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Bad Company - Hunted |
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"To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage and kindness. What we choose to emphasize in this complex hsitory will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places-and there are so many-where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction. And if we do act, in however small a way, we don't have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous history." -- Howard Zinn
When so many people turned up in so many different cities to protest the impending war on Iraq, I was really amazed. It seemed like that might mark a turning point, but as soon as the war started, the protests lessened, but did not die off. And yet, to the casual observer it would have seemed like the protesters had given up, because there was no mention of them in the media. The media presented only stories of success or human interest stories and it wasn't until the public's "view" of the war started to change did the newspapers actually start reporting on the negative aspect of the war: the fact that we didn't really win, that it was going to cost a lot more than planned, that people were dying, that the Bush administration had omitted facts or even lied to push the war agenda forward. But people were still speaking out against the war, holding talks, publishing books.
I think Zinn makes a greta point when he says "If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something." That is in keeping with Michael Moore's point in "Bowling for Columbine," that the media is engaging in a war on the public, a war based on fear. By keeping everyone fearful, the public is kept under control. After Columbine, kids started being suspended or expelled for having plastic knives in the lunchboxes, for pointing fingers at people and saying "bang," for wearing black clothing or for speaking out against the school/government/society. After 9/11, we were given a list of possible terrorist attack sites, and shown by CNN how easy it is to get at a nuclear reactor. People were afraid to speak about police brutality, or to speak up against Bush in this "time of need." All of the papers turned into instruments of the state practically, never daring to dissent.
And all the while, we're pumped full of images of murder, death, robbery and the weather. We're kept content with 500 cable channels, movie star gossip, pop, fashion and money woes. Everyone is well aware that we're in a recession now and that little Johnny might have to be content with a GameCube instead of a XBox this year. But where is the media coverage for everyone else, for the laid off factory worker who can't get unemployment because of government cutbacks, or even just for the millions of poor who were poor and will continue to be poor long after the stock markets rebounds. Everything in society forces us to constantly keep striving for more, to never be content with the present. I find myself thinking about the future all the time, thinking about all of the things I want to do, or wish I could do, but at the present moment, instead of doing them, I'm sitting on the couch watching tv.
So don't let the negativity bring you down and join with me in trying to be more active and socially engaged. There have been serial killers since societies formed, they just didn't get 24 hour news coverage and made for tv movies like the do now. As I've been finding out recently, there are plenty of people out there who want change, no matter where you live, it's just a matter of getting out there and getting involved with them. They won't come to your door and convince you to join.
And as cliche as this sounds, we can all just start with ourselves. In a conversation with someone recently, I explained that I didn't eat at McDonald's because of the way they treated their workers and people in South America, and because their food sucks. She said that was all fine and well, but then she reiterated the point everyone makes "What is one person going to do? It's not like they'll go out of business because you don't eat there." I know that, and I don't think differently, but I don't eat there for the same reason I don't buy Nike or Gap or support any other organization that mistreats its workers or mistreats the earth: because why would I give them money and support them when I don't believe in what they're doing. I don't give money to the Republicans or the KKK because I don't believe in them, so why would I buy something from a place I know is evil?
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