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TechnoratiThe Fourth of July is a Celebration of Agitation
Are you an agitator? You know, one of those people who won't leave well enough alone, who's always questioning authority and trying to stir things up.
If so, the Powers That Be detest you — you ... you ... "agitator!" They spit the term out as a pejorative to brand anyone who dares to challenge the established order. "Oh," they scoff, "our people didn't mind living next to that toxic waste dump until those environmental got them upset." Corporate chieftains routinely wail that "our workers were perfectly happy until those union agitators started messing with their minds." agitators
In each case, the message is that America would be a fine country if only we could get rid of those pesky troublemakers who get the hoi polloi agitated about one thing or another.
Bovine excrement. Were it not for agitators, we wouldn't even have an America. The Fourth of July would be just another hot day, we'd be singing "God Save the Queen," and our government officials would be wearing white-powdered wigs.
Agitators created America, and it's their feisty spirit and outright rebelliousness that we celebrate on our national holiday. I don't merely refer to the Founders, either. Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, James Madison, Ben Franklin and the rest certainly were derring-do agitators when they wrote the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, creating the framework for a democratic republic. But they didn't actually create much democracy. In the first presidential election, only 4 percent of the people were even eligible to vote. No women allowed, no African Americans, no American Indians and no one who was landless.
So, on the Fourth, it's neither the documents of democracy that we celebrate nor the authors of the documents. Rather, it's the intervening two-plus centuries of ordinary American agitators who have struggled mightily against formidable odds to democratize those documents.
America's great rebellion didn't end with the British surrender at Yorktown.
Without agitators battling in politics, on the job, in the marketplace, for the environment, on Wall Street, in education, for civil liberties and rights, and all across our society, democratic progress doesn't just stall, it falls back.
The Powers That Be — especially America's overarching corporate and political forces (often the same) — give lip service to democracy, but tend toward plutocracy, autocracy and kleptocracy. They prefer (and often demand) that We the People be passive consumers of their economic and political policies. Don't rock the boat, stay in your place, go along to get along — be quiet, they urge.
Be quiet? Holy Thomas Paine! How could freedom-loving, democratic citizens shrink into quietude, especially when the Powers That Be feel so entitled to run roughshod over us? Even a dead fish can go with the flow. We've got to be livelier than that.
July Fourth is a time to enjoy fireworks, flags, hotdogs, ballgames and such — but it's also a time to remember who we are: agitators!
It's not easy to stand against powerful interests. Sometimes it's lonely, and you get to feeling like the guy B.B. King sings about: "No one likes you but your momma, and she might be jiving you, too." It's not easy, but having those who dare to stand up is essential if our country is ever to achieve our ideals of fairness, justice and opportunity for all.
And when the establishment derisively assails you as an agitator, remember this: The agitator is the center post in the washing machine that gets the dirt out.
17 Comments so far
Show AllJuly 4th is the date of the Declaration of Independence, a document directed to Europe in general and the British government in particular, in which American slave owners fearing the abolition of slavery by Parliament elected to join forces with those Massachusetts radicals who had been fruitlessly advocating colonial independence for a century. Its rhetorical models come from Montesquieu, "in the course of human events," the first author to theorize about the desirability of checks and balances in government; the constitution of the Commonwealth of Virginia which promised an "unalienable right to life, liberty, and property," meaning slaves of course, and John Locke who considered property to be the real equivalent of "the pursuit of happiness." Had there been no substitution of Locke's turn of phrase, the Declaration of Independence would have sounded more like a socialist manifesto calling for property to be distributed among all American citizens, which its authors certainly did not intend. The authors were certainly all in a dither about the possible loss of property, but the only property to which they could be referring was slaves since slavery had been abolished in the British homeland in June 1772, and forces were growing in Parliament to abolish it altogether throughout the British Empire.
"Property is theft." So explained French anarchist Pierre-Joseph Proudhon in his 1840 classic book, "What Is Property." It's a terse explanation that everyone can understand.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Is_Property%3F
Indeed, property still is theft. It doesn't matter how much time has passed, the lesson is the same. It's just an immutable law dredged out of centuries of European warfare and brought to the "new world" with great violence. The American revolution was all about fighting over property, which wasn't a concept shared by the native American population. Of course, there was the usual grumblings about taxes too, but basically it was just a land grab of Native American territories by the upstart mercantile class.
Add property, capitalism, law and the violent force of the state to enforce that law. Your gain is somebody else's loss under capitalism. It works for the few, not the many. Remember the slogan on the dollar bill, "e pluribus unum" - "from many, one." Maybe it's just talking about theft, or property ownership, which is one and the same.
Nowadays, things are a little more complex. The theft has been transformed into bad debts, packaged into securities, and then sprinkled throughout the world economy to hide the crime.
So, on the Fourth, when trying to figure out how it all went wrong - this is how it all went wrong. We've struggled too long over really bad ideas. It's high time to slough it off. The slow change begins when people rethink what really happened in 1776.
-TIA
Thanks Jim!
Its the agitators that gave us the Fourth of July. Honoring the Forth of July is honoring all that came before, those here now and those to come that protect our Constitution and Bill of Rights no matter if its the Left, Right or Center thats attacking it..."for our own good" doncha know.
God bless America and its people....and the hell with her enemies both foreign and domestic. The hell with anyone that prefers not to celebrate our heritage and culture.
Deepa
Who's A Low Level Terrorist? Are You?
By Emily Spence
01 July, 2009
Countercurrents.org
http://www.countercurrents.org/spence010709.htm
"Recently, an American Civil Liberties Union report pointed out, "Anti-terrorism training materials currently being used by the Department of Defense (DoD) teach its personnel that free expression in the form of public protests should be regarded as ‘low level terrorism’.”
"Despite that DoD officials removed the offensive section from their educational resources at the urging of ACLU members, the DoD stance is still troubling since a longstanding practice to designate peaceful, law abiding activists as dangerous and treasonable still exists in many government departments and agencies."
"Pentagon Rebrands Protest as “Low-Level Terrorism”"
(http://dissidentvoice.org/2009/06/pentagon-
rebrands-protest-as-low-level-terrorism/
Sioux Rose
DEEPA: This is important information, although there is a precedent. Twenty years ago environmental groups were infiltrated by FBI plants. Martin Luther King was watched, and his untimely murder likely planned. The "agitators" have been watched for a long time.
As our nation's leaders not only cross over to the "dark side" (as Rumsfeld, I believe, put it), but grant each other impunity as they break serious laws, the capacity to hold such derelict "leaders" accountable becomes perilous when the forces intended to protect the state (and the sovereignty of its citizens) instead serve the leaders IN their trespasses. Conscientious objectors to policies of destruction, despair, and environmental dereliction serve as the nation's conscience and last hope; but now, following the reasoning of the article, it is not the problem that is the problem, but rather those who agitate and make others aware of what's going on, all those inconvenient truths. Rovian logic is winning out over decency because the rewards of criminal conduct pay inordinately well in today's U.S. land of corporate rule.
Cheers and a happy May Day to all.
That's it. Mr. Hightower, you're a genius yet again. Sometimes, when we do what's really the right thing to do and with courage, society tries to force us to lose our genuine pride and self-esteem. The media and the establishment are just plain stupid cowards using "agitator" to no end. Thank you Jim. :)
Mr. Hightower is always a highpoint with humor and perspective. There is, however, one aspect of this piece with which I differ. Years ago, I became convinced that the displays of fireworks which are seen as synonymous with the 4th of July are an extremely wasteful celebration of military aggression. Think about what they really are and what they represent - explosions - bombs - rockets - destruction and terror. Yet, every year, people long for bigger, louder displays. The fireworks are like the original virtual wargame and people are gleeful for more. It is a national disgrace and really does NOT reflect the sobering convictions expressed on the 4th of July 1776.
The signing of the Declaration of Independence was not about flagrant displays or celebrations of military power, but was one of the most serious commitments made toward civil rights in the history of humanity.
Look at us now - as we abandon the rights written into the constitution of this nation because we are fearful and misguidedly think this will make us "secure". War is HELL. We have become a nation that is unworthy of its own founders.
Imagine if the millions of dollars spent nationally for a night of reckless celebration were instead spent on community trees. This would be a commitment to the past and to the future.
Even "agitators" who post on Common Dreams are called by some readers as being "arrogant" and "ignorant". And, agitators on Common Dreams have been banned and disappeared into TCP/IP Limbo.
Hightower states that, "July Fourth is a time to enjoy fireworks, flags, hotdogs, ballgames and such — but it's also a time to remember who we are: agitators!"
Jim. How about passing up on the fireworks which are the symbols for the "bombs bursting in air and the rockets red glare". I'll go further and pass up on the patriarchal cloth waving that fosters nationalism which in turn fosters war. Come to think of it, to Hades with the 4th of July holiday altogether.
Amen!
"...That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form..."
So, when do we start?
Never mind "agitator". The main stream media treats the word "activist" as equal to "terrorist". It was worse during the Bush era, although nothing has really changed under Obama, including the Patriot Act, and the use of spies in our activist organizations, including campus groups.
"Patriot" is a good name for the revolutionaries of 1775-1783. Their intent though was to become "citizens" and no longer subjects of the crown. That is the word we are losing. Please notice how the word citizen is no longer used. Words like "american public or people," "consumers," and "taxpayers" are all part of the present day fare of political speech. Citizen is out unless one is attempting to distinguish oneself from "immigrant." All of the present day political speech is designed to give every person a subjugated role in the state and the economy. Agitator is one that cannot be made a subject of either of these.
...to protect and defend the Constitution from all enemies foreign and domestic...
---------------------
Domestic?
Domestic?
Domestic!
The forgotten word in the oath of office.
Cindy Sheehan, Donna Smith, Code Pink, Michael Moore, Amy Goodman, the guy who stands alone on a street corner holding a sign that says 'Bring the Troops Home". The list goes on and on. Modern day warriors in the fight for truth, dignity and human rights in the U.S. of A.
We need a holiday to celebrate those who fight, without violence, against the forces who wish to crush the Bill of Rights and the Constitution.
Progressive Heroes opposing domestic enemies. They're every bit as patriotic as the troops who once upon a time fought a war for something other than oil fields.
Bless them all for fighting the good fight, without resorting to violence, against our unspoken Domestic enemies.
Cygnus-X1-isaHole
While I have to disagree with you no these two who I feel do more harm than good Code Pink, Michael Moore (no good throwing rocks folks)I belioeve you got iit perfectly right.
the guy who stands alone on a street corner holding a sign that says 'Bring the Troops Home". The list goes on and on. Modern day warriors in the fight for truth, dignity and human rights in the U.S. of A.
"We need a holiday to celebrate those who fight, without violence, against the forces who wish to crush the Bill of Rights and the Constitution.
Progressive Heroes opposing domestic enemies. They're every bit as patriotic as the troops who once upon a time fought a war for something other than oil fields.
Bless them all for fighting the good fight, without resorting to violence, against our unspoken Domestic enemies."
We have that holiday, its July Forth. I was particularly struck by "the guy who stands alone on a street corner holding a sign that says 'Bring the Troops Home" statement.
Progressive, Liberal, Conservative, Moderate, Centrists opposing our domestic enemies are exactly what you say they are. They're every bit as patriotic as the troops who once upon a time fought a war to establish a free country.
It has driven me crazy since I first noticed it, and it continues to this day: to call Jefferson, Franklin, Paine and the rest "patriots," as is universally done in textbooks and speeches, is to co-opt them in service of Empire. If they could, they'd object strenuously.
With all due respect to Mr Hightower, he doesn't go far enough. They were not merely agitators, they were revolutionaries, with all that implies.
The sheeple don't like boat rockers Jim; but it is especially true on CD with an inordinate number of Obama clones disseminating his talking points.