Quote:
|
Originally Posted by willravel
Edit: Imagine that everyone in the US was few up with the Iraq war and wanted it to end tomorrow. Imagine that a very charismatic anti-war leader spoke up and was able to convince 60% of the population to stop paying taxes as a form of nonviolent civil disobedience until the government developed and passed a set of definite deadlines for pulling out. That's the best way to defend yourself from the government: use the power of the people. We are a big, big population and as much as the government would like us to think otherwise, they are almost completely dependent on us. We hold power over them.
|
This is the most important and truest statement I have seen on this Politics forum in awhile.
People complain but they don't change anything except to take rights away (i.e. smoking in public, that's a business owners decision).
Somewhere, we decided to give the government the power to control our lives. We did so in the name of "for the good of the public". But what we have done in the long run is stolen rights from our children and named them "priveleges", taken choices away, played partisan politics, acted as selfish 2nd graders, sued and demanded government do things that we ourselves can do..... we don't have to demand Imus be fired, we don't need an FCC to step in and fine CBS for Janet Jackson's tit... we can just change the channel write letters to the stations, etc. But it is easier for us to sit on our asses and let the government do it for us.... or complain that the government is doing something instead of standing up and demanding government get the fuck out of it and let the people FREELY decide.
All the while we have truly ignored Rome burning.
If people put forth the effort to stop the war, to rebuild our educational system, to make this country great again, to close the economic gaps, to maintain a healthcare system that works, to demand the end of fossil fuel needs and to get things moving forward rather than stay the same and not so much as rebuild what is falling apart.... that they do in complaining over how others live, what rights they want to name as "priveleges" so they can regulate them and take them away because they offended ...... we would live in a much better, freer, happier country.
Aw well I ramble.... good post Will.
