Wednesday, February 02, 2011
Land of the free?
According to this BBC source, the successful and fairly non-violent Tunisian revolution was triggered by one man resisting tyranny:
Think about that.
Our internal propaganda likes to portray America as a "free country" where the people won't consent to arbitrary actions.
Okay then, who would self-immolate if our government refused a license to sell vegies for no reason at all? Nobody, because tyranny is the rule, not the exception. We are beaten down, tenderized, pulverized by 30 years of black-robed enemy saboteurs giving "rights" to privileged classes and stealing "rights" from normal people.
Admittedly, this form of tyranny doesn't often affect rich people or big corporations, because they have armies of lawyers and the government doesn't want the hassle. Except when the license involves something that could be called "environmental", and then even the rich companies have trouble avoiding the tyrant's iron fist, as the Conoco situation illustrates.
We are more accustomed to tyranny than Tunisians are. ¶ 4:32 AM
Last month an unemployed young man set himself on fire in Tunisia, and the flames appear to have engulfed a region. Officials wouldn't let Mohamed Bouazizi sell vegetables without a licence, and his desperate act triggered an upsising that toppled the government of President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali. Since then we've seen a dramatic chain reaction, as people across the Arab World have protested against what they see as authoritarian and oppressive rule.
Think about that.
Our internal propaganda likes to portray America as a "free country" where the people won't consent to arbitrary actions.
Okay then, who would self-immolate if our government refused a license to sell vegies for no reason at all? Nobody, because tyranny is the rule, not the exception. We are beaten down, tenderized, pulverized by 30 years of black-robed enemy saboteurs giving "rights" to privileged classes and stealing "rights" from normal people.
Admittedly, this form of tyranny doesn't often affect rich people or big corporations, because they have armies of lawyers and the government doesn't want the hassle. Except when the license involves something that could be called "environmental", and then even the rich companies have trouble avoiding the tyrant's iron fist, as the Conoco situation illustrates.
We are more accustomed to tyranny than Tunisians are. ¶ 4:32 AM
