Echoes from a century ago,

[MadHound]

"Our democracy is but a name. We vote? What does that mean? It means that we choose between two bodies of real, though not avowed, autocrats. We choose between Tweedledum and Tweedledee."
Helen Keller, 1911

"As the business of the country has learned the secret of combination, it is gradually subverting the power of the politician and rendering him subservient to its purposes."
The Banker magazine, 1901

"They tell us that we live in a great free republic; that our institutions are democratic; that we are a free and self-governing people. That is too much, even for a joke.

Wars throughout history have been waged for conquest and plunder. . .And that is war in a nutshell. The master class has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles."
Eugene Debs, 1918

"Verily poor as we are in democracy how can we give of it to the world? A democracy conceived in the military servitude of the masses, in their economic enslavement, and nurtured in their tears and blood, is not a democracy at all. It is despotism-the cumulative result of a chain of abuses which, according to that dangers document, the Declaration of Independence, the people have the right to overthrow."
Emma Goldman, 1917

These and many other such strong words and sentiments reach out to us from our ancestors a century ago and more. Words that express the same sort of feelings, frustrations and rage that many of us feel today. These people, even then, knew the score, saw where the truth of the matter lay. They did not passively sit back and grumble, but went out, organized, participated in strikes, laid down their bodies so that we could have a better life.

And yet now, it seems as though we are content, sated, making grand statements, but in the end, far too willing to do little if anything. Far too willing to give our so called leaders a pass, either out of partisan loyalty, or alienation from our fellow humans.

These people formed a great, grand movement that reached out and shook the foundation of this country, and made those who bestrode the corridors of power quake in fear of their might. They achieved great things through one simple method, standing side by side with those who were in the same boat as themselves, the poor and working classes. They didn't allow differences in ideology, or skin color, or religion to divide them, instead, they took in everybody under "One Big Union".

It is time that we revive that dream of theirs, recreate that "One Big Union". It is time for us to stop playing the same failed political games that we have been playing for decades. It is time for us to all unite and make our voice, and more importantly our power heard. It is time for us to return this nation of, by and for the people back to the people.

Otherwise, all of these peoples' hard work, all the progress that was made will fade away, and we will simply become a corporate fiefdom.

[Raine]

1. Thought provoking

THANKS for posting this. :thumbsup:

[crickets]

2. Thanks for a gathering of wonderful quotes as well as

the excellent message. We're not the first generation to feel disgusted with the state of our government, and it's not impossible to do something about it.

[MadHound]

3. kick n/t