October 29, 2004
A Rant
I posted this comment over at Kim du Toit's blog just now.
Some thoughts.
I agree with Matt: "The problem with violent revolution, of course, is that there are really only two outcomes carrying probabilities high enough to be worth measuring. Either the revolutionary conspirators are cut down in the streets and their homes by the overwhelming firepower at the disposal of the government, or else the revolution eventually "succeeds" and the government which replaces ours turns out a whole lot WORSE than the one we have now."
We are most certainly allowed to discuss all the ways the the state of affairs in the US sucks, and in many ways the laws meant to "save" us sow far greater harm. But to think for a moment that the US method of governance isn't the best form of sovereign nation governance ever in the history of mankind is, in my opinion, simply wrong. I believe, along with many other folks, that the left especially is doing great harm in their quest to retain power (both politically, and over others individually in the form behavior laws), but I have great faith the system can find a corrective course. To pray for, or contemplate, any form of wholesale upheaval in the US is to, I think, not appreciate just how right this 228-year experiment has gone thus far. There is no Phoenix awaiting in the ashes of the US Constitution.
I am quite sanguine about the future of America. Why? Blogs. Please pause for one moment and bear witness to what you all are participating in. None of us know each other. None of us probably know Kim. Yet we have freely chosen to assemble in the Kim du Toit Roadhouse to speak our (sometimes feisty) opinions on the perceived ills of government. No one here will be "disappeared". No one here will be interrogated and charged with crimes against the state. Is the system corrupt? In places. Is the system inefficient? You bet. Have we all been stung by unfair treatment at the hands of the state, be it a bogus traffic ticket, an unscrupulous tax assessor, a corrupt judge? The answer is probably yes all around. What would you prefer? Chirac's socialism? Putin's "democracy"? Saddam's death chambers?
The revolution is already in progress. Nerdy lawyers in Minnesota are chopping away at our sacred cow media establishment with swipes that would shame Paul Bunyan. Reservists who are dentists and accountants in the US are completely bypassing the traditional information brokers and communicating daily the successes they see in Iraq as easily as if they were on the phone with you. Housewives are speaking out, not to their tired husbands just before they turn out the light, but to the entire nation of vote fraud in rural Ohio tonwships. If you think for one minute that Bush's chances of reelection aren't vastly improved because of blogs, please reconsider. Those that thirst for power solely for power's sake are throwing truckloads of shit at Bush, hoping that something, anything, will stick. That pig don't fly no more.
I read the Carl Drega story above and I wonder how it would have turned out if he had had the ability to start a blog. Those puny-minded civil servants probably would have had the smirks wiped off their face if they were fielding a thousand phone calls a day asking them "Who made you fucking king?". We all would have been talking about it. If there's one thing a snarky municipal employee doesn't want, it's the public's attention.
I say: let's watch history unfold. You sure can't say we live in uninteresting times. Let's enjoy this newfound government and media accountability for a while. It may not turn out perfect, but it probably won't suck either.
Posted by nopundit at October 29, 2004 09:18 AM