Revolution

Columbus, OH

This was supposed to be a video.

At least, that’s what I intended to make.

A video consisting of images from the news.

But I need to admit that it’s not going to be made.

At least, not by me.

Or, rather, not any time soon, by me.

Maybe someone else can do that part.

Someone with the time to put it together.

See, the idea sprung into my head back during the aftermath of George Floyd, with the reemergence of the BLM movement.

And the tear-gassing of the park.

For the walk,

For the photo op,

With the awkwardly held bible,

In front of the church,

Where it could have been any book in the snowflake’s hand.

Held with the back of the book to the photographers.

So that someone had to ask, to make sure.

Held like a placard, not something revered.

All to try and show “strength”.

Because he didn’t want to be seen as a coward.

Hiding in the bunker.

No, like every other bully, he has a need to be seen as “strong”.

Because he’s afraid of everyone seeing his true, scared self.

Just like he’s afraid of everyone recognizing that he’s functionally illiterate.

Even though the symptoms are on full display, for the whole world to see.

The monotone when reading a pre-written speech.

Mis-reading words.

Reading like he doesn’t know what it means.

As if he’s reading it for the very first time.

So as all this was happening, I envisioned a video of images from the news, picked to reflect the lyrics as they are being sung.

Starting with the protests.

Then when the lyrics move on to talking about “minds that hate”, bringing in images of the George Floyd murder,

The Charlottesville Tiki-torches march,

So many to choose from.

“Photos of Chairman Mao” was going to be photo ops with Kim Jung Un, Putin, and other dictators from around the world.

The video practically makes itself.

But the video I envisioned is not going to get made.

At least, not by me.

Not in the time it needs to be made.

After all, I had intended to release it a couple of months ago.

As a sort of comment on the current state of our world.

The interesting times that we find ourselves living in.

A notice that we have a choice.

We, collectively, need to make a conscious choice of what kind of society we want to live in.

Whether we want to live in a society that is fair to all.

Or just a few.

Because if we leave it up to our so-called “leaders”,

Our politicians,

It will be the latter.

After all, they are only in it for themselves.

I’ve long maintained that all governments are corrupt.

The corruption is cemented into the very nature of it.

Any government, on any level, can’t help but be corrupt.

It’s just that some hide it better than others.

And it seems to me, that ours in the U.S. has lost any desire to keep it hidden.

Instead, the politicians count on the populace not paying attention,

Not remembering what they said or did as recently as a couple of months ago.

Much less a few years ago.

But it’s not all their fault.

The politicians are only doing what they are told.

Not by us, of course.

We only get lip-service.

By their puppet master.

See, none of them make their own decisions.

Most of them are told what to do by someone pulling their strings.

Lining their pockets.

So when a politician is advocating for some position,

Look to see who stands to gain from that position.

Someone sees the opportunity to make a lot of money from it.

That’s who needs to be influenced.

To get their opinion changed.

Change it and their puppet will reverse course.

This is why governments the world over are advocates for the status quo.

Those that benefit from the way things currently are want to keep it that way.

Political parties don’t matter.

Those are just ways of dividing us into groups that can be set against the other.

On issues that the puppet masters don’t see as significant.

Issues that can be used to manipulate us.

Then things like George Floyd happen.

The snowflake that starts the avalanche.

Just to be clear, I’m not saying that George Floyd was a snowflake.

I’m using an avalanche as a metaphor.

The way the snow bank builds as more and more snow falls.

Until the one snowflake lands that is one too many.

And it suddenly all comes crashing down the mountainside.

Threatens the status quo.

Takes the puppet masters and politicians by surprise.

So they get scared.

Hide in their bunkers.

Increase the very thing that led to the protests to try and tamp it down.

Shock troops trying to suppress the masses with tear gas and bullets.

And wonder why it doesn’t work anymore.

See, it’s only when the puppet masters get slapped in the face,

When they realize that things cannot stay the same,

That some changes have to be made,

That’s when they send word to their puppets,

But only then.

That’s why politicians are a lagging indicator.

They call themselves leaders, but they really are followers.

Following the lead of society (via their masters) around them.

That’s how things change.

When the people make it clear, they won’t put up with how things have been.

When society wakes up and realizes that they have the ability to decide how they want things to be.

That things don’t have to stay the same.

Because things never stay the same.

Everything always changes.

Entropy always wins.

So we can let things change on their own,

And things will get worse.

Slowly, gradually,

Or we can choose to make things better.

But it has to be a conscious choice,

We have to make the decision how we want things to be in order to change them in that way.

Left on their own, things will only break down and degrade.

So we have to send a clear and unmistakable message.

Of what we want our world to be.

Otherwise the puppet masters will do all they can to keep things as they are.

And the status quo wins.

Welcome to the revolution.