Railroad Sabotage

Henry David Thoreau wrote in his book "The Flowering of America" about a railroad. He spoke of how we are so obsessed with technology and advancement that we fail to realize that "we don't ride upon the railroad, it rides upon us." Thoreau was writing about the class/social struggles of America in the early 1900's. He could just have accurately be talking about America today, though. So, in the tradition of Joe Hill, Mother Jones, Emma Goldman, Utah Phillips, and all the other people who organized and stood up for their fellow workers in protest, I think it's time class/social issues come back up to the surface in a real way.

Sometimes I stop and wonder why there hasn't really been any revolutionaries that have come forward of late, why there hasn't been a consciousness of all that we've faced and continue to face. And then I realize that it's because the government has gotten much much better at keeping an eye on that sort of thing. Most recently, things started welling up and it only took a well-timed conspiracy and the collapse of two American towers to refocus all of America on the country, not the people. That's when things got a little dicey. 

Lacking someone tangible to blame and punish, the government had to cook up scheme after scheme to keep America at war, to keep it from stopping to realize what was going on, to keep the American minds occupied with thought's other than of themselves and their conditions. It didn't work though. I think the American people are also getting much much better at keeping an eye on these sort of things. We realized that the war in Iraq wasn't about liberating the Iraqis or about protecting America. It was about protecting American interests. After all, the government is and always has been most interested in the stability of it's corporations, conglomerations, banks, and bureaucrats. It's for the benefit of a small group of bloated, balding, middle-aged men. That's why favor for the war dropped off so sharply and why it continues to be so unpopular- the American people realize it wasn't done for them and that they will be picking up the check at the end of the banquet.

Could it be that we're finally starting to realize that all the phony elections, the sex scandals, the gay-marriage bans, the retail hype, the bridge openings, the building dedications, the bill signings, etc- they're all a distraction. They're all a way for the people to think that they are included- that their opinions matter. 

I was excited when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans causing so much destruction. Of course I felt bad for the damage done and the people hurt and displaced. But I was sitting on edge waiting. It was the perfect stimulus needed to start something major. The Hurricane clearly demonstrated class and racial lines and biases. If anything, surely that would have created an uproar? While there was certainly some outcry, most simply held to the thought that we need to fix things and do what was needed so everything could go back to the way they were. And just as quickly the outcry died down.

I've been excited again recently about the upcoming election. We have one candidate who isn't white and one who represents everything that's held real America at bay since it's beginning. I've been sitting on edge waiting. It would be the perfect time to really get into some harrying debates about racial and class boundaries. It would be the perfect time to force the government to really look at and answer for the poor and low-income America. It would be- let me correct that- it is the perfect time to stir up the unrest and see where we can go with it. 

It's been upsetting, though, to see that at the same time we are all being groomed and prepped for the potential of another upcoming war of "solidarity". Be it Iran, China, Pakistan, Korea, Russia, where ever. It doesn't matter at this point. It's the tactics that matter- the intention behind it.

Thoreau went on to talk about the railroad, saying that each sleeper- each railroad tie- that the rails run across is really a person. That when the train comes across a sleeper who has arisen there is a huge fuss about it. And "I am glad to know that it takes a gang of men for every five miles to keep the sleepers down and level in their beds as it is, for this is a sign that they may sometime get up again."

Let's pause for a minute and see that the railroad, the machinations, the technologies, the government, the wars are really all riding on us. And then let's think about our revolutionary teachers from the early 1900's and decide how we're going to organize to throw the rails off of our backs.