From the Everett Herald:
Thousands of demonstrators gather in Bayda, Libya to protest the dictatorship of Muammar Gaddafi.
If there’s a single lesson to be drawn from the events of 2011, it’s this: Democracy is based on acting and doing, not sitting and watching.
The actions of a sole protestor in Algeria, magnified by thousands of others, toppled dictators in Algeria, Egypt and Libya. People did not just watch — they marched, they protested, and they risked their livelihoods and their lives. No one even saw the “Arab Spring” coming until it had happened.
In Israel, in July, a few citizens set up a tent city in Tel Aviv, demanding a tax increase on the wealthy, rent controls, free education, limits on privatization and an increase in the minimum wage. Eventually 150,000 people joined the protests; tent cities bloomed in 40 different cities and towns.
Citizen protest jumped the ocean and came to Wisconsin, where the new governor and Legislature thought they could just demolish unions and cut pay and pensions and benefits.
Some 100,000 people took over the state Capitol to protest, and two state senators lost their jobs by recall election. Now Wisconsinites have collected half a million signatures to force a recall election of Gov. Scott Walker this year.
In New York, a few people decided it was time to take on America’s financial dictators by occupying Wall Street, the center of financial power in the world. And as if for the first time, the national media discovered that the very rich are getting even richer while working families get less and the dream of middle class seems lost to many. Again, no one thought the “American Autumn” was even possible — until it was already upon us.
So democracy is the proverbial genie that cannot be put back in the bottle. The question is, what next? I think the answer depends on whether more people choose to “act and do” or “sit and watch.” Read the rest of this entry »
Filed under: EOI, 1 percent, 99 percent, arab spring, bailout, democracy, top model, wisconsin
