a lobby group that’s backed by millions of dollars, or an all out revolution. And things are failing. Education is failing, health care is an atrocity, financial institutions have failed, major industries are collapsing, and even basic civility has taken a major hit over the last 20 or 30 years. So when will we as a collective react? I was inspired a little bit recently when a friend pointed me to a bunch of information about Situationist International, the French movement of the 50′s and 60′s that is credited with motivating the May 1968 wildcat strikes that literally brought France to a standstill. Why? Because in my view, nothing has been more detrimental to what I value as an American than the Ayn Randian pursuit of self interest and wealth, driven by the lie that greedy entrepeneurship would have some kind of dividend for society as a whole. As I watch friends (who bought into this system and worked hard at careers because of its promised security) lose their jobs, and in some cases their homes, I can’t help thinking there’s a different solution. And I see some interesting ideas in Situationists values; in his 1967 book Society of the Spectacle, Guy Debord argued that “spectacular features” like mass media and advertising have a central role in an advanced capitalist society, which is to show a fake reality in order to mask the real capitalist degradation of human life. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not anti-capitalist (and I’m no political scientist!), but I don’t think the capitalist society we live in is the same one that our grandfathers lived in. I feel safe in saying that our country is more like an oligarchical technocracy, in which second and third generation wealth derived from industry has made it nearly impossible for a hardworking capitalist to break out of his social strata. So what do you think. Are you tired of the way things are? Are you tired of the anxiety of not having your car, home, or credit cards payed off? Do you owe thousands of dollars for student loans that didn’t provide you with the education that got you the job that was supposed to help you pay them off? Do you think, especially given the corruption of democracy we’ve seen in the past decade, and the new administration’s commitment to the status quo, that your vote matters? I don’t. If you’re ready for a revolution, give me a call. I won’t wait up though, I’m pretty sure you’re just fine with the way things are.

Iranians don’t seem to be taking it lying down….

These photos are from Mousavi1388′s photostream:

Read Comments

  1. Posted by jeannie beanie on 06.14.09 3:34 pm

    Thanks Ian… I so agree with you….It actually hurt my heart a little to read and let the words sink in pass my brain. Feel that in my body. I feel this more often these days
    I am anxious. Being a person who lives on the edges of most things and felt pretty good about that for several decades; the specter of what is happening around me is more than beginning to parade into my daily consciousness in less positive ways. I have to work harder in my mind, to move with an open heart and not get caught in the glass half empty when I can change that thinking immediately to fullness and joy. Attitudinal adjustments make my world a kinder, nicer place.
    When I think of revolution, I think about what is it that I wish to ‘revolve’ around, evolve into; give of my energy to that which creates an open circle to work in to and from?
    I am of the mind that to ‘think globally act locally’ is where I best can make a difference.
    I think our government is business as usually and still considers those ‘with’ than those ‘without’. I’m not much for trusting political forces.

    I wonder what happened to being nice and expressing kindness?
    If we stay fearful.. we get fear. the media does a fine job of supporting a fear based world and most of us jump right on the train and point a passing finger at who’s the asshole who did that, this and whatever.

    I say… check in with what scares you. Step into your fears. What keeps you mad, sad, frustrated, annoyed, hesitant, overly protective, cranky, needy, hateful, resistant, self righteous, angry and….etc???
    Identify that, acknowledge that, find a way to work through it. CAuse YOU are the Change that has to happen to make this a better world. Not those people over there, or where ever you’re waggin’ your finger or gabbin’ off at the mouth about.

    now that I have had my little rant…. I’m thinking well of you and you and you and you…
    let’s be nice…

    So what do you think. Are you tired of the way things are? Are you tired of the anxiety of not having your car, home, or credit cards payed off? Do you owe thousands of dollars for student loans that didn’t provide you with the education that got you the job that was supposed to help you pay them off? Do you think, especially given the corruption of democracy we’ve seen in the past decade, and the new administration’s commitment to the status quo, that your vote matters? I don’t. If you’re ready for a revolution, give me a call. I won’t wait up though, I’m pretty sure you’re just fine with the way things are.

  2. Posted by admin on 06.15.09 8:29 am

    Thanks for sharing your thoughts Jeanne. We should give you a section here on DP, haha.

    But seriously, I agree COMPLETELY with the notion you allude to, that ongoing positive small acts are very important.

    But I also think that there is such a profound disparity between haves and have-nots at a time in history when the world as a whole is more enlightened about many things than ever before in history, and when the resources are available to take care of everyone, and plentifully.

    And in AMERICA, Jesus H Chrysler. We used to be the Good Guys. What the hell has happened? I have a personal theory (and lots of old geezers over 70 agree with me on this) that what we need is a war, a depression, or a revolution. People have wandered so far up their own asses that they look at you funny when you say hi and smile at them.

    I exaggerate, of course; my little world is much more positive than that on a day-to-day basis, and partly because I live in a cute little midwestern college town with tree-lined streets and bums that live better than half of the population of India.

    So operators are standing by whenever anybody’s ready to mobilize.

  3. Posted by jeannie beanie on 06.16.09 8:19 am

    calling calling.. full a beanieo calling, are we there yet.. are we?
    oh ya..
    ya. give me a section. like what could that mean.. over n’ out..over the river and through the woods n’outta my mind..

  4. Posted by » Revolutionary Holiday Ideas For July - Dissociated Press on 07.01.09 7:28 am

    [...] the US celebrates its independence on July 4, and Bastille Day is on July 14. We’ve been prattling on a lot lately about our right to revolution, so if you feel the motives utilized by both the French [...]

  5. Posted by » Did You Take The Red Pill Or The Blue Pill? - Dissociated Press on 07.24.09 8:24 am

    [...] – if they’re paying attention -  wouldn’t be a little undecided, in a time when both near-socialists like myself and a rabid neo-con like like Free Republic’s Jim Robinson joke about the need for [...]

  6. Posted by » America: Land Of The Fleeced & Home Of The Brazen - Dissociated Press on 01.24.10 2:09 pm

    [...] on the topic. All of this left me rather unsettled, but what really has finally made me consider chucking the social contract altogether was the massive bank and insurance industry bailouts and the recent supreme court decision to grant [...]

  7. Posted by » The American Revolution - Dissociated Press on 04.10.10 10:37 pm

    [...] while the only folks that are really taking action are crazier than a soup sandwich. So while I joke about the need for revolution in America, part of me is dead serious. Although I don’t think a violent revolt is necessary, [...]

  8. Posted by Benrik’s “Situationist” iPhone App | dissociatedpress.com on 03.11.11 10:12 pm

    [...] of the 50′s and 60′s known as Situationist International (whom we’ve discussed before) the answer is a definitive “yes”. I love the added layer of irony that in order to [...]