If you were to publicly declare your discontent with the U.S. government and
your subsequent desire to abolish that government, the land of the free
would likely reward you with an orange jumpsuit and a one-way ticket for an
all-inclusive vacation at Guantanamo Bay.
Now imagine if you instead chose to stand in front of a crowded room and
utter something along these lines:
"I think all men and women are created
equal and are endowed with certain undeniable rights, including life,
liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. To secure these rights, governments
are created and derive their powers from the consent of the governed.
Whenever any form of government tries to destroy or take away these
undeniable rights, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish that
government and replace it with a new one."
Bingo: you're a goddamned high school history teacher. Okay class; turn to
page 257. Today we'll be talking about Patrick Henry (and don't tell me
"give me liberty or give me death" sounds an awful lot like what an
insurgent might say).
Thomas Jefferson can pronounce:
"Every generation needs a new revolution."
But that doesn't mean I can. Honest Abe once declared:
"Any people anywhere
being inclined and having the power have the right to rise up and shake off
the existing government, and force a new one that suits them better."
Hey, a
government that suits me‹and most humans‹better would be a step in the right
direction, but making plans to "shake off the existing government and force
a new one" would just about guarantee you a place on that secret no-fly
list.
Let's face it, revolution just ain't what it used to be. Mao Tse-Tung
warned: "A revolution is not a dinner party, or writing an essay, or
painting a picture, or doing embroidery." Today, revolution a Chevy
commercial or a Beatles song. Che Guevara believed "the true revolutionary
is guided by great feelings of love." By 1994, Newt Gingrich and his merry
band of Republicans were using "revolution" to describe a minor reshuffling
of ruling class allegiances. "The most heroic word in all languages is
revolution," stated Eugene Debs, but if he were around today and typed
"revolution" into Google, he'd find the top response was for a software
company.
As long as you're not talking about the U.S. government, you can have as
many revolutions as you please. You can have 33 per minute, for all Dick
Cheney cares. Fitness, music, film, art, and countless ways to make
money...the mutinous mood is alive and well. This time around, however, the
revolution was indeed televised and is now enjoying a long, successful run
in syndication.
Can the huddled befuddled masses to snap from their self-induced trance to
recapture the subversive spirit of '76? I'll give the last word to Abraham
Lincoln: "This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who
inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing government, they
can exercise their constitutional right of amending it, or their
revolutionary right to dismember or overthrow it."
Remember: Abe said it, not me.
Mickey Z. can be found on the Web at http://www.mickeyz.net.
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