Pathways to Utopia
There is a war -- with no army, no homicide, no mass destruction, but a war nonetheless -- going on inside the United States of America, tearing this country apart. There are two sides, two factions, two competing forces in this war: on one side, there are the-have, and on the other side, the have-not. On one side, there stands, higher, loud and proud, 1% of the population who control 34.6% of the total wealth; and on the other side, there stands, lower, quieter and not so proud, 80% of the population who control a meager 15% of the total wealth. This war, like every other wars, will settle somehow, with a winner and a loser. In a war of this uneven, the loser will most likely be the have-not. However, unlike any other war, the loser will never rest, they will resiliently fight until the bitter end. There are no bloodshed in this state of the war, but eventually it will be inevitable. How do we, as civilians of this society, solve this conflict without resorting to violence?
Should we solve this with our votes? You see, we rarely, if ever, vote for an idea. Rather, most of the times, we vote for politicians. Whether they are Republicans or Democrats, liberal or conservative, they are still politicians. All they do to get our votes was promise. And do you remember the last time when a politician keep his promise? I can’t seem to remember that time either. In short, our votes are not going to solve any problem; the politicians think they know best and they are not going to listen to us, the commoners, unless we make them.
How else could we make them? You may say: We could lobby laws, many laws were passed that way! Now hold on for a second. For everything you want to change, there are people who want the exact opposite. Now consider the people who are going to be affected by the shift of wealth the most: that’s right, the rich, the wealthy. Will they sit still and accept whatever laws you are lobbying against them? No, they will not go down without a fight. They will lobby the exact opposite of what you are lobbying, and they will win. Money talks but you don’t.
But, don’t you have the Constitutions on your side? You are, after all, the citizens of the United States of America, one of the greatest nations on Earth. You are supposed to be protected by the Constitutions; and should anyone -- be it Corporations, the masses or even the Government -- try to violate the rights granted to you, the Federal Court will be on your side. Isn’t that what make the “American freedom” what it is? Unfortunately, you will not find a way to resolve your conflict under the eye of Justice. Justice is blind, they say -- but little do they know that she can smell the aroma of fresh money and can hear the weigh of coins. Deny all you want, but Justice side only with the richer, thus more powerful, people. And even on the rare occasion when she protects you, she will only protect your most basic rights: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. She cannot grant you the respect and authority you don’t have -- that you’ll have to earn.
But how do you earn respect? Could you earn it through the media, through peaceful protests, petitions, boycotts, even strikes if needed to? Unfortunately, the short answer is no. The media is not controlled by you; rather, you are controlled by it. It provides you nothing you need to know and too many things you don’t need to; it keeps you in the dark, entertains you with endless trivial pursuits, so as to break your will to fight. And even if you have that will, even if you are ready to fight, your voice is just too small to be heard. Your protests will be passed as another unimportant riot, overshadowed by the headline of some celebrity’s marriage; your boycotts as a trivial civilian movement, vanished under the silhouette of another forthcoming Academic Award. Your efforts are in vain.
“I see” -- I heard you whispering to the ghost of the night -- “that all hope is lost. The only way to resolve this conflict is Revolution. To arms, my brothers, to arms!” Now will you just hold on for a minute. Before you take the violent and bloody path -- glorious maybe, but bloody nonetheless -- to a better America, you may want to consider this: we could change the world by changing the people in it. You may want to teach the young generation to work for a motive other than money. You may want to revel to the people the real freedom, equality and justice for all. You may want to educate the bewildered mass out of its ignorance, and let it realize its own strength. You may want to change this country culturally, days by days, years by years. Slow it may be, but it does not require too much meaningless sacrifice. Slow it may be, but it will change this society from the very foundation, and it sure will last a very long time. Just remember: an idea can possess the power to change the whole world.
Should we solve this with our votes? You see, we rarely, if ever, vote for an idea. Rather, most of the times, we vote for politicians. Whether they are Republicans or Democrats, liberal or conservative, they are still politicians. All they do to get our votes was promise. And do you remember the last time when a politician keep his promise? I can’t seem to remember that time either. In short, our votes are not going to solve any problem; the politicians think they know best and they are not going to listen to us, the commoners, unless we make them.
How else could we make them? You may say: We could lobby laws, many laws were passed that way! Now hold on for a second. For everything you want to change, there are people who want the exact opposite. Now consider the people who are going to be affected by the shift of wealth the most: that’s right, the rich, the wealthy. Will they sit still and accept whatever laws you are lobbying against them? No, they will not go down without a fight. They will lobby the exact opposite of what you are lobbying, and they will win. Money talks but you don’t.
But, don’t you have the Constitutions on your side? You are, after all, the citizens of the United States of America, one of the greatest nations on Earth. You are supposed to be protected by the Constitutions; and should anyone -- be it Corporations, the masses or even the Government -- try to violate the rights granted to you, the Federal Court will be on your side. Isn’t that what make the “American freedom” what it is? Unfortunately, you will not find a way to resolve your conflict under the eye of Justice. Justice is blind, they say -- but little do they know that she can smell the aroma of fresh money and can hear the weigh of coins. Deny all you want, but Justice side only with the richer, thus more powerful, people. And even on the rare occasion when she protects you, she will only protect your most basic rights: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. She cannot grant you the respect and authority you don’t have -- that you’ll have to earn.
But how do you earn respect? Could you earn it through the media, through peaceful protests, petitions, boycotts, even strikes if needed to? Unfortunately, the short answer is no. The media is not controlled by you; rather, you are controlled by it. It provides you nothing you need to know and too many things you don’t need to; it keeps you in the dark, entertains you with endless trivial pursuits, so as to break your will to fight. And even if you have that will, even if you are ready to fight, your voice is just too small to be heard. Your protests will be passed as another unimportant riot, overshadowed by the headline of some celebrity’s marriage; your boycotts as a trivial civilian movement, vanished under the silhouette of another forthcoming Academic Award. Your efforts are in vain.
“I see” -- I heard you whispering to the ghost of the night -- “that all hope is lost. The only way to resolve this conflict is Revolution. To arms, my brothers, to arms!” Now will you just hold on for a minute. Before you take the violent and bloody path -- glorious maybe, but bloody nonetheless -- to a better America, you may want to consider this: we could change the world by changing the people in it. You may want to teach the young generation to work for a motive other than money. You may want to revel to the people the real freedom, equality and justice for all. You may want to educate the bewildered mass out of its ignorance, and let it realize its own strength. You may want to change this country culturally, days by days, years by years. Slow it may be, but it does not require too much meaningless sacrifice. Slow it may be, but it will change this society from the very foundation, and it sure will last a very long time. Just remember: an idea can possess the power to change the whole world.
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