Folks aren’t going to stop working when their jobs are the only thing keeping a roof over their heads and food on the table. It won’t happen.

Stopping empty/needless consumerism is a more feasible solution, but also an extremely difficult task.

Good discussion, all.

I have no problem understanding a persons relationship to technology. My problem arises from the notion of being under the necessity of doing something comparable in the context of possession and thought. It is very probable that I would run after you in the cold if you take away my computer. Would I run after you in the cold if you are silent on Obama telling us a nuclear Iran is unacceptable, whereas a nuclear, chemical and biological Isreal, a notorious criminal beyond reasonable doubt, is in defiance of “international law” acceptable and even defendable? I very probably would not.

I have read the news in the link you have chosen as an example of change, “Thousands of shoes tie up Miami freeway traffic.”
As Magarulian said, If people were denied the use of their personal, private automobiles (for whatever reason)- all hell would break loose in this country!”
The Miami shoes could have angered some drivers evaluating them as a traffic nuisance, could have offered some others a kind of amusement.
Yes, depriving people of personal objects would result in serious mass protest and resistance not only in the US, but also in Europe, whereas obstructing and interrogating a lawyer defending “a prisoner of terrorism” would entail less protest, if any at all.

Now, are ideas of justice and aspirations for local and world peace personal, private possessions? I find it intellectually difficult to enhance my computer (my possession) with which I am writing this post to the level of an idea, a universal concept. In my assessment this approach would lead us nowhere. What is the alternative?
I don ‘t know.

The question then remains what exactly to do? Protests certainly have their place, if only to show people that they are far from alone in their wishes for justice and fairness for all peoples. But protests are little more than sops to conscience, sorry to say, as the millions who marched in protest of the coming invasion of Iraq found out.

Revolution some say, and I agree. But revolutions take more forms than one first considers and to oppose the greatest military force in the world seems futile to me. There are simply far too many good citizens who believe that USA is what it claims to be, a bastion of freedom and a bestower thereof to the world.

I will see a revolution when more than a handful of voters turn out for local and regional elections. I will see a revolution when third party support grows enough to place elected officials in our state and national governments in large enough numbers to advance progressive agendas. Revolution begins with education.

Bozh,
I know we’ve had this conversation before, but I really think you’re wrong about hoping for some political party to ride to the rescue. Although I agree that in theory it could work, it’s just so unlikely that a truly compassionate party would ever be allowed to thrive – it would be too dangerous and put to the sword one way or another. I think your view on the importance of education is closer to the money – educating people to take control of their own lives, to take back power from politicians and restore it where it belongs: in their own hands. David Edwards puts it very well in his book ‘The Compassionate Revolution’:
“If nothing else, hatred of individuals [such as politicians]… might actually fool us into imagining that our leaders are the controllers, rather than the functionaries, of a state-corporate system which selects or rejects ‘leaders’ according to their ability to follow its requirements, and which has long transcended the power of mere individuals. It might even persuade us to imagine that such people – and not we ourselves – have the power to reform the system – one of the most potent controlling delusions of all.”

Free Democracy is a solution
http://www.freedemocrats.co.uk

Garrett asks “If the masses are made aware, what would be the response/reaction? Would anything change? Would people march? Would people boycott various corporations?”

bozh says “a revolution wld change things, of course. but in US it is not likely to happen in decades if ever.”

As a full-time bicyclist for the past 30 years, I can tell you, for certain, that if people were denied the use of their personal, private automobiles (for whatever reason) – all hell would break loose in this country!

If the sheeple were denied their technological toys – cell phones, blackberries, i-pods, facebooks, etc. – all hell would not break loose. These losses would result in much whimpering and in the sucking of thumbs.

I don’t know what this difference means. Both groups (with many overlapers) would do ANYTHING to be able to resume their addictions. The Empire knows this.

Somewhere, there lies an actual revolution against the powers-that-be. The best road to it is stated in the The Declaration of Independence, but who pays any attention to that document anymore?

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

…That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,

…That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

…when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”

“As I said before, everyone stop working. No more toil. We will not be mindless drones for the state any longer. We will not passively accept low pay, no health care, no day care, no retirement guarantess. Enough is enough. Never mind boycotting these bastards. We’ve got to stop making their corporate machines run for them—for nothing but barest survival.”

Reminds me of wisdom from the late, truly great Utah Phillips:

“The bum on the rods is hunted down
As the enemy of mankind
The other is driven around to his club
Is feted, wined and dined.
And they who curse the bum on the rods
As the essence of all that is bad,
Will greet the other with a winning smile,
And extend the hand so glad.

The bum on the rods is a social flea
Who gets an occasional bite,
The bum on the plush is a social leech,
blood sucking day and night.
The bum on the rod is a load so light
That his weight we scarcely feel,
But it takes the labor of dozen of men
To furnish the other a meal.

As long as you sanction the bum on the plush
The other will always be there,
But rid yourself of the bum on the plush
And the other will disappear.
Then make an intelligent, organized kick
Get rid of the weights that crush.
Don’t worry about the bum on the rods,
Get rid of the bum on the flush.”

And of the wise recommendations of Hakim Bey…

bozh; you are a most wonderful contributor to this and other sites. thanks so much for your reasonable thoughts.
i consider myself to be a citizen of earth.
shuting down a country is much much easier than one may think.
no violence except by the pigs. one way; just stop buying stuff. i know i know, you gotta’ buy food and safety and medical etc. but other than that–just stop.
johnathan schell’s book “the unconquerable world” chapter 6.
create the community you want to live in and ignore the govt as best one can.
but for shit sakes, stop whining.

nader has started or may start a second party in US. i do not know whether his bloc is a party or movement.
unfortunately, nader received just about 660,000 votes. fascists appear least worried about it.
they received 98% of votes. a socialist or an opposing party must receive at least 60% of votes to make a dent only. you`d need about 90% of support.

a revolution wld change things, of course. but in US it is not likely to happen in decades if ever.
and the “we“ as i use it means mostly working people. thnx

How do we (who is we?) make the masses aware of plutocratic rule and the many atrocities committed by Uncle Sam? If the masses are made aware, what would be the response/reaction? Would anything change? Would people march? Would people boycott various corporations? Would people form a new political party or join a “3rd” party?

These are questions I consider. I’d like to think a revolution is coming. But when? In what form?

joed,

Many suffer hardship, though not the extreme poverty found in other nations. The plutocracy – with the help of divide and conquer strategies, as well as media distortion and miseducation – won’t allow quite enough hardship for the kind of massive revolt we need.

Sacrifice by whom? In what form?

Hit the streets in what way?

Let’s get specific.

I deeply regret treating you sarcastically and sincerely apologize for that. I understand your bitterness. But how could you get those masses to the streets? Masses celebrating with tears in the eyes the “New” chocolate color president who promised Israel an undivided Jerusalem, who promised to terrorise Pakistan, who promised to keep nuking Iran “on the table” ?
Yes, we are desperate. That is the way it is,,,,, hopeless.

Please, excuse me.

Thank you

Are you a US citizen? If yes, have you ever stood in front of the White House with a bottle of whisky (instead of a gun) in the hand and demanded change? Or do you sit at home and watch Blondies on Fox News?

Thank you