Liberty Yell: Now We See
We are part of a grand project: The direction in which humanity will travel as we put one foot in front of the other. Thus far, apart from a few stray sheep, we have organized our movement in the same way: Humanity operates as part of an elitist system in which power is concentrated in the hands of royalty and wealth, or both.
The stray sheep are people like Jefferson, who was a contradictory son of a sheep: A slave owner who offered the world the idea of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” The man was flawed, but his ideals were correct, and we’ve been working to fulfill those and similar ideals for 238 years.
Yet, here we stand at the brink of World War Three. That is not as much of an exaggeration as any of us might like. The two superpowers that have contended since the end of World War Two seem to be headed toward a collision which has been avoided for nearly 70 years, though, in fact, the confrontation is not really between “The West” and Russia. The real battle is, once again, taking place between those who believe it is their right to abuse their power while they Lord it over the majority. It is the ancient battle of knights, with the peasants forced to participate in a battle which will not, in the long run, gain them much of anything.
But the chemistry of history is changing. What worked when there was a human population of one or two billion, separated by slow transportation and communications systems, does not work as well for seven billion people who can travel from distant point A to distant point B in hours and who can instantaneously communicate with each other. The ideals of democracy are reaching a critical mass. There is a certain demographic of justice which is unique to this historical moment.
The protesters' cry at the Democratic Convention in Chicago in 1968--in response to the brutality of the local police--is being made real throughout the whole world. That cry, greater than the majesty of any king, is, “The whole world is watching! The whole world is watching!”
Made contemporary, that truth shouted by the Chicago protesters would be, “Seven billion people are watching! And most of them are on the side of the people being beaten! So, cut it out, or we’re coming after you!”
Seven billion people don’t want to be nuked. Seven billion don’t want anything to do with any miserable fight to preserve the power of the decadent, oligarchic system in place in both the U.S. and Russia. Seven billion people--minus the handful at the top of the ancient pyramid--want to live in peace. Seven billion are ready to explore the better part of being human. Enough death and destruction for your wealth and benefit.
This is the age of awareness, consciousness and courage. We are no longer the human lemmings who will march over whatever cliff you point us toward.
Back down. This is our world.