I once heard Al Gore talk about why he didn’t push back against the 2000 election . “Because that way lies revolution,” he said. No one picked it up, it wasn’t reported in the media. But I thought that was notable.
And now I know what he meant. Because I see the system now as so rotted, so thoroughly corrupt, that I don’t see any other solution. And I don’t want it (for God’s sake, I’m in my 50s, I’d rather be chilling!), but it’s beginning to look inevitable. Is it just me, and people like me, who are immersed in this stuff?
Or do regular people feel this way, too?
Nope not just you, Id rather watch the GOP burn this POS country to the ground rather than watch the scumbag dems sell us out piece by piece. Its why this lifelong dem will never vote again!
problem is, if there is a revolution, the better-armed, better-funded armies of the right will win.
is today a good day to die?
Well, I think we do need a revolution, but not an armed one. Wisconsin and Ohio give me hope that a popular uprising/revolution is in the works. Small hope, certainly, but I’m really surprised at the size of the crowds in Madison, every. single. day. And now Vermont is pushing for a state-wide single-payer insurance system. California, Illinois, washington are building high(er) speed passenger rail systems. All of which was unimaginable in the political climate four years ago.
All that is unimportant now, we’ll have to wait and see what steps forward and steps back we’ve taken come late summer 2012.
I think the revolution will start with the tea party, or more correctly, the tea party will ignite it. I wish we didn’t “own” the UN.
Real change in the US has never come via the ballot box and has never been led by Washington. It took a Civil War to end slavery; it took hunger strikes and bombings to win votes for women; it took massive workers strikes and street violence to bring about employment law changes and New Deal legislation; it took massive civil disobedience accompanied by threats of violence from a smaller element to end Jim Crow; it took massive street protest accompanied by violence from smaller elements to end the Vietnam War. And all that also took decades of strife, not a year or two.
American history is very instructive about how change comes in this country. Power never cedes itself voluntarily or out of the goodness of its own heart.
I honestly don’t see any possible solution within the system anymore. I don’t want to see violent revolution, but there needs to be some organized resistance on the left soon or we are dead.
We need people out in the streets protesting. We also need to use new technologies. We need some hackers on our side to help the resistance. Like you, I’m really too old to be doing this. I protested in the streets in the ’60s and I guess I’m going to have to do it again.
I’m currently reading Ted Rall’s book, “The Anti-American Manifesto,” which argues for revolution. I’ve really reached that point. This country is headed for economic collapse, and who will step in to govern then? “Christian” fascists, most likely.
Unfortunately, revolution seems inevitable given that the economy seems headed for a collapse and a major political faction seems anxious to start one. Welcome to “Christian” America. You are right though, you really don’t want to live in a country where all the institutions have failed. Things tend to get very ugly.
Most of the people I work with, not immersed like those here, but intelligent enough to be aware, are quite convinced that our system of government is irrevocably broken. All they need is that final push to make them aware that active resistance is the only means of righting these wrongs.
Gore turned tail when he saw that the Bushites were prepared to make the revolution. He didn’t cease from making a revolution, he ALLOWED THE REVOLUTION. He was a coward who did not fight for his country against the revolution.
Susie, I’ve never heard this before about Al Gore. Do you have more info to share about his statement?