Guards, Part I: "The Burning"

Huts burned, the air was filled with smoke, the tortured smell of blazing grass and the rending cries of the terrified villagers as the raiders bore down.

Setting a Trap for the People

The ultimate job of all of these security agencies, set up and empowered to an incredible degree by the liberal regimes around the world, is to set traps for the people to fall into so that the jails remain filled with legions of lawbreakers. Instead of addressing the root causes of crime and working to eliminate the conditions which give rise to it they seem more interested in keeping the jails full and the security forces active and the so-called “War on Terrorism” has given them the justification they need in the eyes of a docile populace to place more and more people under lock and key. Infinite numbers of flexibly applied laws are exploited to this end – from “breach of the peace” to “resisting arrest” – and the aim is to ensure that anyone can be detained for any reason without calling into question the liberal façade of “democracy”.

Weak Democracy and Entertainment

For the majority of people in the West it appears that democracy has lost its meaning as a means of political participation and is now seen as a kind of freedom to have fun or to be entertained – a right upheld and maintained by massive security forces, harsh anti-terrorism laws, vast corporations and increasingly powerful executive driven governments. While democracy continues to exist as a political and social ideal for so many oppressed peoples in the Third World, in the West it has become a matter of preserving the luxuries we currently enjoy against any perceived threat – from terrorism to global warming. Under such circumstances it is no wonder that democracy is not in good condition and largely exists in name only, not only in the corrupt states of the Third World, but within the increasingly decadent heart of the West itself.

Partisan Politics versus Direct Democracy

The effect that the advent of partisan politics had on the legislative process is that it disconnected political power from the physical community of human beings and transferred it to an artificially created political interest group claiming to represent the “interests” of the people as a whole.  

Comedy, Counter-Culture and Why Bush Doesn't Care About Either

It seems that the concept of what makes a political statement is lost on many people these days. A lot of comedy today is merely an aspect of the so-called “counter-culture” and many of these comedians seem to think that they are making a political statement by making fun of their society’s elites in various creative ways. In reality they cannot be considered rebels at all – do they not see how the elites they make fun of pay them no heed? Their comedy actually serves a very useful social function that the present day elites would be foolish to condemn or throw away.

Actions not Words: How to Realize the Ideals of One World

This past week has seen two demonstrations of the growing desire for peace, justice and unity between human beings on a universal scale, and I am left with no doubt as to the sincerity of the people who made them happen.

The first, was the One World show, which was a very impressive gathering and, in many cases, a fusion of cultural traditions with the expressed intent of building a sense of togetherness and unity between people of diverse cultures. I remember being particularly moved by the show’s motto (“one love, one people, one world”), which hung above the stage the entire time as people from all manner of backgrounds showed their diverse talents in one place. The second was Earth Hour, which was truly a worldwide phenomenon, with the University of Guelph being part of this global effort to raise awareness about climate change and its global implications for all of humankind. The coordination of this event around the world shows that people do care and that people are increasingly seeing the world in a broader and more inclusive sense – this is a beautiful thing.

However, while I support these efforts, let me also say without hesitation that they are not enough. They are not nearly enough and I think people generally know that, but given the commonality of the sad tendency of resorting to band-aid “solutions”, feel-good events, and awareness campaigns in modern progressive circles, I feel the need to offer some serious criticism and some suggestions which I hope people will consider in the future – because if we rely exclusively on the present methods being used (that I have just mentioned), the “one love, one people, one world” vision can never be realized. If we want something so profound – just as people who have wanted something profound throughout history have had to do – we have to be willing to fight for it.

Consumerism as a discouragement of Direct Democracy

Consumers do not make good citizens. Anyone who would not inconvenience themselves for the sake of society cannot be called a good citizen and since the life of the consumer is ruled by convenience and the desire for convenience than they can hardly be called good citizens who will actively participate in society beyond their immediate circle of friends and relations.