Reading this article today, Middle East Chaos: What To Learn And What To Expect, I couldn't help but think of all the banter I've witnessed, and often been a part of, on the various forums as of late. There seems to have developed several distinct camps on the issue of the protests and the whole idea of revolution here in the US.
Camp 1 is the original protesters. These are the people who took to the streets, etc, early on in the game - the ones who warned of protests before there were protests, then followed through with the protests they had threatened. They don't appear to talk of revolution, nor do they publicly declare support for right or left as part of their protests. Camp 1 took to the streets simply because they were wronged by bad legislation. They don't froth at the mouth spouting rhetoric they first heard on their favorite daytime talk radio show.
Camp 2, however, is composed of those with a liberal, thieving mindset. They believe wholeheartedly that NPR, the Democratic Underground, ObamaNation, etc, are all out for the American people's best interests. It's the camp where nothing but the ideologies of liberlalist, socialist leaders are being used as rallying cries among the people. These people are not actually protesting anything resembling the real issue themselves, but somehow believe they are playing a central role in some great "revolution" by simply frothing at the mouth about how tough teachers have it and how those "republicans" are such bad people. Engaging these people in meaningful dialogue is pointless as they truly believe that our government should spend this country into extinction in order to pay the way for "the children" and "the poor". These people don't realize that our founding fathers founded a Republic, not a Democracy, and somehow never understood the difference between the two.
Camp 3 is the "conservative" mindset where such people as the co-opted "tea partiers" and the avid Glen Beckers, along with the traditional Bushites and Limbaugh listeners, are lining up to do nothing but insult the Midwest protesters and those who support them, then declare their unbridled support for the Governor of Wisconsin. Their camp seems to knowingly dismiss the most glaring issues behind the "unrest", from the Koch Brothers support to the implied, thinly veiled threat of National Guard use, pointed out at the onset of the protests by even their own neo-con talking heads. They believe their camp is somehow more intelligent, and therefore important (and more powerful), than Camp 2, and they believe any talk of revolution is simply related to the stupidity of it. Somehow, they are incapable of seeing the fascist and socialist ideologies running their own political party of choice, and they, like Camp 2, are impossible to engage in meaningful dialogue because of this.
Camps 2 and 3, in typical American fashion, believe they are the only camps who exist. It's "us versus them" and nothing more. These two camps are also, unsurprisingly, the center of the media circus surrounding the events in the Midwest.
Contrary to the previous three camps, Camp 4 is full of avid conspiracy theorists, mostly those of the more matured generation, in whose circles it's plain as day that "The Powers That Be" are trying to co-opt the "unrest" in the Midwest after successfully doing so in the Middle East and North Africa. They are at times sickeningly cynical and continuously talk of the plan to introduce martial law should any more people pick up signs and take to the streets. It's hard to argue with this camp simply because they're right on basically every single point they make. This camp, however, no matter how much they hate the current status quo and what has become of this country, somehow refuse to even entertain the idea that something good could come from this small but significant event.
The final camp, Camp 5, is composed of the younger "conspiracy theorists". They've read the books, threads and posts from those of Camp 4. They've watched shocking documentaries most of their lives dealing with the corruption and deception at the highest levels of their own government. They see clearly the idiocy and blindness of Camps 2 and 3. They see "the error in the ways" of even Camp 1. But being young and enthusiastic, full of dreams of "something better", Camp 5 is optimistic about a real change and keeps trying to steer the conversation toward the truly relevant topics of today. They are quick to jump all over the asinine rhetoric from Camps 2 and 3, and carefully attempt to debate the defeatism occasionally spouted by those in Camp 4. They support Camp 1's cause while placing it into a larger perspective, weaving a tapestry of corruption and deception that spans well beyond the thinly veiled threat and obvious "private ownership" of the Governor of Wisconsin. Camp 5 is the embodiment of a real revolution taking place in this country. Camp 5 is also the minority camp with the smallest voice.
In the article (also linked above), Giordano Bruno lays out our current situation clearly. Because he did a much better job than I can right now, I'll simply quote him here (emphasis added):
"The fact is, state governments are beyond broke, and eventually, they will have to nix spending and entitlement programs regardless of how anyone is affected, especially in the face of unchecked inflation. State employees and all people dependent on welfare are not necessarily the culprits behind financial clear-cutting either. The argument cannot be allowed to devolve into a mindless cage match over who deserves the money, because, first, there is no money, and second, this distracts from the original cause of the distress; the corporate banking elites who instigated the disaster in the first place. Already, I can see a certain subsection of the populace lashing out wildly at figureheads and opposition parties, just like in Egypt, instead of the corrupt system and the banking moguls who built it.
...
Some may welcome such bedlam as a sign of change. I don’t see it that way. Revolution without direction, without a plan, and without a clear understanding of the source of the problem, is meaningless. We can allow ourselves to be herded by our own rage into even more pronounced tyranny, or we can stay focused, collected, and act with purpose by organizing our communities with the objective of self sufficiency and self protection. We can work with state legislators to bring support to Tenth Amendment issues, giving them the strength to withstand an economic collapse and the ability to turn down DHS or FEMA’s 'help' when the time comes. We can organize intelligently, without centralized control, or we can hand over our destinies to yet another elite group of unaccountable autocrats. As impossible as it might seem, the choice really is up to us. How we act and react in the coming months will mean the difference between a free and prosperous America, or a scorch mark in the annals of history."
Which camp do you find yourself in, honestly? You know where I stand.
