To the editor:
Re: the letter “Let’s Defeat the Dark Force.”
Our country fought a revolutionary war to determine how we would govern ourselves. Today thousands are unhappy with the economic chaos, but millions are holding jobs, paying bills and going about their lives in a peaceful manner. There can be no traction in a movement that does not have the majority of the population behind it.
All through world history, there have been movements attempting to establish a foothold in the political world. The Nazi party, Communist party and KKK were serious efforts right on to the ridiculous such as the “I Know Nothing Party.”
We still have the right to vote. We can vote rascals out of office and choose new leaders. If the Occupy movement became a political power, would it be worse than our present democratic government?
The letter writer identifies the government and corporations as the “Dark Force” against the 99 percent occupation movement. Interesting. Sounds like something out of “Star Wars.”
How does anyone know the letter writer is not part of the Dark Force? Perhaps trying to stir up the malcontents to cause mischief? Where is the letter writer in all this rhetoric? Does he hope to secure a spot in a coming revolution? If so, a word to the wise: Homeland Security is watching.
The writer mentions the 7 billion souls on our planet. He casually dismisses the high number by offering the solution of catastrophic events such as a global crisis “that could easily bring the population back down to a more manageable number.” I would want to know exactly which “manageable numbers” he is referring to and do we get to decide on who goes and who stays?
Any political movement has to have structure. There must be leaders and followers. The demonstrations during the Vietnam War were not organized and, therefore, after protesting a war already winding down, died with a whimper instead of living with a shout and going on to become a major power in the political world.
Even if the majority decides to support this political movement, what will the end result be? There must be a framework to govern by. If everyone goes their own way, the world would sink into chaos. If there is no government, the services of police, firefighters and the military will not exist. Without government there is no stability.
A number of political solutions have been tried; communism, socialism, democracy, authoritarianism, dictatorship, autocracy, to name a few. No form of government works perfectly. The only type of political leadership that seems to endure are the several forms of democracy.
The protest movement seems to catch a lot of attention. OK, if this is successful, where does it go? All these people can’t stand out in the weather and protest forever. How do we get the business of living back on a stable basis? Here’s an interesting idea; why not form a political party and run candidates for office?
The cartoon character Pogo said it all, “We has met the enemy and he is us.”
We are all to blame for this economic mess. Maybe some more than others, but if everyone had been paying attention instead of running up their debt, we wouldn’t be in this mess.
RICHARD M. BRAUER
Langley
