We’d like to show the side of the world you don’t normally see on television.
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Bob, I wholeheartedly agree! We can all see the mess... but, for many, that's all we can see. Those among the ruling elite are not going to willingly change a system that, in their perception, serves them well. Those who serve the ruling elite (police, military etc.) are not going to act against a system that they have, for all its flaws, committed to protecting... unless the reasons for doing so are greater than the reasons for maintaining the status quo.
We are, by nature, social beings with a need to maintain a form of order among us. The system aint good but it's the one we have in place and it kind of works... for now. Sure, politicians are mostly corrupt to some degree because politics is a corrupt system. There are no evil villains here... simply victims of their own addictions. The ruling elite are addicted to power and this overrides the best interests of those they rule. The corporate empire is addicted to profit and this overrides not only the interests of those who comprise the market but even the safety of the environment on which we all depend. Addiction usurps reason and destroys the host.
We have many addictions that are not necessarily recognised as such. One is an addiction to retribution. Our sense of justice tells us that those who have succumbed to corruption must be held accountable and be punished for their 'sins'. But to what end? The 'crime' is as much ours as it is theirs. We live in a democracy and yet we have allowed a system to develop in which corruption is inevitable. To insist on bringing the perpetrators of corruption to justice simply intensifies the imperative to resist any form of change and they have the 'teeth' of the police and the military to back them. If we want a peaceful transition, we must present clear alternatives that benefit all and criminalise none.
Of course, those with power are still not going to willingly relinquish it. Democracy is the open door of access to those who aspire to power and a stone-in-the-shoe for those who wield it. But the enforcers of their power are not part of the power structure. The police officer and the soldier are as much at the mercy of the system as the rest of us. They have less to lose. If a clear, positive and workable alternative can win the support of those that currently enforce the powers, the elite have no 'teeth' with which to resist. Also, if the alternatives - while not offering the exalted positions they would have to surrender - do not threaten the individuals within the current power structure (eg; having to answer to past deeds), the imperative to let go of a system that has clearly run its course is weakened. They have less to lose by submitting to the new paradigm.
Revolutions of violence and conflict have never worked. A revolution of pure reason has yet to be put to the test.
A movie that not only presents the framework of a workable alternative but also describes the varying traits of human nature that has to be taken into consideration has been produced by Peter Joseph for the Zeitgeist Movement and the Venus Project. I think this is an important movie and I don't often describe movies as "important". It's two hours and forty minutes so you may want to go to the bathroom before you click 'PLAY' but I thoroughly recommend watching this:
Interesting rap on revolution Ron. In response to "The simple and rational way to bring about revolution is to present a preferable alternative. Nothing more," I'd add one more very important variable in creating a preferable alternative -- joy! Here's the way I like to state it:
If you want to create a new culture, THROW A BETTER PARTY!"
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