Frankenstein’s Monster

On August 8, in “Turns Out We Are Mad as Hell,” Cindy Sheehan at After Downing Street excerpted comments from someone whose sentiments were typical of those that Cindy received about her original posting (“I’m Perturbed as Heck”).

I think that this person’s comments are really helpful and indicative of the struggle going on among very many people right now:

"I'm just another lame American afraid to change my whole life...I shouldn't have to. But that's hardly the point, I know. It seems pretty late in the game to still be looking for alternatives to armed revolution. But I am sooo non-violent. I'm still just asking for someone else to do it."

For dramatic social change to occur – which is exactly what is called for at this juncture, as increasing numbers of people are realizing - some people do have to change their whole life (as Cindy Sheehan did).

Along with that a much, much larger number of people need to do things that are out of the ordinary. They must do things that contribute to major social change. They don’t have to turn their whole lives upside down, but they DO have to step out and take a stand. In other words, both the Cindy’s of the world must emerge – a lot more of them - AND millions of less known people must step forward in smaller, but real ways.

If you aren't going to change your whole life, then the contradiction that "we the people are literally being ignored" (as the person who wrote to Cindy also stated) still has to be addressed by literally millions. The time for asking someone else to do it must be brought to a decisive end.

As I've written at After Downing Street and elsewhere, for instance, here, the majority sentiment for impeachment and, probably at this point, for criminal trials, needs to be made visible. THE PEOPLE have to stop confining themselves to pleading with our elected representatives to do the right thing. The Democratic Party leadership isn't going to do the right thing. They have made this crystal clear. In fact, they are spectacularly doing many of the most inexcusable things one could imagine.

THE PEOPLE must show themselves and assert their power. Nothing else will do. With this we have a chance to drive out the Bush Regime and without this we will not. The suffocating, frustrating, infuriating feelings that so very many people have must find a release and a vehicle for expression.

This is what the Declare It Now: Wear Orange campaign is designed to do. It's about making the invisible mass sentiment manifest and it's about declaring yourself - publicly – against the immoral, inhumane, murderous, criminal, irrationalist cabal who are ruling this country and wreaking havoc upon - and gravely endangering - the planet.

If just 2% of the 58%+ who want to see Bush and Cheney gone were to wear orange in their daily lives (ribbons, armbands, t-shirts, etc.) then we would have a sea of millions of people wearing orange and the unmistakable signs of a major cultural shift.

Does anyone think that anything less than this will suffice in these times of terrible danger and peril? Has the Democratic Party and the mass media done anything to disprove this proposition? Are they not everyday reinforcing in graphic ways the truth that the people must take things into our own hands?

The people in charge now are determined to prevent genuine democratic action from breaking out. They hope to confine people’s activities to those actions that will not jeopardize the existing order and the existing – and expanding - extraordinary disparities of wealth and power. They are hoping to lull us into putting all of our hopes into the 2008 elections.

The Bush regime is one pretextual incident away from declaring martial law. They stole the last two presidential elections. The Democratic Party presidential hopefuls deemed by the mass media as legitimate – Clinton, Obama and Edwards – have all signed onto the White House’s threats on Iran and the essentials of the rest of the Bush program. As stupid as Bush is, do you think that he and the rest of his cabal who believe that they are on a mission from God and who believe that they talk directly to God, are dumb and fair-minded enough to allow themselves and their vicious agenda to be simply voted out of power?

The people in charge are counting on being able to carry out their despicable program through their command and control over the major organs of political power and in the mass media. They continue to shield these despicable tyrants in the White House like Frankenstein’s creator sought to protect his monster from the outraged villagers. The time for pitchforks and blazing torches and marching on the house on the hill is here.

The enablers and apologists for this criminal White House continue to insist that impeachment is "off the table." What is this table that the Democratic Party thinks impeachment cannot be on, but talk of a nuclear strike on Iran, can be on? What kind of system treats impeachment as verboten and treats war crimes and torture as legitimate? What kind of fools would we be to be sucked in by this criminal craziness?

We have to find a way to mobilize the people of this country directly and in ways that do not depend upon favorable media and public official attention.

This way - this path - exists. It involves the people refusing to any longer forsake their power and to undertake collective, independent actions as THE PEOPLE. We either take this path - and soon - or we will be forced to accept more and more horrors under this regime and its enablers. 2008 is too late. Now is the time.