Which side are you really on?

Quotes to remember

Part of what the ruling oligarchy counts on is our failure to remember our history and to see each new event as having no roots in our past. Can you identify these quotes?
1. College isn't the place to go for ideas.
2. We can’t have education without revolution. We have tried peace education for 1,900 years and it has failed. Let us try revolution and see what it will do now. . . . I am not for peace at all hazards. I regret this war [World War I], but I have never regretted the blood of the thousands spilled during the French Revolution. And the workers are learning how to stand alone. They are learning a lesson they will apply to their own good out in the trenches. . . . Under the obvious battle waging there is an invisible battle for the freedom of man
3. I mean, when the world comes for your children, with the knives out, it's your job to stand in the way.
4. The master class has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles. The master class had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject class has had nothing to gain and all to lose - especially their lives.
5. Let us put our minds together and see what life we
can make for our children.
I could fill pages with things like this. My point is that our present situation is not new and that many great people endured the ravages of the oligarchy before us.
I am 82 and in my lifetime we have had things like lynchings, wars, and other forms of exploitation and oppression.
We have just seen the old face of this country emerge from behind its mask. The corporate media want us to see each event as new and outside of the pattern of this oligarchy. They are very good at that and masses of our people are taken in by this. Yet history is very clear. Very little has really changed.

Meanwhile evolution and history follow the unidirectional clock of time. Each phase gets worse and the possibility of correcting rather huge insults to our planet’s ability to sustain us are vanishing. We keep passing climate turning points among others. As each is passed there is no going back and no fix.

Our young people are being given a legacy of misuse and neglect when it comes to the planet that must sustain them.
We are being attacked by a monster and it needs to be stopped. Rather than stopping it we feed it and listen to the theater it has created to distract us.

How much longer will this go on unchecked? What we call “politics” is a theater designed to keep us in place while the oligarchs extract what they can while they can.

Which side are you really on?

Here are the answers To the quotes:

1. And 2. Hellen Keller
3. Joe Hill
4. Eugene Debs
5. Sitting Bull

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Comments

I have three grandsons, and i’m really am noticing the years piling up. Something I thought in my youth would never happen to me. I also thought back then that things would only get better for every generation. Who knew it would worse, much worse. I feel the urgency of time slipping by, and I feel inadequate to the task at hand. Speaking of the importance of history, who is it that said nothing in life is ever new?

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"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon

lotlizard's picture

@dkmich  

A generation goes, and a generation comes,
but the earth remains forever.

The sun rises, and the sun goes down,
and hastens to the place where it rises.

The wind blows to the south
and goes around to the north;
around and around goes the wind,
and on its circuits the wind returns.

All streams run to the sea,
but the sea is not full;
to the place where the streams flow,
there they flow again.

All things are full of weariness;
a man cannot utter it;
the eye is not satisfied with seeing,
nor the ear filled with hearing.

What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done,
and there is nothing new under the sun.

Is there a thing of which it is said,
“See, this is new”?
It has been already
in the ages before us.

There is no remembrance of former things,
nor will there be any remembrance
of later things yet to be among those who come after.

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joe shikspack's picture

It matters little where we pass the remnant of our days. They will not be many. The Indian's night promises to be dark. Not a single star of hope hovers above his horizon. Sad-voiced winds moan in the distance. Grim fate seems to be on the Red Man's trail, and wherever he will hear the approaching footsteps of his fell destroyer and prepare stolidly to meet his doom, as does the wounded doe that hears the approaching footsteps of the hunter.

A few more moons, a few more winters, and not one of the descendants of the mighty hosts that once moved over this broad land or lived in happy homes, protected by the Great Spirit, will remain to mourn over the graves of a people once more powerful and hopeful than yours. But why should I mourn at the untimely fate of my people? Tribe follows tribe, and nation follows nation, like the waves of the sea. It is the order of nature, and regret is useless. Your time of decay may be distant, but it will surely come, for even the White Man whose God walked and talked with him as friend to friend, cannot be exempt from the common destiny. We may be brothers after all. We will see.

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Big Al's picture

been hijacked by the Clintons or that the DNC leadership is the problem, I remember quotes from the past on the duopoly. It's interesting how the demexiters, who didn't demexit under war criminal Obama, try to blame the current situation on the party leadership even after hearing these kind of quotes, of which there are many from the past. They literally do think the situation is new and can be resolved through electing better politicians.

"The Republican and Democratic parties, or, to be more exact, the Republican-Democratic party, represent the capitalist class in the class struggle. They are the political wings of the capitalist system and such differences as arise between them relate to spoils and not to principles."

"The Socialist Party and the Working Class". Eugene V. Debs' opening speech as Presidential candidate of the Socialist Party in Indianapolis, Indiana, www.marxists.org. September 1, 1904.

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don mikulecky's picture

@Big Al great quote

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An idea is not responsible for who happens to be carrying it at the time. It stands or it falls on its own merits.

JekyllnHyde's picture

... comes from a man I have a great deal of respect for. He was, arguably, the greatest Rennaissance man of the 20th century. Many years ago, I wrote a long, two-part essay about his life and struggles through the McCarthy era. I might dig it out and repost it at some point in the future here on caucus99 percent.



“The answer to injustice is not to silence the critic, but to end the injustice.”
― Paul Robeson

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A riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma

lotlizard's picture

@JekyllnHyde  
All the folks catapulting the the “Russia, Russia, Russia!” propaganda would be on him like Bull Connor’s police dogs.

The New York Times would be hawking animated cartoons depicting him in a ménage à trois with Presidents Trump and Putin.

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=%2B%22paul+robeson%22+russia+soviet

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Pluto's Republic's picture

...there are many ideas just waiting to be entertained. In my comment in your first essay, I offered at least half a dozen outside the box ideas that could be unpacked and examined and tested for potential impact and effectiveness in returning the power to the people. Others here expressed the germ of ideas. I don't think you were reading comprehensively. I'm fearless when it comes to throwing out ideas. I wrote:

Thinking outside the election box has been mocked and rejected wherever people gather. Even after voting has become a mockery of democracy in recent elections, it remains the default political solution. It doesn't seem to matter that it cannot work at the Federal level where the real power is located, and where the institutional knowledge has been captured by "unelected authorities" who enjoy permanent positions. Voting still remains a ritual and an act of faith.

I think there are ways to use the system and turn democracy around to work for the people:

National voting blocks, strategic alliances, coalition alliances, election spoiler votes, demographic boosting through voluntary vote abstinence, the liberal use of referendums and recalls, buying laws and policies outright, going global through the UN with a national vote of no confidence, and as always, demanding a new people's constitution based on 21st century principles which also confer upon people the universal human rights established in 1948. It would be the first time Americans experienced the most basic of these rights.

Wait! Make than nine ideas. Thinking, of course, is required in each case.

For example, let's look at the idea highlighted in the list above: demographic boosting through voluntary vote abstinence. This idea seems to hold great potential for transformational populism. Here's how it works: As a moral principle, I propose that all Americans over 40 years of age take a public pledge to refrain from voting during the next general election. Let the country know that the young are empowered to choose the future that they will inherit — if they come out to vote. Let these younger generations know that they can hold their government betrayers accountable and we will help them to do so. We, the elders, should do everything possible to guide their considerably greater energies into seeking restitution if the policies they vote for are not promptly fulfilled. I believe this is an opportunity for new, revolutionary, inspired, non-party candidates to run for office and build their followings through the social media networks that they occupy. We can help with write-ins and ballots, legal strategies, and other initiatives to make their election choices work.

If they are then betrayed, there will be a new kind of hell for the establishment to experience. These are the digital generations, and it would be a mistake to cross them.

But that is just one idea out of many.

I also happen to know a truth: Change cannot come to the United States from INSIDE the United States. There is no mechanism that Americans can use to change their political system. This is not a hidden reality; anyone can see it if they think and look. But change is definitely coming, and intuitive people everywhere seem to sense it.

It will arrive and be felt economically. A second global economic system has been carefully constructed, in plain sight, over the past fifteen years. It is designed to replace every aspect of the current commercial system in use between nations. When executed, it removes all political control from the US Dollar, which will become a local currency for the use of Americans in their own country, only. All US imposed sanctions will end. The suffering of millions will be abated. Outstanding foreign accounts with the US will be settled using US Dollars where specified. These will be the final automatic uses of the US Dollar as a reserve or trading currency, outside of a pre-arranged currency swaps between nations. The United States will settle the current debts it owes with assets and real property. The transition can be slow or it can be rapid — but it is long overdue and ready to go. I hope we all live to see it and talk about it.

That will change everything, and give Americans a chance to take their country back and start over again, perhaps divided into smaller regional countries with much more responsive governments designed by the people. The entire continent lacks the infrastructure it needs for a sustainable future, and that should be the first focus. It's a very rich and abundant nation and should be cared for and shepherded into the future as it was meant to be.

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____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato

I can't find a side to be on, what's the point? I am part of the group of organisms who have ceased consuming most pap for the masses. No cars, no big banks, no credit cards, no Twitter, no AmaFaceGoo, a diet for a small planet, etc.. Trying my best not to consume what is left of the world, slow it down a little.

Where is the side that lives like that? Not here, nowhere near me, nothing within proximity. wah I can see what is right in front of my face. No money, no family, no friends, just a couple of acquaintances I force myself to nod along with for company. Negative net worth, negative self worth. Old shit on the bottom of worn shoes, waiting to be scraped off in the street. Like Magenta, RIP. "That's the system", in California, it is cruel.

Kolchak the Night Stalker was a 70s TV show, I watch the reruns nothing is new. "The inevitable march of inflation against a fixed income", omg he said it when I was a teen! About old people's Social Security being inadequate over time, granny in the ditch tough shit. I didn't see it happen to my parents 'cause they were already dead, no one to tell me truth except some guy on the tv machine. Fuck! I didn't work enough and there is nothing but bullshit jobs as far as the eye can see now. What side is not burning the world to death?

Hindsight makes me feel dumber. Bored, I download evil billionaire youtube to my slave-built computer, more screens telling me lies all the time and gawd knows what other kind of subliminal crap. Feel good shopping because why not. No, I just can't do it anymore. More people, more dumber. Duh. Suicide sounds great most of the time lately, should be free and easy, that's what I think. Misery is a drag on every thing, I can't be so angry all the time.

hello goodbye
wipe your feet
lol why not

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TheOtherMaven's picture

@eyo

Not the easiest thing to do, when it's so humongous and all-pervasive. But make a start somewhere, with yourself if there's no one else. Do something subversive, like plant a window-box herb garden - most people can manage that much if they approach it creatively. Learn to sew, and mend (or even sew) your own clothes. The Illustrated Hassle-Free Make Your Own Clothes Book was a 60s-era blow against the tyranny of the pattern industry, and occasionally gets reprinted. (I learned recently that the authors had independently recreated some of the methods used by the late 19th century "Eigenkleid" and "Artistic Dress" movements.) Anything you can do, no matter how small, is a step in the right direction.

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There is no justice. There can be no peace.

@TheOtherMaven @TheOtherMaven thanks, that reply was so perfect! Thank you. I have some purple basil in a box on the deck, it seems pretty hardy. I already do all the "subversive" stuff you listed, plus more.

Every day is a bad hair day around here 'cause I even cut my own hair, there is no one else to do it. I still use the Trader Joe's cloth bags I bought when the damned store first opened, decades ago. It burned to the ground in the wildfires, but I still have two bags. The whole fucking time in between the grocery industry just kept cranking out single use plastic like there was no tomorrow, and now there isn't. AssWhole Foods is a big threat to the planet but go on, Prime Day every day 'til death do us part. That's Washington's problem, California is a different cesspool, #2 behind Virginia for the military industry, death merchants rule. Tell me that's progressive, tell me it's raining and pee on my leg.

Where do you go when there is nowhere to go? The answer lies in the subversion somewhere, I want that pony but a single organism is just that, not much. I didn't even split like an amoeba, did not breed another virus with shoes. Finally, there will be no more Griffins from Ireland, we emigrated there is no going back, we are already dead.

Edited: to add the link to Defense Spending by State Fiscal Year 2015 where there is a 42Mb PDF for download. Vermont is #51, I thought it would be higher from the F-jet bombers. Good job Bernie, thanks.

Average DoD spending by state was approximately $8.0 billion
in FY 2015. As seen in Table 3, DoD spending was highest in
Virginia, followed by California, Texas, Maryland, and Florida. The
ten states with the highest DoD spending accounted for almost
three-fifths of total DoD spending in the nation.

peace

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@eyo when depression sinks it's dark cloud around my head, I try to find a tiny spec of hope or joy somewhere in the memory banks, focus on it and concentrate to the exclusion of all else. It helps to weather the storm.

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soc writing @eyo . Visceral, evocative writing like yours is a gift, thank you for sharing it with us.
How can we help?

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Ya got to be a Spirit, cain't be no Ghost. . .

Explain Bldg #7. . . still waiting. . .

If you’ve ever wondered whether you would have complied in 1930’s Germany,
Now you know. . .
sign at protest march

@Tall Bald and Ugly thanks brother, you are so not ugly. Just keep me away from the river while I'm streaming.

peace and love

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enhydra lutris's picture

@eyo
had heard from you. Sometimes all one can do is rage against the storm and be a voice or advocate for the disadvantaged, whether any listen or act or not. One awakes another day and continues to exist as one more being in opposition who refuses to concede, another faint voice in the wilderness. One can get knocked down and hammered flat, but that is not the same as bowing and prostrating oneself. Simply refusing to grovel is, in this day and age, rebellion. Simply caring and doing the small things that are outside the system's planned trajectory for us is rebellion. And, all rebellion is good, there is an inverse ratio between the speed with which the system gets worse and the amount of rebellion it contains.

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

don mikulecky's picture

@eyo suicide was my son's answer after Raygun was elected.

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An idea is not responsible for who happens to be carrying it at the time. It stands or it falls on its own merits.

@don mikulecky

I am so sorry to hear this. Your work is all the more amazing considering what has happened to you and your loved ones.

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@don mikulecky Sorry to give bad memories Don, I had no business spewing such drivel and I can't take it back once it's out there. It was my cousin's answer too, when Ronnie was governor here. I will never forget the night Raygun was elected president either, after eight years screwing California so darn well, why not screw the whole country. Bad actor precedents galore. My mom's mom "accidentally" took too many of her calming pills and never woke up, that was her answer.

hugs
keep going

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Raggedy Ann's picture

I’ve always hated that. I’m on my side, which means I take in information and form a life best for me.

My desire is to take information and make a better life for all, but that is a daunting task, so I do my best to spread the knowledge. It is up to people to believe and act according to their own internal machinations.

If, in all the seeds I drop along my life journey, one sprouts and takes root, I have achieved success.

That’s my philosophy.
Pleasantry

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"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11

Lookout's picture

Florence Reece, a shy, towheaded Kentucky miner's daughter, composed this song at the age of 12 when her father was out on strike. She sang it standing in front of the primitive hearth of a log cabin in the backwoods of Kentucky in 1937 and it has since become a national union song. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Reece

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iAIM02kv0g]

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

don mikulecky's picture

@Lookout yup that was what I was thinking about

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An idea is not responsible for who happens to be carrying it at the time. It stands or it falls on its own merits.

earthling1's picture

@Lookout
C. 1954 Huntington, West Virginia.
20171113_093905_0.jpg

I'm the little towhead on the left.
Have been in six different unions in my lifetime.
Retail Clerks
Amalgamated Chemical Workers
Glassblowers Intl.
Machinists Intl.
Sprinklerfitters
And, the Union of American States.

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Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.

don mikulecky's picture

@earthling1 solidarity! I have been in the AAUP including an officer.. I was involved in starting a union when I taught at Harvard. Got fired. Supported unions all my life.

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An idea is not responsible for who happens to be carrying it at the time. It stands or it falls on its own merits.

thank you for the great quotations and for all that you write here.

I think Pluto's Republic's ideas are worthy of action, and I think imagery is something worth applying to all the actions we take. I'm old enough to remember when knowledge of the Holocaust changed from belief that Germany had camps, holding people prisoner, to death camps. That change happened because photography and film of the "camps" were released widely, especially here in the United States. Seeing is believing.

At the present time, photography of our designer wars is not allowed in our mainstream media. The war industry knows full well that photography of children napalmed by American weapons in Vietnam changed the public understanding of the war and led to revolt against it.

And part of what I'm struggling with is that people who are deluded by the Russiagate farce seem not to understand what war is, much less what nuclear war would be. So I advocate making sure more and more photography and film of what we are actually doing to people, including to children, in war is actually seen online, in print, in the various media. Ignorance may be bliss, but right now it's downright dangerous.

And I think showing imagery of life in Norway, Sweden, Finland, and even France would go a long way toward showing to these same people that democratic socialism does render peace and prosperity. The apparent belief that democratic socialism would cause the standard of living in the United States to go downward is a joke, and I think seeing the reality of life in those countries would help to change that impression.

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earthling1's picture

This community keeps it all together for me. Safe port in an angry storm.
I have taken to act as an individual because it's the least I can do.
Credexit. I got rid of all my credit cards and deal only in cash.
I don't buy from corporations, unless there is no other option.
I consume less and less. Grow my own veggies.
I practice reduce, repair, repurpose, or recycle whenever possible.
I intend to start voting for the candidate with the least amount of campaign money.
It beats giving up.
Thanks for the post.

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Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.

don mikulecky's picture

@earthling1 good for you
I rode a bicycle to work all my life, had a garden, took Navy showers, and was active as I could be to stop the people who were exploiting us. you can only do so much

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An idea is not responsible for who happens to be carrying it at the time. It stands or it falls on its own merits.