Right Here, Right Now | Act Up?

by A. E. O'Neill

[Originally published December 6, 2002 at ignorance.tv]

Political protest takes many forms - passive resistance, conscientious objection, raucous outdoor assemblies and the destruction of public property — and is an American institution as old as the nation itself. The spirit of American rebellion was revived for the modern era just over forty years ago, when a young, popular President led the nation into the most pivotal decade in its history.

By the end of Kennedy's brief but eventful reign, the American people stood poised at the threshold of a cultural revolution that would sweep through every corner of the world and set the stage for a future that even their forward-looking leader could not have imagined.

Since then, we've watched political activism evolve through its successes and failures, from the Vietnam War protests of the 1960s to the Your-Cause-Here Aid concerts of the 80s to the Gulf War protests of the early 90s. Recently, a few well-organized WTO riots punctuated the end of a century and served to demonstrate that the spirit is alive, kicking and more determined than ever.

Partial credit must go to CNN and the Discovery Channel and their joint crusade to make world politics entertaining — they've succeeded, to some degree, in educating the nation on its own inner workings. It is now common knowledge in America that corruption and capriciousness on the part of political leaders sometimes decides the fate of nations — and that the tail, more often than not, wags the dog.

We know that we are manipulated, pitched to, lied to and stolen from, by the government as well as the media, but it is that very same first amendment-fueled media that has armed us with the means to demand at least as much accountability from our political leaders as we do from the makers of the products we consume.

The complacency and cynicism that marked the 90s, bi-products of a thriving economy and a decade of deceptive peace, came crashing to a halt in 2001. The dormant revolution was reawakened in many of us and this is evident in more than just a renewed willingness to question leaders whose shortcomings are painfully, embarrassingly obvious.

We know that nothing in politics is black and white but over the last fifteen months we have been rethinking our ambivalence. This can only be good — we should be embarrassed that we ever allowed ourselves to believe that it's somehow unAmerican to want to effect change in the world.

Let's not forget that the inalienable right to question our government - in fact, " to alter or to abolish it," should it prove more destructive than protective of the rights of the governed — was at the very heart of the revolution that defined America. Maybe wealth and power breed cynicism and apathy - or maybe we all secretly believe that the end of the world is upon us so our actions no longer matter- but at this moment, the future is still up for grabs. What are we doing about it?