Author: mickeyz

There are no innocent bystanders when our money and/or rhetoric support the world’s most powerful military and the corporate status quo.
The next time you’re feeling “free,” see how far you can walk without being legally compelled to stop…to let cars drive past. The light turns red and voila: you are no longer free to continue walking because in America, the car culture rules. This essentially invisible totalitarian salvo was recently complicated when a big white SUV crept up into the crosswalk, making it virtually hopeless for yours truly to cross the damn street even when the light changed to green. I fixed my gaze on the mechanized monster before me and immediately saw all that is wrong with America.

No, I’m not just talking about how the gas guzzling properties of that SUV directly result in military interventions, human rights violations, global poverty, rampant war crimes, and everything else on the lurid laundry list. This is not just another screed about the myriad highways that crisscross America, draining tax dollars, shattering communities, and devastating eco-systems. No, this is all about dissidents finally blaming everyone who deserves blame (including ourselves).

The neatly dressed man in the passenger seat (“Dad”) was talking loudly on a cell phone. Global demand for columbite-tantalite (a.k.a. “coltan”), a common cell phone component, is fueling war and environmental destruction in the Democratic Republic of Congo…but leftists aren’t supposed to acknowledge their complicity. We don’t reproach everyday Americans for their callous indifference because, well…it’s all Bush’s fault, right?

The woman driving this death machine (“Mom”) sported diamond earrings. Although we’re aware how the diamond trade exploits both humans and the landscape, Mom’s given a free pass based solely on her ignorance. It’s Bush’s fault.

Both Mom and Dad proudly call themselves “liberal” and voted for Kerry in 2004. Their participation in the two-party farce and their acceptance of lesser evilism, however, are not seen as the problem by those in the know. It’s all Bush’s fault.

In the backseat of that SUV sat a teenage boy wearing Nike sneakers, a Gap shirt, and eating a Big Mac. I’m not supposed to point the accusing finger of blame at his family’s willingness to financially support sweatshop labor and factory farming because it’s Bush’s fault.

Next to Big Mac boy was his older sister: drinking Coke (sorry India and Colombia) and putting on nail polish (too bad for the animals it was tested on). This girl’s compliance is not the problem. She’s merely a product of the times. Besides, it’s all Bush’s fault.

The light that temporarily halted this SUV went green and Mom put the pedal to the metal. As she drove away, I saw a bumper sticker that reads: “Our son is a U.S. Marine.” Ah, here we have the Holy Grail of free passes. Condemn the war but support the troops, we’re told, and the SUV owner’s progeny only joined for the educational opportunities. It’s not his fault. Leave him alone. He’s only following orders. He had no choice. He has no culpability. It’s Bush’s fault that poor sonny boy is stuck in Iraq.

Reality check: The excuse of ignorance is not valid when graphic images are available within minutes. It’s not lack of knowledge; it’s denial…or perhaps even acquiescence. There are no innocent bystanders when our money and/or rhetoric support the world’s most powerful military and the corporate status quo. But if we just keep telling ourselves it’s all Bush’s fault, we can sleep better…our innocence wrapped around us like a big white SUV.

Mickey Z. can be found on the Web at http://www.mickeyz.net.

Thomas Jefferson can pronounce: “Every generation needs a new revolution.” But that doesn’t mean I can
If you were to publicly declare your discontent with the U.S. government and your subsequent desire to abolish that government, the land of the free would likely reward you with an orange jumpsuit and a one-way ticket for an all-inclusive vacation at Guantanamo Bay.

Now imagine if you instead chose to stand in front of a crowded room and utter something along these lines: “I think all men–and women–are created equal and are endowed with certain undeniable rights, including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. To secure these rights, governments are created and derive their powers from the consent of the governed. Whenever any form of government tries to destroy or take away these undeniable rights, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish that government and replace it with a new one.”

Bingo: you’re a goddamned high school history teacher. Okay class; turn to page 257. Today we’ll be talking about Patrick Henry (and don’t tell me “give me liberty or give me death” sounds an awful lot like what an insurgent might say).

Thomas Jefferson can pronounce: “Every generation needs a new revolution.” But that doesn’t mean I can. Honest Abe once declared: “Any people anywhere being inclined and having the power have the right to rise up and shake off the existing government, and force a new one that suits them better.” Hey, a government that suits me–and most humans–better would be a step in the right direction, but making plans to “shake off the existing government and force a new one” would just about guarantee you a place on that secret no-fly list.

Let’s face it, revolution just ain’t what it used to be. Mao Tse-Tung warned: “A revolution is not a dinner party, or writing an essay, or painting a picture, or doing embroidery.” Today, revolution a Chevy commercial or a Beatles song. Che Guevara believed “the true revolutionary is guided by great feelings of love.” By 1994, Newt Gingrich and his merry band of Republicans were using “revolution” to describe a minor reshuffling of ruling class allegiances. “The most heroic word in all languages is revolution,” stated Eugene Debs, but if he were around today and typed “revolution” into Google, he’d find the top response was for a software company.

As long as you’re not talking about the U.S. government, you can have as many revolutions as you please. You can have 33 per minute, for all Dick Cheney cares. Fitness, music, film, art, and countless ways to make money…the mutinous mood is alive and well. This time around, however, the revolution was indeed televised and is now enjoying a long, successful run in syndication.

Can the huddled befuddled masses to snap from their self-induced trance to recapture the subversive spirit of ’76? I’ll give the last word to Abraham Lincoln: “This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it. Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise their constitutional right of amending it, or their revolutionary right to dismember or overthrow it.”

Remember: Abe said it, not me.

Mickey Z. can be found on the Web at http://www.mickeyz.net.

In 1972, anti-war activists like Jane Fonda and Ramsey Clark traveled to North Vietnam and in the process, helped shine a light on the American tactic of bombing Vietnamese dikes. In 2006, rocker-rapper Kid Rock traveled to Iraq because, he says, he wanted “to see exactly what the soldiers are going through … and let them know they’re in our hearts.” The times, they have a-changed.
In the latest issue of Blender Magazine, Kid Rock talks about spending Christmas in Baghdad. He tells his readers about “human feces literally spilling into the streets” and how “our troops deal with it every day.” There was no indication of how the actual citizens of Iraq felt about sewers that surely functioned better before the U.S. invasion. This isn’t radical chic; it’s G.I. Joe for the rich and famous.

This was Kid Rock’s second trip to the occupied nation. In 2003, he took part in a show at Saddam International Airport. “Back then,” he explains, “it was like ‘Hurray, we won! We fucking tore this country up, and rightfully so’.”

The second time around, the American Bad Ass ended up hanging with the troops thanks to Senator Bill Frist (“he seemed like a cool enough guy” Kid declares). His military tour guides made certain the Detroit rocker saw all the important sites, for example, soldiers that “hooked up” a school so Iraqi kids would “have fresh water” and, of course, GIs just itching to re-up for another tour in Iraq to help “these people.”

Did the Motor City millionaire have any conflicted feelings while jamming in the Middle East? Well, the sight of soldiers’ coffins gave him pause (no word on how the many more dead Iraqis impacted him) but he did learn you need a firm hand in the war business. “We know Saddam had to go,” a soldier told Kid, “but you gotta hand it to him: He knew how to keep this country in line.” The Kid’s reaction? “Our guys are trying to do it with democracy, but you could hear their frustration.” As a “higher ranking guy” explained to the affluent artiste, “We don’t create policy, we execute it.” Therein lies Kid Rock’s take-home message: “Whether it’s a right war or a wrong war, they’ve got their papers and they’ve got to fight.”

Sounds like the establishment won’t be losing any sleep about a return to Vietnam-era dissent. This ain’t your father’s activism.

Mickey Z. can be found on the Web at http://www.mickey.net.