Tag: Revolution

What Causes Revolution?

College of Political Knowledge

Occupy Wall Street…….at first it was ignored by the media and then it got so large that they could no longer wish it away….and it continues to grow….some are calling it a revolution….a quiet revolution…..a peaceful revolution…..and all that got me to thinking about the act of revolution.  What causes revolution?  What is a revolution?

What is revolution?  The simple accepted answer is……The overthrow of one government and its replacement with another.  Or A sudden or momentous change in a situation.  We could go into further detail but that would start to make this post more confusing than it needs to be…..

Now, what causes a revolution?  There is a wealth of opinions on this subject….across history there have been many revolutions…..but let us look at the causes of a few of the major revolutions in fairly recent history…..I shall leave the Arab Spring ones out because the final act of those have not been written……

The French Revolution (1789-1799)………We all know about the storming of the Bastille or the Reign of terror…..Let them eat cake and off with their heads….but what caused these things?  But the real causes were extreme poverty, hunger, hyper-inflation, rising food prices, a inadequate infrastructure, and the aloofness of the power elite and the lack of respect for their leaders;  but mostly it was that the country was bankrupt from fighting a war with England and its financial support for the English colonies that were to become the US…….

Next in line was the Russian Revolution (1917)……the best most people can remember about this revolution was that it brought those dreadful Communists to power…..that is true in a round about way…..Communists did come to power but only after several failed governments…..but what caused the people to revolt?  War is the best answer.  First, a war with Japan in the early 1900’s and then WW1…….The Industrial Revolution had the effects on Russia that it had on the rest of the world….cities were overcrowded, high prices for goods, food shortages,  low wages, inadequate infrastructure and the over indulgence of the elites and finally, a growing dissatisfaction with the political life of the country which led to protests and civil unrest……..and the pot boiled over!

Next in the history lesson is the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939)…..not so much a revolution but more kin to a coup…..what brought about the upheaval in Spain?  After centuries of being a world power, Spain was losing its last possessions…and by 1898 its imperial days were over…..military men were returning home with no prospect for earning a living, food became in short supply, infrastructure was bad, political unrest and a mounting national debt….there were many so called interior conflicts and governments….each trying to find a way to balance things…….all this led to a coup and subsequent civil war led by Francisco Franco, a fascist…..and with the help of Germany and Italy, Franco had his victory and a nation…..

Now I am sure that my readers are saying…”But what about the US and its revolution?”  Good question!

First of all, it was not so much a revolution as a child leaving home to strike off on its own.  There was no political strife, no mass starvation, no lack of work, no economic crisis par se……what it was was the local elites felt that their profits were being stolen by the King and they did not appreciate it.  They issued a list of grievances against the King and then the shooting started in earnest…..with the end of the armed conflict, everything went back to as it was before it began…..elites rich beyond imagination, workers, slaves and farmers……the only thing that changed was the type of government and the name of the land mass….nothing radical about the “war”……

What got me started along this road was a conversation that I had with this guy when he ask if I thought that another American revolution was possible…….now that was a helluva question to ask an aging radical!

I want to say yes just because of my past associations and beliefs….however, with that said….I do not think the American people have it in their nature any longer for a real revolution….too many years of depending on someone else for their ideas and beliefs….parties, people, etc…..

But then we look at the situation in today’s world……..massive unemployment, low wages, creeping poverty, disappearance of the middle class, national economic woes, extreme indulgences of the elites and a growing dissatisfaction with the governing of the country….all are characteristics of a country that is ripe for some form of revolution…….

If it came to that….would it be a left or right revolution?  You want an answer to that question?  Just think about Italy of the 1920’s and Germany of the 20 & 30’s…..and then hide in a closet and pray!

It’s Not Over Until It’s Over

Cheering and joy embrace North Africa.  Sorry to pee on the parade…….

Over the weekend the good news hit the airways….Qadhafi is on the ropes in Libya…..rebels made it to Tripoli…..3 of his sons were captured and Green Square in the middle of Tripoli has been re-named Martyrs Square….all is right with the world……

Let us say Qadhafi is captured or allowed to leave……then all the violence will be over…..WAKE UP!  The ousting of Qadhafi is the easiest part of this whole revolution thing……Libya is a tribal society and not all the tribes like each other…..who will lead the country is more important than getting Qadhafi out…….none of the “democratization” process will be easy or even pretty….what will be the fate of the Libyan people?

Tribes loyal to Qadhafi will always be loyal to Qadhafi….and that simple fact will throw a monkey wrench into the new government….unless the opposition kills every person in the loyal tribes….there will be continuing trouble…..once the single unifying component is eliminating what is there to keep factions who hate each other bound together?

Now with a little taste of reality……the next question is…..who will interject their will into the internal politics of Libya?  You know someone will….simply because Libya has a massive amount of OIL…..there it is the rub you were looking for….OIL!  BP comes to mind and that would mean the UK…..and if that happens and the UK needs assistance……who will they call?

All in all….Libya and the political situation is far from over…..and the US participation is far from over…..in a country with very little institutionalization…..how will it survive without the “help” of Western countries?  It is not over until it is over!

Personally, I will save my jubilation until there is a government in place and all the violence has ceased…..I believe I will have a long wait!

In closing……if Qadhafi is allowed to leave the country, where will he go?  My predictions are……either Angola or Zimbabwe.

I Have Questions

Daily Agitator

And would like some answers to them…..simple easy understandable answers….please NO talking points or press releases or whatever….just plain simple answers…..

For years I have listened to the pundits and sycophants tell me certain things….but seldom do they explain themselves so that people, all people can understand their reasoning.

Okay, dudes here is your chance to be the hero…..

1–Same sex marriage…..years decades I have been told that if people of the same sex marry then it would destroy the sanctity of the institution of marriage……How?  How will the institution be destroyed?

2–People on the Right when they are opposing certain issues they seem to always say that it is destroying our freedom…whether it is health care or the environment or……just which freedoms would I lose if we pass, say health reform?  Just which freedoms are we in danger of losing?

3–At a recent rally in Washington a representative of the people, one Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, called for a revolution……pause here for thought…..a revolution on the right to oppose the majority in Congress….think about that…..what would we say if Bill Ayers got up in front of thousands and called for a revolution against elected officials?

4–Why do politicians stand on the Constitution in their opposition and have NO idea what the document says?

5–Should elected officials be forced to take the “citizenship” test to be sure that they understand the Constitution or at least prove that they graduated the 6th grade or even took a Civics class?

6–My last question is for the rock band U2 and MTV–in a recent concert in Berlin to celebrate the fall of the Berlin Wall, why would you think it a good idea to erect a wall to keep people out?  Is that not what the original Wall was doing?

Questions….questions …and few answers……

Iranians……Do It For Neda!

To My Iranian Friends:

The young woman who last weekend emerged as a powerful symbol of opposition to the Iranian government embraced life in many ways, but there was little about her that would have led her friends to predict she would become a martyr.

Neda Agha-Soltan, 26, rose to prominence within hours after a crudely shot video documenting her final moments was uploaded to the Web shortly after she died Saturday from a single gunshot wound to the chest.

Much about her remains unclear, but here is what CNN has learned from at least one source.

The second of three children, Neda lived with her parents in a middle-class neighborhood east of Tehran.

She was a happy, positive person. Though she studied philosophy and religion at the Azad Islamic University, she was more spiritual than religious. She also loved music. She once studied violin but had given it up and was planning to take up piano next. She had just bought a piano, but it had not yet been delivered.

Her demeanor was typically calm, even serene, but she had a quirky, playful sense of humor.

Neda, wearing a baseball cap over a black scarf, a black shirt, blue jeans and tennis shoes, does not appear to be chanting and seems to be observing the demonstration.

Suddenly, Neda is on the ground — felled by a single gunshot wound to the chest. Several men kneel at her side and place pressure on her chest in an attempt to stop the bleeding. “She has been shot! Someone, come and take her!” shouts one man.

By now, Neda’s eyes have rolled to her right; her body is limp.

Blood streams from her mouth, then from her nose. For a second, her face is hidden from view as the phone camera goes behind one of the men. When Neda’s face comes back into view, it is covered with blood.

Since her death, public displays of mourning for Neda have been prohibited, the friend said.

A gathering of about 60 people at a mosque was broken up by members of the Basij, the pro-government vigilantes blamed for much of the violence against demonstrators, according to New York Times columnist Roger Cohen, who observed the incident.

Neda’s family has not been allowed to post a black banner of mourning outside the family’s house, the friend said.

This young woman was an innocent by-stander and should no way be dead.  I say if a symbol is needed then Neda is the perfect symbol of the protests now taking place.  She did not deserve to die, but she deserves to be avenged.  Her family needs closure and Iran needs a change.  And the world needs to know of the brutality taking place that in some ways is reminiscent of the days of the Shah.

I say to Iranians…we are with you and do not give up….get it done for yourselves. your country and especially for Neda.

DO IT FOR NEDA!

A Softer, More Gentle Chavez?

The armed revolutionary has no place in modern Latin America, the Venezuelan President has declared. Catching his critics off guard, Hugo Chavez called on the Marxist rebel army in neighbouring Colombia to lay down its arms and release its hostages, declaring that guerrilla armies are now “out of place”.

Adopting the mantle of international statesman, the Venezuelan President appeared to be stepping forward finally to turn a page of history for a continent that for decades has been blighted by eruptions of insurgent violence, not just in Colombia but also Nicaragua and El Salvador. As most of those conflicts have come to an end, Colombia has been alone in failing to end its own internal strife.

In his statement, Mr Chavez offered a reason of his own to bring Farc’s campaign to an end, pointing to the US. “You in the Farc should know something,” he offered. “You have become an excuse for the empire to threaten all of us.” He often uses the term “empire” to refer to the United States. Washington has made no secret of its desire to isolate Mr Chavez from other governments in Latin America.