Reclaim the Government
David Barnaby | 29.04.2001 20:01
Reclaim the Streets is great, increasingly successful and says a lot. A horizontal move might be to Reclaim the Government. After all, the government is ours in theory - and should be ours in practice. It has been bought by corporations, but it's our right to own it and control it. We should take it back.
If we could organise a Reclaim the Government day on a similar scale to the Reclaim the Streets parties, then that could be an even stronger signal.
Indeed, it could be the strongest signal of all. And it's ultimately an big part of the solution that we need.
To reclaim the government is not asking for much. The constitution of every democratic nation - and every communist nation - speaks in some high-brow terms or other about the government being for the people and by the people.
In most "democracies" today, government "by" the people is only true in the most formal, technical sense. In actual fact, it's not by the people at all.
Such a worldwide day of party, rally, protest, visibility and fun would be a rallying cry and simple message to all of what the movement is about, at a less abstract - more concrete - level. It would be a very simple, powerful political message to all who haven't yet heard about the movement or really started to become engaged. The 90-95% of the population that does not own capital, and is being screwed over more each year than the last by corporations and by their own governments, will hear a very positive message.
Not only do we all need to get more involved in government - we need to reclaim control of our government.
Such a day focusses on one of the most critical issues like a laser beam.
If we could organise marches on parliament houses/congresses in 26 countries (as Reclaim the Streets has achieved), and party outside the congresses/houses of parliament, then imagine the signal it would send. With massive "Reclaim the Government" banners.
The people reclaiming their government.
It would be outside state congresses/houses of parliament also, so that everyone didn't have to converge on the national capital of their country.
Since congresses/houses of parliament are public property, in many countries and states, it should be possible to actually occupy the building and party in there for hours on end.
It's clearly a spinoff idea from Reclaim the Streets. But it is has a crystal clear, unambiguous message - both a weakness and a strength. It is more targeted.
We, the People, want to reclaim our governments. We want to reclaim the way we are governed. We want to begin to govern ourselves again, which is the way it should always have been, since the beginning of democracy.
Indeed, it could be the strongest signal of all. And it's ultimately an big part of the solution that we need.
To reclaim the government is not asking for much. The constitution of every democratic nation - and every communist nation - speaks in some high-brow terms or other about the government being for the people and by the people.
In most "democracies" today, government "by" the people is only true in the most formal, technical sense. In actual fact, it's not by the people at all.
Such a worldwide day of party, rally, protest, visibility and fun would be a rallying cry and simple message to all of what the movement is about, at a less abstract - more concrete - level. It would be a very simple, powerful political message to all who haven't yet heard about the movement or really started to become engaged. The 90-95% of the population that does not own capital, and is being screwed over more each year than the last by corporations and by their own governments, will hear a very positive message.
Not only do we all need to get more involved in government - we need to reclaim control of our government.
Such a day focusses on one of the most critical issues like a laser beam.
If we could organise marches on parliament houses/congresses in 26 countries (as Reclaim the Streets has achieved), and party outside the congresses/houses of parliament, then imagine the signal it would send. With massive "Reclaim the Government" banners.
The people reclaiming their government.
It would be outside state congresses/houses of parliament also, so that everyone didn't have to converge on the national capital of their country.
Since congresses/houses of parliament are public property, in many countries and states, it should be possible to actually occupy the building and party in there for hours on end.
It's clearly a spinoff idea from Reclaim the Streets. But it is has a crystal clear, unambiguous message - both a weakness and a strength. It is more targeted.
We, the People, want to reclaim our governments. We want to reclaim the way we are governed. We want to begin to govern ourselves again, which is the way it should always have been, since the beginning of democracy.
David Barnaby
e-mail:
david999111@hotmail.com
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