One can easily identify with the people in Tunisia and Egypt who have thrown off the shackles of their oppression and despair and successfully revolted against and removed the dictators in their respective countries (as well as to those still trying to accomplish the same in Libya, Bahrain, Yemen, Jordan, Algeria, Syria, Iraq and beyond).
By doing so they have regained their self respect and dignity in the face of the humiliation they long endured having previously submitted and bowing in fear to the oppressive regime that reigned over them.
Rebellion has a way of cleansing the soul and renewing the spirit. It is life affirming with a feeling of exultation.
We in America are in need of our own rebellion and a renewal of our spirit. We too have long tolerated abuses and accepted with resignation a political system that has become corrupted and dysfunctional, that favors the big corporate and special interests that have led us to empire, unnecessary war and occupation, indulging in torture and the wanton killing of innocents, our leaders becoming sycophants beholden to the largesse of the interests that fund their campaigns and election.
We the people, liberal, conservative, progressive or tea party alike have become the pawns of the moneyed and special interests, to be manipulated and conned and fed propaganda that works to polarize us, set us apart and at each others throats, the better to divert us from criticizing and blaming the real oppressors, the troika of politicians, corporatists and militarists that reign supreme in America.
Our country can be described as a plutocracy where the wealthy control the government. But even that description is too simple to describe it fully and adequately.
There is a diabolical ingeniousness to our system because the power is diffuse and spread out. It doesn't act like a traditional conspiracy i.e. a cabal of the powerful acting mafia like in agreement, but more in like-mindedness that serves to diffuse the power and the control.
It isn't just the Koch Bros. (the latest villains identified) financial backing of right wing causes and politicians that control our political process but the multitude of similar big moneyed corporate and special interests acting in similar ways. That diffuseness spreads the power among multiple players making it difficult to identify exactly who or what is the enemy. Unlike a Tsar or a single dictator it becomes like a multi-headed dragon with thousands of heads. Even if one or two are slain, the others remain.
That is why the Supreme Court's ruling in favor of "Citizens United" was so damaging to the people's interests because it sanctified into law the dominance of the corporations to exercise absolute control of our political process and with it their ultimate sway in enacting the laws, regulations, oversight and enforcement that serves to benefit them. It is a closed system leaving the interests of the people on the outside, simply onlookers to a system that completely ignores them. The levers of government are completely in the hands of the powerful and why the system remains in place.
The way that can change is if the people demand the avalanche of big corporate and special interest money be removed from corrupting the political process. And that can happen only if the people demand a citizen's funded and publicly funded system of elections along with a Constitutional amendment repealing "Citizens United".
The fight to retain collective bargaining rights for the public unions in Wisconsin against a tyrannical governor, his Republican henchmen in the state senate and the corporate forces they are beholden to that would destroy all unions is but a microcosm of our entire broken political system.
The flame of the people's rebellion needed to be ignited somewhere and so it began in Wisconsin. But what started in Wisconsin needs to broaden, engage more of the people nationwide. It is time for us to rebel, regain our dignity and refuse to buckle under and remain submissive to the powerful forces that dictate in America.
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