Surviving Capitalism (Not) : Did You Have Any Idea?

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, March 14, 2013

Did You Have Any Idea?

Click here if you wish to access the source of this video posting on Thing2Thing.

The Sydney Forum opened with a screening from the Wikileaks series: “Did You Have Any Idea?” which has been put together by media artist Cathy Vogan with the help of producer Jake Lloyd Jones. This compilation, tailor-made for the live event, features statements and interviews with Noam Chomsky, Daniel Ellsberg, Julian Burnside, Nozomi Hayase and John Pilger.

The 18:28m video below is reportedly a preview of a documentary called "Crimes of Obedience". I wasn't able to find out anything more about the film as of this posting.

The video examines the issue of obedience to authority and its role in committing, and collaborating with, war crimes. As I see it, the problem of obedience in committing all kinds of crimes and social injustices stems from the need of any class-structured society to indoctrinate in its citizens this requirement to show deference to authority figures. This indoctrination is a prominent feature of hierarchy which makes possible the dominance of a few (ruling class) over the many.