47 online
 
Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 10 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing
OpEdNews Op Eds   

What A Difference 40 Years Makes

By       (Page 1 of 1 pages)   1 comment
Message Ed Lytwak
Become a Fan
  (7 fans)

What A Difference 40 Years Makes

I was at the DC U.S.Uncut rally yesterday and there was a good crowd with decent energy.   This was the first time, I have been to a demonstration at Dupont Circle in over 40 years.   Back on May Day 1970, it was quite a different scene.  The circle was ringed with marines in full battle dress, there were hundreds of thousands of people in the streets, and the DC police were arresting anyone that wasn't wearing a Brooks Brothers suit.  That morning tens of thousands of people were arrested in a mass civil disobedience that shut the government down - the good kind of shutdown.  Now it's the t-baggers, Obama and the lackey Democrats that want to shut down the government - the bad kind.  It would be good if it also shut the state war of terror down but we know that won't happen.   The only shut down will be things that help ordinary Americans.


I had to wonder how many people in that crowd would go that far if they had to - and trust me we will have to before this thing is done.   One thing that really bothered me was all this stuff about "save the American dream"   You have got to be kidding, the "American Dream" is the problem.   Its just another media induced illusion to keep people dreaming about a pie-in-the-sky rather than fighting for their rights.  Work hard, pay your taxes, play by the rules and you too can share in the American dream.  You would think that after 40 years - and 30 years of the corporate dictatorship that began with Reagan - someone in the progressive movement would have at least figured that part was just another lie.

I grew up near Pittsburgh .  The steel mills are all gone but down along the Monongahela River there is a little museum dedicated to the steel workers.  Its on the spot where the workers fought (they even had a crude cannon) for their rights with the corporate goons.  Those workers knew what was going on and what they had to do. They knew that the plutocrats, or the Constitution or the government were not going to give them anything - that they would have to fight for everything they would get.  These are the kind of people that made  American labor something strong and powerful.   These are the kind of people that made a country where the fruits of our labor were shared and where our children could have a better life.

Please people, you DO NOT, repeat do not, need or want the American dream.  What we need is to wake up from that dream and start to fight - non-violent resistance actually!  We need to realize that Obama and Congress are not our friends and are doing everything they can to maintain the American dream illusion while waging a brutal war against ordinary Americans and presiding over a shakedown that is transferring massive amounts of money to the super-rich.  The Democrats and Republicans are lackeys and stooges for the plutocracy and when push comes to shove, they will be against the middle class and working poor (they have proven this time and time again over the last 30 years).  So I say f ... excuse me ... ch ... uck the American dream, WAKE UP and begin the UPRISING!

Rate It | View Ratings

Ed Lytwak Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

I am a radical homemaker and subcommandante at the Bad Shepherd Cat Collective.

Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

Stop the War! Expose the Lies! Free Bradley Manning!

Time to Wake Up From the American Dream -- Reflections on May Day 40 Years Later

Obama's Reelection Strategy

We're #1

What A Difference 40 Years Makes

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend