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When Change Is Not Enough: The Seven Steps To Revolution - 2/24/2008 4:41:29 PM   
SugarMyChurro


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When Change Is Not Enough: The Seven Steps To Revolution
http://ourfuture.org/blog-entry/when-change-not-enough-seven-steps-revolution

Excerpt:
The average American has seen his or her standard of living contract by fits and starts since about 1972. This fall-off that was relieved somewhat by the transition to two-earner households and the economic sunshine of the Clinton years — but then accelerated with the dot-com crash, followed by seven years of Bush's overt hostility toward the lower 98 percent of Americans who aren't part of his base. Working-class America is reeling from the mass exodus of manufacturing jobs and the scourge of predatory lending; middle-class America is being hollowed out by health-care bankruptcies, higher college costs, and a tax load far heavier than that of the richest 2 percent. These people expected to do better than their parents. Now, they're screwed every direction they turn.

-----

An engaging opinion piece that stops just short of actually calling for a violent overthrow of our current political leadership.

But the writing *IS* on the wall...
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RE: When Change Is Not Enough: The Seven Steps To Revol... - 2/24/2008 4:53:31 PM   
kittinSol


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quote:

ORIGINAL: SugarMyChurro

When Change Is Not Enough: The Seven Steps To Revolution

(...)

The average American has seen his or her standard of living contract by fits and starts since about 1972.



I hope the revolution will be about more than standard of living.

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RE: When Change Is Not Enough: The Seven Steps To Revol... - 2/24/2008 5:18:18 PM   
SugarMyChurro


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kittinSol:

C'mon, the piece is more interesting than just that isn't it?


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RE: When Change Is Not Enough: The Seven Steps To Revol... - 2/24/2008 6:06:53 PM   
kittinSol


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Interesting as an editorial piece  .

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RE: When Change Is Not Enough: The Seven Steps To Revol... - 2/24/2008 11:30:27 PM   
Estring


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That is some funny stuff! Lol. Too bad it is nonsense.


  .http://www.myheritage.org/Issues/MythBusters/TaxesTopOnePercent.asp

< Message edited by Estring -- 2/24/2008 11:47:18 PM >


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RE: When Change Is Not Enough: The Seven Steps To Revol... - 2/25/2008 2:37:16 AM   
seeksfemslave


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quote:

Mere unrest among the working and middle classes, all by itself, isn't enough. Revolutions require leaders — and those always come from the professional and intellectual classes. In most times and places, these groups (which also include military officers) usually enjoy comfortable ties to the upper classes, and access to a certain level of power. But if those connections become frayed and weak, and the disaffected intellectuals make common cause with the lower classes, revolution becomes almost inevitable.


Whether the US is near to major political disruption I do not know. I rather doubt it. Maybe something along the lines of the "race riots" but involving whites who have no hope is more likely. White against white could possibly escalate . Who knows ?
I did point out what is said in the above quote some some time ago.
So I am going to pat myself on the back.

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RE: When Change Is Not Enough: The Seven Steps To Revol... - 2/25/2008 2:53:59 AM   
KenDckey


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Personally I think the article is about killing off everyone who disagrees with your individual perspective and implementing a system of socializatin where the masses make all our decisions (as elected by some higher collective) without regard to individualism.   Oh   sounds like communisim.   Personally this is not what I promote.   This is not what I believe our country is all about.

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RE: When Change Is Not Enough: The Seven Steps To Revol... - 2/25/2008 3:14:28 AM   
LadyEllen


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Thats partly why revolutions are not good Ken - there's a lot of slaughter as the original leaders of successful revolution are then ousted by interest groups who take over and continue the slaughter as part of the repression to produce their version of utopia by terrorising everyone into adherence.

Still, its an interesting article I find, and does a fair job at explaining feelings here too - everyone but those sucking at the teat of what our socio-economic model has become is either discarded now, could be at any moment or feels unhappiness despite all the consumer goods they have. And since it is the responsibility of our government to facilitate our welfare and prosperity as a nation and they are failing in this - regardless of statistics, because at this level it is our feelings which represent reality - we all feel that change would be a good thing.

Where we disagree though, is the direction of that change ultimately. Whilst we could put together a manifesto for changes which we all could agree on, it is the fight about where we go once that manifesto is fulfilled that leads into the violent and repressive scenario of post revolution as one interest group emerges triumphant and forces the whole into adherence after its model with charges of treason should one object.

E

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RE: When Change Is Not Enough: The Seven Steps To Revol... - 2/25/2008 8:56:07 AM   
Alumbrado


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quote:

Mere unrest among the working and middle classes, all by itself, isn't enough. Revolutions require leaders — and those always come from the professional and intellectual classes.


Mao will be so heartbroken to learn that he wasn't a leader of any revolution because of his ignoble birth...

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RE: When Change Is Not Enough: The Seven Steps To Revol... - 2/25/2008 10:29:32 AM   
SugarMyChurro


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quote:

ORIGINAL: KenDckey
This is not what I believe our country is all about.


Is our country about the fed govt wiping its collective ass on the Constitution? Is it about extraordinary rendition? Is it about trying U.S. citizens as enemy combatants? Is it about torture? Is it about a propanganda controlled media? Is it about fucking the middle-class in favor of corporitism? Is it about public wars for private gain? Etc.

Wake up.

The last thing this country is about is rights for the individual. The rights exist in theory, but they have been so severely hampered in reality that they very nearly might as well not exist.

Economically speaking, we have had posts here in the last two weeks that covered topics as interesting as grandfathering criminal activity into the workings of Wall Street just to keep the economy from falling off its perch. Do we even have to talk about how our whole monetary system is just a hoax in which wealth is stolen from you daily?

Where's the justice?


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RE: When Change Is Not Enough: The Seven Steps To Revol... - 2/25/2008 11:46:25 AM   
Termyn8or


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Not a bad article.

Something similar has been discussed before, I do not remember the author's name, but the concept remains. That one simply dwelt upon the difference between rich and poor. It said that when the disparity reached a certain level, revolutions have occurred.

With that author's prediction, we should have had the revolution years ago. But there are other factors. It is true though, that real leaders must exist for such an undertaking, and those leaders must be disenfrancised from the system they would seek to overthrow.

In that sense the US "leadership" has succeeded. They have modified the educational system to be more a system of indoctrination, with civic values taught that favor the powers that be. Their system produces very few leaders, and those that it does are dependent upon the status quo, and therefore unlikely to lead a rebellion.

Another thing we have now that was not extant in the past is the enormous and vast power of the current regime. Using the past to guage the future is a good tyhing, but one must realize something. The government endevors to, and is close to being able to subjugate 300,000,000 people. With technology and advanced weapons, and no compunctions whatsoever against using it on their own constituents, we are not in really good shape.

And when people are so brainwashed that they turn their guns in to the authorities, nothing is going to happen soon. I believe that we have reached a point where an effective revolution would be impossible.

Witness the unexplainable extra carnage at the Murrah building and the twin towers. Any sane Man can plainly see that such buildings are built with explosive devices. These serve two purposes. They ease demolition when the time comes and facilitate a controlled implosion almost. Secondly, if they can't have it, nobody else can either. That is their attitude.

In other words, when those specialized demolition companies go in and set their charges, their explosives are only detonating the explosives installed by the builder. If that were not true, the procedure would probably scatter debris for miles. Think about it.

That's not all, an armed revolt is not likely to happen anytime soon because people need to get to blockbuster and the doctor's office, in that order I might add.

In order for an armed revolt to be moral and lawful, there has to be support of the people. If one Man were to acquire the technology somehow to take over and become dictator, that is no more moral than allowing the status quo to continue. Of course I would think differently if I were that dictator. Bush said something similar in a speech did he not ?

I am a revolutionary, as some may have figured out, but we can't do it. We are at a time in history when they can and will kill each and every one of us. And in a society that considers having a credit card freedom, we will not have the support. So don't look for anything to happen soon.

Rather, watch the system crumble on it's own. It will. Consider The Turner Diaries. If you refuse to read it because it is morally reprehensible to you, I pity you because you will not learn. If you can only read that with which you agree, your sphere of knoweldge will be quite limited. The acts depicted in the Turner Diaries would not be possible without alot of corruption on the part of the powers that be.

Got to go for now.

T

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RE: When Change Is Not Enough: The Seven Steps To Revol... - 2/25/2008 12:03:02 PM   
Jeffff


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An excerpt,
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

You will not be able to stay home, brother.
You will not be able to plug in, turn on and cop out.
You will not be able to lose yourself on skag and skip,
Skip out for beer during commercials,
Because the revolution will not be televised.



The revolution will not be right back after a message
bbout a white tornado, white lightning, or white people.
You will not have to worry about a dove in your
bedroom, a tiger in your tank, or the giant in your toilet bowl.
The revolution will not go better with Coke.
The revolution will not fight the germs that may cause bad breath.
The revolution will put you in the driver's seat.

The revolution will not be televised, will not be televised,
will not be televised, will not be televised.
The revolution will be no re-run brothers;
The revolution will be live.

 
GIL SCOTT-HERON

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RE: When Change Is Not Enough: The Seven Steps To Revol... - 2/25/2008 2:47:46 PM   
Alumbrado


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It seems likely that the intellectual class needs the revolution more than the revolutionaries need intellectuals....at least China doesn't seem to have done so badly after beating the crap out of the intellectuals, as part of their people's revolution with a peasant at the helm.

But then, maybe I'm just not cut out to be as elitist as some folks.

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RE: When Change Is Not Enough: The Seven Steps To Revol... - 2/25/2008 2:51:13 PM   
Jeffff


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Oh I am sure you are a fine elitist.

China hasn't done badly? I suppose it is how you define badly.

Jeff

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RE: When Change Is Not Enough: The Seven Steps To Revol... - 2/25/2008 2:55:25 PM   
Alumbrado


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And I'm sure you haven't a clue as to what you are talking about.

Please feel free to point out exactly how badly China has failed in revolutionary terms, to come out from under the yoke of the Imperial dynasty...there is no 'depend' about it, either they were all shot and an Emperor is in place again, or they succeeded in the revolution.

< Message edited by Alumbrado -- 2/25/2008 2:56:00 PM >

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RE: When Change Is Not Enough: The Seven Steps To Revol... - 2/25/2008 2:59:01 PM   
Jeffff


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They simply exchanged emperors. Nothing more, nothing less.

Jeff

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RE: When Change Is Not Enough: The Seven Steps To Revol... - 2/25/2008 3:00:55 PM   
Alumbrado


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Then in that context no revolution is ever successful.  In the standard context, they succeeded convincingly.

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RE: When Change Is Not Enough: The Seven Steps To Revol... - 2/25/2008 3:06:52 PM   
Jeffff


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 I disagree. there is no proletariat. the concept lies in the mind of the ruling class. It is foisted upon a downtrodden people who have no options. I would argue the the French revolution was a success. My point in quoting Gil ( somewhat tongue in cheek)was that revolution is a last resort. A vast number of people inevitably die.Only people pushed to the edge can be lead to it. The possibility of a revolution here is so remote as to be non existent

Jeff

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RE: When Change Is Not Enough: The Seven Steps To Revol... - 2/25/2008 3:17:17 PM   
celticlord2112


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quote:

But the writing *IS* on the wall...


Not bloody likely.  Panem et circensa leads not to revolution but in the opposite direction.

Democracy --> Demogoguery --> Dictatorship --> Despotism

Where are we on that path?  You tell me.


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RE: When Change Is Not Enough: The Seven Steps To Revol... - 2/25/2008 3:20:35 PM   
Alumbrado


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I think the whole thread rests upon the premise that revolution occurs when somebody is pushed beyond a certain point. 
If we are talking about disaffected American suburbanites, then I agree, no revolution is likely. 

Chinese peasants throwing the Empress, or the kuomintang out of the country and installing their own government (however flawed) still does not seem like a failed uprising. And it still disproves the notion that only members of the intellectual class are capable of leading the underclasses in a revolution.  Mao was a lot of things, but born into the upper classes was not one of them.

The two often coincide, but I maintain that the angry young 'istas' of the leisure class need a proletariat more than the downtrodden need intellectuals to 'show them how it's done'.

< Message edited by Alumbrado -- 2/25/2008 3:22:14 PM >

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