A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State (36 page)

"We must see the need for nonviolent gadflies."
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–MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.

W
hen it comes to the staggering loss of civil liberties, the Constitution hasn't changed. Rather, as we have seen, it is the American people who have changed.

Once a citizenry that generally fomented a rebellion and founded a country, Americans are no longer the people they once were. Americans today live in a glass dome, says author Nicholas von Hoffman, a kind of terrarium, cut off from both reality and the outside world. In his words, they are "bobbleheads in Bubbleland. They shop in bubbled malls, they live in gated communities, and they move from place to place breathing their own private air in bubble-mobiles known as SUVs."
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Like lambs to the slaughter, too many Americans march in lockstep with whatever the government dictates, believing that to be patriotism. And those who do get a bit rowdy in voicing their disagreement with government policies find themselves labeled "troublemakers" and made into easy targets for attack by the media, politicians, the government, and the police.

"Tension"

In the past, however, it has been the so-called troublemakers–those rowdy protesters who challenge the status quo–who have actually changed things for the better in America. When Birmingham, Alabama, became the epicenter of the civil rights struggle for African-Americans, Martin Luther King Jr. and others participated in peaceful protests such as mass marches and sit-ins. The police response was repression in the form of tear gas, dogs, fire hoses, and arrests, including that of King.

Children's March Organized by Martin Luther King Jr. (Charles Moore / Black Star)

Yet as King acknowledged in his April 1963 "Letter from Birmingham Jail," demonstrations and objections to the status quo are sometimes necessary. Still, King was opposed to violent protests, preferring instead to encourage "tension." As he wrote: "... there is a type of constructive, nonviolent tension which is necessary for growth ... we must see the need for nonviolent gadflies to create the kind of tension in society that will help men rise from the dark depths of prejudice and racism to the majestic heights of understanding and brotherhood."
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Civil Disobedience

King's philosophy was undergirded by civil disobedience. This means of nonviolent resistance was used to great effect by Mahatma Gandhi in his campaign for Indian independence from the British, in South Africa in the fight against apartheid, and, of course, by the civil rights movement, to name three examples. Civil disobedience was also used to great effect at the Boston Tea Party.

Protests can take the form of stopping traffic, sidewalk protests, sit-ins, and other non-verbal forms of expression. The key, however, is standing on principle without wavering. As author and agitator Henry David Thoreau wrote in his 1849
Resistance to Civil Government, or Civil Disobedience
, inactivity by citizens can be more harmful to society than revolution:

There are thousands who are
in opinion
opposed to slavery and to the war, who yet in effect do nothing to put an end to them; who, esteeming themselves children of Washington and Franklin, sit down with their hands in their pockets, and say that they know not what to do, and do nothing ... They hesitate, and they regret, and sometimes they petition; but they do nothing in earnest and with effect. They will wait, well disposed, for others to remedy the evil, that they may no longer have it to regret.
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Thoreau goes on to note that for protest to be effective, it doesn't need to use force:

If a thousand men were not to pay their tax bills this year, that would not be a bloody and violent measure, as it would be to pay them, and enable the State to commit violence and shed innocent blood. This is, in fact, the definition of a peaceable revolution.
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Moreover, civil disobedience, according to Professor Erich Fromm, is the definition of a "free" person:

If a man can only obey and not disobey, he is a slave... Obedience to a person, institution or power (heteronomous obedience) is submission; it implies the abdication of my autonomy and the acceptance of aforeign will or judgment in place of my own. Obedience to my own reason or conviction (autonomous obedience) is not an act of submission but one of affirmation. My conviction and my judgment, if authentically mine, are part of me. If I follow them rather than the judgment of others, I am being myself...
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The Spirit of Resistance

Peaceable or not, the United States has a long history of revolutionary and reactionary behavior. Thomas Jefferson was one such rebel. "What country before ever existed a century and a half without a rebellion? And what country can preserve it's liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance?" Jefferson wrote. "Let them take arms ... What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."
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The figurative message of Jefferson's words should be heeded by all. His words illustrate the importance of political action. Jefferson, like Thoreau and King, hated inaction and stasis. Each of these men believed that the status quo should be challenged when it was found lacking, and overturned when it yielded unjust results. Embracing that spirit today might lead to civil disobedience, but surely from time to time that is necessary. Without it, the civil rights movement would never have succeeded, the colonies of the United States would never have broken free from their British oppressor, and India might never have gained her independence.

Thomas Jefferson and those who followed took it as a rule of thumb that political progress stems from dissent. Under the First Amendment, people have a right to dissent. The great dissenters such as Martin Luther King Jr. were even willing to commit civil disobedience to force the government to assume its constitutional role.

But as author Howard Zinn points out all too well, "Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience."
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CHAPTER 31

What Kind of Revolutionary Will You Be?

"We know through painful experience that freedom is never
voluntarily given up by the oppressor; it must be demanded
by the oppressed."
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–MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.

W
ith the government's relentless assault on our pocketbooks and freedoms, the economic and fiscal picture for many Americans is bleak. The national debt is in the trillions. People are losing their homes and jobs and millions have fallen into poverty. At the same time, lucrative tax breaks exist for the corporate rich, while the average citizen is heavily taxed. The Constitution and civil liberties have been undermined at every step. And don't expect any of these developments to let up anytime soon.

Understandably, many are bewildered. But now is not the time to shrink from our responsibility as citizens. In fact, we should welcome the chance to regain control of a government out of control. And if there is to be any change, it is going to be brought about by us, "we the people," not the politicians. No president, no congressman, and no judge can do what you can.

There is no better time to act than the present. Fear, apathy, escapism, or reliance on some government official to save us will not carry the day. It is within our power as citizens to make a difference and seek corrective measures. That principle is the basis of the American governmental scheme.

Revolutionaries

We need to think like revolutionaries. Thus, there can be no room for timidity or lukewarm emotions. What we need is passion, dedication and courage. And to paraphrase Martin Luther King Jr., we have to demand change from the oppressors.

There are certain things that are common to every successful struggle. Here are a few suggestions:

1. Get educated
. Without knowledge, very little can be accomplished. Thus, you must know your rights. Take time to read the Constitution. Study and understand history because the tales of those who seek power and those who resist it is an age-old one. Understand the vital issues of the day so that you can be cognizant of the threats to freedom.

2. Get involved
. Become actively involved in community affairs, politics and legal battles. Think nationally, but act locally. If our freedoms are to be restored, taking action at that local level must be the starting point. Getting involved in local politics is one way to bring about change. Seek out every opportunity to voice your concerns, and demand that your government representatives account for their actions. Be relentless.

3. Get organized
. You can overcome the governmental behemoth with enough cunning, skill, and organization. Play to your strengths and assets. Conduct strategy sessions with others to develop both the methods and ways to force change.

4. Be creative
. Be bold and imaginative, for this is guerilla warfare–not to be fought with tanks and guns but through creative methods of dissent and nonviolent resistance. Creatively responding to circumstances will often be one of your few resources if you are to be an effective agent of change.

5. Use the media
. Effective use of the media is essential. Attracting media coverage not only enhances and magnifies your efforts, it is a valuable education tool. It publicizes your message to a much wider audience. It is through the media–television, newspapers, internet sites, bloggers, and so on–that people find out about your growing resistance movement.

6. Start brushfires for freedom
. Recognize that you don't have to go it alone. Engage those around you in discussions about issues of importance. Challenge them to be part of a national dialogue. One person at a city planning meeting with a protest sign is an irritant. Three individuals at the same meeting with the same sign are a movement. You will find that those in power fear and respect numbers.

Andrea Hernandez and fellow protesters oppose RFID chips (Steve Hernandez)

7. Take action
. Be prepared to mobilize at a moment's notice. It doesn't matter who you are, where you're located or what resources are at your disposal. What matters is that you recognize the problems and care enough to do something about them. Whether you're eight, twenty-eight, or eighty-eight, you have something unique to contribute. You don't have to be a hero. You just have to show up and be ready to take action.

8. Be forward-looking
. Develop a vision for the future. Is what you're hoping to achieve enduring? Have you developed a plan to continue to educate others about the problems you're hoping to tackle and ensure that others will continue in your stead?

9. Develop fortitude
. What is it that led to the successful protest movements of the past? Resolve and the refusal to be put off. When the time came, Martin Luther King Jr., for one, was willing to take to the streets for what he believed and even go to jail if necessary. King risked having an arrest record by committing acts of nonviolent civil disobedience. He was willing to sacrifice himself. But first, he had to develop the intestinal fortitude to give him the strength to stand and fight. If you decide that you don't have the requisite fortitude, find someone who does and back them.