For some time I have been one of those who ask the question: Where's the outrage? I don't have to remind anyone here of the overwhelming atrocities that are being committed daily on our nation by our leaders. And I'm not just talking about the administration. Our "Democratic" congress is as much to blame - if not directly, as an enabler. So, as I ask my self daily, where's the outrage? Where are the millions of citizens who should be pouring into the streets, pounding at the doors of our leaders, DEMANDING change - NOW?
Here is an excellent article in the WaPo by Joel Achenbach. His main thesis is that even though our government's policies and actions are highly "unpopular", we, as a society, have become soft and complacent:
The polls indicate massive antiwar sentiment in America, but if 500,000 people descended on the Mall anytime recently to protest what's happening in Iraq, I missed it. The only way people would riot in this country is if you announced that Best Buy just got in a new shipment of Wiis. There are only about three or four people in America who still talk about The Revolution, and they all live in treehouses.
He also posits that technology and human networking will trump change from within the political structure:
At the moment, no one can tell who the presidential nominees will be. What's also uncertain is how much the identity of the next president will matter, at least compared with other cultural and technological vectors. Truly revolutionary change seems more likely to come from physics than from politics.
I agree to a point, but I think there is also the likelyhood that the ability to sit at your keyboard and vent anonymously (as I am doing now) may actually diffuse much of the passion that is necessary for truly revolutionary change.
A poll and a penny for your thoughts below.