Wars and wealth inequality are both social constructs. They exist and persist because we are used to them. We accept them as normal, and can even believe them to be everlasting – an extension of the animal nature of humanity’s greed and violence.
But every single human on earth would be better off if they didn’t have to worry about war or have to contribute to the billions spent every year on armed conflict. And almost every single person on this planet would be experience a higher quality of life if humankind’s wealth were distributed more equitably.
So it’s not a matter of peace and prosperity being an impossibility – because once we have those things we will only wonder why we waited so long to make them happen. Instead, it’s a matter of getting from our old world and our old-world mindset into the new future that awaits.
We will see that wars are being manufactured by for-profit entities and we can stop them as soon as we choose to. We will see that wealth disparity persists because we haven’t yet done anything about it. We will see that we’ve had the power to fix our world all along, and that all it took is for enough of us to coordinate and mobilize on a global scale.
And there is no better tool for this than the Internet. Our glorious Internet, as long as it remains free from censorship and government overreach, will keep connecting and informing us. Within the coming few years, enough of us see and believe that change is not only possible, it is inevitable. And as we speak out in unison with the power of billions of people, our dreams of peace and ending poverty will be real.
War is one of the world’s biggest money-makers. It accounts for over 1.5 trillion dollars in business every year with billions to be reaped by those sitting atop. These multi-millionaires and billionaires are not content to sit idly by and hope more conflict breaks out. No, like any good business-person, they are out there manufacturing their markets!
And they will do this in perpetuity until something comes along to stop them. Fortunately for us, that something… is us! You and me and billions of people just like you and me.
Together, we are enacting a global ban on war – by the people for the people. It’s time for a change, and we are the ones who get to make it happen. Bold measures must be taken, like holding class action lawsuits against those who enable wars on earth. Be they in public or private service, leaders who drive us to war will be held accountable for the blood that gets spilled. No more forgetting their false pretences.
On top of this, we can continually strip away the grease from proverbial the war-machine. Imagine if, on a global scale, we could invoke a 100% tax on all proceeds made from making and selling weapons and arms. How quickly the drums of war would fall silent.
These billions we’ve been pissing away on war every year on defence budgets can find a much better home improving the world in which we live. Let’s end global poverty, eradicate global hunger, and build a renewable-powered, interconnected world. The future is now, so it’s about time we get our collective act together.
The Occupy movement, along with the similarly-themed uprisings around the world, brought into the mainstream consciousness the idea of wealth disparity, and how a tiny fraction of the population control a vastly disproportionate amount of wealth and power. While these movements have lost some steam, the idea of income inequality can be better discussed in the mainstream forums.
What we need to see now is a social movement which impacts the entire world – bringing an anti-war concept into the mainstream consciousness, spreading and growing for months and years, ultimately culminating in hundred of millions of people all speaking out in unison to say that we are all ready for war to be over.
Wow! That sound’s awesome. Better get busy and make sure it comes to fruition.
Maher pleaded with the American people to do some well needed self-reflection on their own warmongering. After two centuries of perpetual war, it’s time Americans realized “We’re the gun country. Come on, we’re the war people.”
After breaking down the history and concluding the problem lies with America itself, Maher went on to say “America needs to start defining peace as strength. Do you know who the role model for every president should be? Jimmy Carter. He was the one out of all of them who figured out how to sit in office for four years and never fire a shot. And every president’s negative example,” he concluded, “should be Dick Cheney, who even shot his friends in the face.”
I cannot express how thrilled I was to hear these words on an influential US show. When a population of 313 million people – most of whom are surrounded by strife and a crumbling infrastructure – look to their sputtering economy, more and more people need to actively point out the giant elephant in the room.
Right now, America’s military industrial complex devours half of its government’s spending. It doesn’t take a rocket surgeon to see that drastic cuts in military spending would likely yield equally drastic improvements for American families across the land.
But, for the most part, politicians and mainstream media sources remain chillingly silent. This is, as you may well know, due to the entrenched talons of the Military Industrial Complex itself. With billions of dollars to throw around, the war machine can buy both political parties and align all the major news channels, effectively keeping enough anti-war rhetoric from the ears (and off the lips) of the American public.
So, as with all great movements, the struggle to rid our world of war falls on the shoulders of those outside the established seats of power. While it’s great when the Bill Maher’s and John Stewart’s of the world finally vocalize some anti-war sentiments, until there are millions and millions of us doing this every single day, the war machine will keep on rolling.
Fortunately, uniting against war is exactly what we are doing. All it will take is the right spark, the right catalyst, and a Occupy-esque movement can rise against the Military Industrial Complex, and the struggle towards peace will become the latest trendy battle for the masses, maybe even earning the privilege of being trivialized by the mainstream media.
CEOs from a handful of the world’s largest corporations have been meeting in secret, penning blueprints intended to tighten their stranglehold over our planet and further conform our species into complacent consumers.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) – once ratified in under three DAYS TIME!!! – will give global businesses the means to supersede domestic law, imposing pro-corporate legislation on all complicit countries.
If you already know about the World Trade Organization and how they often bully smaller nations into accepting detrimental financial regulations desired by stronger nations, then you’ll recognize the TPP as a further extension of that same mechanism.
This corporate pact – the latest in an unending quest to privatize the world – ultimately seeks to strip regular people of power. Less ways to hold businesses accountable. Fewer means to challenge the authority of big money. All this, plus a fundamental erosion of democratic processes by global forces overpowering sovereign will.
So if you care about your freedom, if you want choice to be more than just an illusion, if you think that people should take priority over profits, then you need to take action. Do something, anything. Even if it’s just signing a petition.
The sooner enough of us stand up to our burgeoning oppressors, the sooner we can reclaim our destiny from the hands of the selfish few.
Democracy is more than just voting for one figurehead or another every couple of years. It’s more than simply slapping some bumper sticker on your car or sticking some sign in your lawn. There’s more to democracy than what happens on election day and at the ballot box.
Real democracy is about taking issue with what’s most important to you. It’s about starting or joining a movement. It’s about getting people involved, out in the streets and on the interwebs, in big enough numbers to force change on to the political system itself.
The Arab Spring. The Occupy Movement. Even the Tea Party. All of these are fine examples of democracy in action where hundreds of thousands – even millions – of engaged individuals worked diligently towards a shared goal. And the best part is that they’ve all made a lasting impact on the world’s political system.
Now this very essence of democracy – this coordinated will to power by the masses – has sprouted up on the streets of China. Outraged at the prospect of a giant sewer running through their backyards, angry citizens clashed with police and rioted in the streets, offering a rare glimpse into China’s ripening revolution.
Here’s hoping for more protests in the days and years to come. Not just in China, but everywhere on earth as our world’s people comes together and rises up against the forces of injustice and inequality that have persisted for far too long.
When free markets and democracy get skewed by the power and influence of large business, we get the bastardized version of capitalism called corporatism. And when corporatism is allowed to run amok, the top 1% of 1% of the people consistently get richer and more powerful while everyone else systematically grows poorer.
Given that the corporate stranglehold over their government is set to tighten, they have little hope to reform their state using existing political channels. Any politician that rises to power will already be part of the corrupt game, and any real revolutionary figure would be weeded out well before taking a seat in office.
This leaves few options. One thing the people of Hong Kong could do is unite. By taking the streets, coordinating and mobilizing online, they could forge an entirely new democratic mechanism and channel the warranted angst from the vast majority of the people into tangible political clout. Only then will their voice be heard, and only then will they get the reform they desire.
What the Hong Kong people are going through serves as a microcosm for what the bulk of humanity is experiencing. Right now, powerful forces are subtley yet steadily stripping power away from the entire human race in order to widen their already mind-numbingly fat coffers.
For years now, every single one of us has been under threat of an impending corporatist plutocracy. Only with unity and solidarity will we have any hope to overthrow our billionaire overlords and their minions.
Fortunately, this is already happening. The world’s people are waking up. Slowly but surely, our global eyes are opening, allowing us to see ourselves for the first time. And one thing we will quickly learn is just how powerful we can be when we work together. After that, it’s just a matter of steering our species towards a more just civilization for all.
It may have been the largest display of civil disobedience in Canadian history. Several hundred thousand people took to the streets, showing solidarity with Quebec’s youth movement while standing against Jean Charest’s draconian anti-protest laws.
Awesome stuff! During the massive Occupy rallies in New York and Oakland, I recall lamenting about Canada’s lack of similar demonstrations. Well, no longer. Canadians will not be excluded from this great awakening taking place all over the world.
It’s not just about tuition hikes and the Charter of Rights. There is something much more fundamental at stake. It’s the world’s people coming together to stamp out the inherent injustice and inequalities of a flawed global establishment.
Expect to see more protests, more rallies, and more outpourings of dissent over the coming months and years. And as our numbers grow into the millions, the multi-millions and even billions, no one – no business, no government, no empire – will stop us from creating the just civilization we now know is possible.
Dark days happened in 2010 as security forces caused the largest mass arrests in Canadian history.
Now, a new report confirms what many already knew – during the G20 summit police violated civil rights, detained people illegally, and used excessive force.
The 300-page report finds that “Numerous police officers used excessive force when arresting individuals and seemed to send a message that violence would be met with violence,” continuing on to state “The reaction created a cycle of escalating responses from both sides.”
The report also lambasted the unprecedented use of ‘kettling’, where protesters are corralled by riot squads into closed off areas to be detained and arrested. It is during kettling, where protesters are backed into a corner, where clashes can reach a boiling point and fatalities can occur.
So police were overbearing and essentially silenced attempts at peaceful protest. But what else is there to expect when the government spends 664 million on security? Had nothing happened, the price tag might have seem unjustified.
Still, what is most damning about this entire report is the utter lack of accountability. The authors of the report seem appeased to know their recommendations might be considered by police departments in the future.
But this does little to protect Canadian free speech. How about some firings or fines or something to teach the police a lesson? If anything, the lack of repercussions will just encourage more of the same in the future.
What would be nice to see is a clear message sent to police departments across the nation: do not stifle dissent, do not crush protests, do not silence free speech, do not impede peaceful assembly. Otherwise you will face stiff consequences.
Until that happens, ham-handed security will be free to trample our rights the next time we unite against the injustices of the system.
Update – May 17, 2012 Senior Toronto police commanders are expected to be charged in coming weeks for a variety of misconduct offences over their leadership at the G20 summit in June 2010, according to reports from the CBC.
Awesome! This is more than just a slap on the wrist, or at least it could be.
