We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

The BP/Government police state

by Glenn Greenwald from Salon. 

This, and other reports, illustrate once again the close collaboration between the dominate institutions of our society and its police forces. Greenwald is shocked, but he apparently has little understanding of enforcement agencies' true purpose which, except for situations like this, is usually very much disguised with the help of mainstream media. Can there still be doubts in your mind as to the purpose of police forces in a class society?