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

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Hillary Hypocrisy? Clinton Calls for Free Speech, while Vet Arrested, Abused Before Her Eyes for Exercising Free Speech

by Kevin Zeese from OpEd News.
During that speech Ray McGovern, a veteran who also served for 27 years as a CIA analyst, exercised his freedom of speech by standing and silently turning his back on Secretary Clinton. He was protesting the ongoing wars, the treatment of Bradley Manning and the militarism of U.S. foreign policy. He did not shout at the Secretary of State or interrupt her speech. He merely stood in silence.
There are few people in the US who know more about the war crimes and human rights abuses of the Empire than Ray McGovern. While the Empire's public relations people such as Hillary Clinton sermonize about civil and human rights abroad, this great clip illustrates how the Empire cannot tolerate the mildest form of dissent at home.