The Real Revolution

There comes a time in any creeping fascist takeover where the masses, long lulled into slumber with songs of sex and fear, begin to get restive. The shackles start to chafe, the chains become heavier, the lash of the whip stings a little more each time and at some point, dull eyes start to stir and shouts of anger start to resound throughout the mob.

And what a very large mob it is. Chains or no, should the slaves awaken en masse they would crush their masters like so many bugs. The slave-masters are not stupid. They know this moment must come, that, at some point, their oppression must become so severe that they will rebel. And so, they plan. For the most part their plans are ways of putting down revolts and putting out insurrections, and they have at their disposal a vast - and very expensive - arsenal of tools with which to do so. It's large enough that I don't need to go into it in any detail, for if you cannot bring to mind a hundred such yourself you've obviously been paying so little attention these past several years as to qualify for clinical brain-death.

However, there comes a time when all the tools at your disposal are of no use in putting out the fires.

But don't despair, because there's a plan for that too. If you cannot extinguish the fire, perhaps its time to switch metaphors and think about channeling a river swelling with an ongoing deluge. The large, dumb herd are, after all, still easily controlled, not because its members are individually stupid but because they have not had time to really take a good look around them. They're panicked and bleary-eyed, and, unused to ordering their own lives, still looking for someone, anyone, to tell them what to do.

It's happened in every revolution throughout history. The people's rage grows too great, and they revolt ... but since they're not paying attention to the direction of their rage, they inevitably succeed in little more but clearing away those last few pathetic bastions of protection they had left and, when the energy is expended and the water, as it were, once more returned to the sea, they find their servitude infinitely worse.

That's the pattern, you see, an archetypal tragedy that repeats itself throughout history. You can look on it as a test that will be admistered to humanity until humanity passes it. We only get one more try at it or we flunk the semester entirely, so, we'd best get it right this time.

Well. All the pieces are in place, aren't they? The intelligent, handsome, young and charismatic leader is in place, with his legions of devoted fans who will do absolutely anything he says without ever pausing to reflect on what, precisely, he is saying. I'm sure it hasn't escaped your attention that Fox News has been dropping hints of rioting in the streets, with notables such as Glen Beck even beginning to mutter darkly about revolt.

It's a word that's getting tossed about a lot, these days, but as I've been trying to emphasize throughout in this little essay it's very important to pay close attention to who's using it, and if they're not (shall we say) a trustworthy sort maybe you'd best have a close listen to all the words they throw in to fill up the space between 'revolution'.

And that brings me to this.



This is such a transparent attempt to do what I've just been talking about I'm almost embarrased to go into the details because it will feel like I'm insulting your intelligence. But what the heck, I'll proceed just for the sheer fun of ripping into it, and we'll just hope it's a fun ride.

So first we have the Founding Father getup, together with the props and the Constitution in the background. Really fantastic production values for a youtube video, too, aren't they? And so very appropriate, given the audience they're trying to manipulate, triggering archetypes that resound strongly within the imaginations of, I think it's fair to say, a fair number of the people who are seething mad at what's been done to their country these last few years (or is it only these past few weeks? Everyone wakes up at a different pace, you know.)

He talks a lot about illegal immigrants stealing tax-paying Americans' entitlements and foreigners stealing hardworking Americans' jobs, and sure, these are terrible things but ... those are about the only grievances he really addresses. Not exactly appealing to our better natures, is he?

On the strength of this, he then goes on to call for a three million man march on Washington, one that will close down the government, sweep in, and what was it? Oh yes, "Throw out of office every congressman and woman who didn't bother to read the biggest spending bill in history before voting for it." And how many of those congresscritters are left in office then, hmm? How long until elections?

Right.

Still, so far you might still be able to cut the guy some slack. I mean, I'm no fan of Congress, and would in truth not be displeased to see it unseated in a popular uprising (well, I'm a Canadian so it's not directly treasonous of me to say that but let me add that I extend this low opinion to most every legislative body on the planet.) The question, of course, it's not so much the desiribility of eliminating the one but what, precisely, is to come after it and it is at this point that, beside our would-be anonymous Founding Father, the talking-point BRING BACK UNIVERSAL SERVICE. "Ask not what your country can do for you..." appears and we all know whose platform that is.

Fancy you'll look good in a uniform? I hear there's positions in the work brigades. Just get on the bus with the soldiers and they'll take you out to the camp. Word is you get a whole five hundred calories a day. Oh, did we mention one way or another, you've gotta fulfil the new universal service requirment?

Right.

Have I completely skewered the credibility of this evil clown for you yet? Because if you haven't noticed that is the intent of this little commentary. I want that credibility torn to shreds, its stinking corpse tossed on the growing mountain of the mainstream corprorate media, just one more casualty of the infowar. But make no mistake, a more pernicious one than most.

He's already done some damage. His Stimulus Package has been up a week and it's gotten a million views, and while I'm sure a lot of those viewers thought exactly the same thing I did when they saw it I'm sure there were a few who didn't, who just weren't awake enough to notice and are thinking, hey, yeah, maybe that's a good idea....

And a couple of months down the line, when the temperatures and tempers are both running hot, and this poison pill of a video gets out to ten million rather than one, well....

I'm sure you see where this is going.

That's why I want this thing dead. I'm sure I'm not the only one who sees this, and if others are writing the same thing I am now than good. Let a hue and cry be raised that gets heard by every single person who's seen this video, so that rather than the seed of a new failed revolution it becomes just one more ruined plot, an interesting footnote of internet history that we'll look back on, four years from now, and chuckle over, as just one more example of our oppressor's grand foolishness.

I'll confess I have yet to watch the whole video. Lazy of me, I know, but then this creep was giving me an awful feeling right from the moment I laid eyes on him. Reflecting on why, precisely, I was experiencing this strong, instinctive and visceral hostility didn't take very long, though. Pretty much up to the point that the 'universal service' part arrives, at which point I decided to make it my personal mission to crush this bug.

However, in the interests of completeness, I shall go and finish it now, and if you have not yet done so feel free to do the same.

Back?

Great. Though I confess I have very little to add. Oh, he talks about not starting wars you're not willing to finish (thus priming the pump for a truly bullheaded attempt to force the world's hands through arms) . Talks a lot about the military in fact, a lot of very militaristic messages including the penultimate admonition to go out and get a gun. But then, we already knew that was the sort of thing this sick fascist plant is about, don't we? Greed and violence, it's how they rule, after all, so those are the buttons they're trying to push.

Well, I've said my piece here. At this point you either agree with me or you don't but if you do, you no doubt want to crush this thing as badly as I do. So if you see this video get linked at another blog, link this essay, too. Or write your own denunciation (I'm sure you could find dozens of things to go after that I've left untouched), post it in the comments section of another blog or make it a blog-post yourself. Make video responses that expose this thing, tell your friends and family, get into the comment strings on youtube of anyone who's got this up as a favorite, do whatever it is you do or can do and if we all shout this thing down loudly enough, we might just be able to neutralize it. Sure, that's a lot of effort and maybe it seems silly to get worked up over a silly youtube video but ... I like silly. I'd prefer it stayed that way. And if we all just keep on laughing at it, it will.

That, my friends, is how the real Second Revolution will proceed. This is just one battle amongst many, but it's one we can win.

Note: yeah, yeah, I know, you already read this. I wanted to republish so the URL wouldn't be a dead giveaway. Live 'n' learn....