Free Radicals

During my lifetime [3/4 of a century at current prices] UK and US
socio-political goalposts have shifted so far to the right that – were
we actually talking about a sports field – the centre line has been
re-branded as radical.

Just for some context of personification: neither Bernie Sanders nor
Jeremy Corbyn is a radical. Yes, they’re left of centre, but analyse
their policies and they’re pretty tame. Despite normal differences in
each of their parties, both espouse the promotion of social justice in
just about every sphere of life.

Both put people before profit and call out the controlling capitalist
profiteers who sacrifice the poor, the have-nots, the
false-aspirationalists, the squeezed-middles, and the JAMS. Both cut
open the veins of hypocritical trickle-down economics to expose the
tainted blood of platitudes like “work hard, don’t rock the boat, take
what you’re given, and you, too, can buy lotsa stuff.” Both try to
expose the undercurrent of corruption that bubbles along, swamping the
majority and eventually drowning them.

One of the great advantages of near-instant, global interchange of
ideas, is how quickly we get to know about the tactics of the
power-elite. Perhaps the most cogent of these is collective fear and
anxiety. As a weapon of control it can’t be beat. Looking over our
shoulder at similar crowd-control equipment, past eras were hampered by
a news delay, though even that was used to advantage, of course.
High-level decisions were [and continue to be] made behind closed doors.
But the most cogent flick of the whip-hand was war.

Dress it up how you like under headlines of patriotism, of
god-on-our-side, of early 20th century rousing tunes – if you [no, not
you Miss and Mrs Woman – not yet] – if you, Mr Man, found your testicles
in the hands of a military surgeon asking you to cough, it wasn’t just
the touch of your balls in another’s paws which instilled fear. At an
age when you wanted to be thinking about getting laid and learning a
trade, your brain was filling with the very real possibility that you
could well be off to get killed. You’d be wondering how you might get
out of it without the knowledge of weak ankle bones or the dosh to
falsify your medical records. But I’m guessing you wouldn’t be allayed
by the pomp and ceremony of a church service attended by a future king
and queen, all dolled up and giving thanks for your service in the mud
of Passchendaele some 60 years ago. And by service, I mean your useless
death.

These days we have given the reins of power to the ignorant,
arrogant, spoilt brats of the kindergarten. Children of the super-rich,
they’re the embodiment of the far-right. Not only are they ill-prepared
for the adult decisions they’re expected to make, they’ve cloaked their
ignorance in the tactics of the playground. Any voice of rationality
from the serious to the satiric is met with little chubby fingers
pointing back with chants of So’s your old man, or Fake News, or other
petulant declarations.

The whole mud-pie fight is allowing back-door policies that subvert
any vestige of democracy. Is there a true radical voice anymore? Well,
yes, but it’s been squeezed off by the throat. And by the threat of that
most persuasive of labels – terrorism.

Charlottesville and the equally despicable social racism uncovered by
Grenfell have provided the perfect cover for the war game being
manipulated by both Russian and western alliance military factions.
While attempts by South and North Korean strategists to pour oil on
troubled waters go unreported by mainstream media, the unofficial armed
militias foment the kind of unrest to justify pre-emptive action by the
only sector of society which benefits: the military-industrial complex.
It’s a tactic tried and tested over a couple of centuries.

The big problem this time is that this crop of idiots in charge are
in such denial about every warning, that there truly is a risk of
nuclear destruction. Divide and conquer has been the political choice of
most governments in living memory. But it’s only now that both BigBiz
and BigGuns have had such free rein.

The political dimension of society has been completely devoured by
its capitalist economic masters. If only there were an outlet for the
voice of the actual left, instead of the middle-road platitudes of
compromise. Because they’ve been mis-branded as the Left, neither heads
of state, politicians [elected or not], and the congregations of sheeple
the world over – none will be brave enough to heed the heartfelt
warnings.

The radicals may be free at the moment, but with every passing day
they’re being deprived not only of credibility but of life itself. It’s
not too late. Social media and the Internet itself are legal tools of
non-violent direct action. If crowd-funding can raise millions to help
strangers who’ve tugged our heartstrings, if we can ignore those
ridiculous labels that we who value social justice above corporate
profits are the threat – we can stand up to the real menace.

We don’t have to agree about everything, and we mustn’t be afraid to
be branded. We can use our most powerful tool – a tool of peaceful
democracy. The most powerful act we can perform is to boycott
everything, a mass strike against the monster of capital. Even just for
a few days or a week. Stop buying, start making. Stop buying, start
growing. Stop buying, start sharing.

Why remain a pawn when you can fulfil your true destiny as a free
human being. What’s so radical about that?

Categorised in: Article

This post was written by outRageous!