A Few Quick Notes

Meant to post a little earlier, but was having some chest pains that forced me to lie down for a bit. For the record, this is unlikely to be cardiac related--in the past, I've sought out medical attention for similar pains, and have done the stress tests, EKG's, etc.,--my heart is in good shape. However, it became difficult to sit or stand for a while, which kind of precludes typing.

CrawlingWestward has an interesting post today regarding the potential for political violence in the near future. Ricky notes:

Quiddity made a pretty outrageous prediction for the new year in a post over at uggabugga this morning...My first thought on reading this was that Quiddity's been on the drink a little too hard lately...Then I remembered that a prominent liberal has already had an attack on his life just a few short years ago. You might remember when some anthrax was sent to a certain Senate Minority (majority at the time) Leader's office. That was a sobering thought, and it nearly changed my mind about Quiddity's post, but I'm a stubborn fool.

My guess would be that President Bush stands a far greater chance of violence against his life than any of the Democratic candidates...

Timshel brought up an important point, and I'll add my concerns. Now, to be fair, on a strictly philosophical level, using violence to achieve political aims is something that I think is acceptable--after all, The Declaration of Independence makes this point. However, in a practical sense, I don't think acts of violence are effective in a meaningful way in this country anymore. The police and military are simply too powerful, and, besides, there are, at least theoretically, means within the existing institutions to achieve at least some goals that any group wishes to strive for. Sure, it can be difficult to take on the existing power structure--especially considering that we really don't have an "opposition" movement, per se. The Democrats and Republicans, at least until recently, have pretty much been two sides of the same coin, although the neo-con movement has been doing its best to consolidate power to the detriment of any other faction. Still, the two major parties have pretty much cemented their hold on effective political control for some time, provided there isn't a major crisis in the near future. The only potential for a true opposition movement, the Green coalition, is still attempting to get on its feet, while the Reform Party has pretty much fizzled out.

Now, my opinions about the United States notwithstanding, I do consider extra-legal methods of political opposition to be an effective and acceptable method of bringing about social change under certain circumstances. For instance, the Zapatista movement continues to defy the federal government in Mexico as it pursues an agenda of social justice for the poor and indigenous peoples of the country. In East Timor a popular movement kept hopes for true independence alive for years via revolutionary action against the totalitarian government of Suharto in Indonesia. Virtually the entire isthmus of Central America saw armed uprisings during the 1970s and 1980s. I consider ALL of these actions to be reasonable, because there was NO WAY for these people to effectively work within the system to see their grievences redressed.

Oh--and while I'm thinking about it--some may find this controversial, but I support what Fidel Castro has done in Cuba. Fidel is not a saint: he can be harsh on dissidents, his characteristic Latin American macho intolerance of gays is well known, and Cuba is by no means a paradise. However, considering that the most powerful military in the world literally maintains a toehold on the island to this day AND the fact that the United States has frequently attempted to assassinate El Barbo--well, I don't think this country is in a position to judge the Cuban Revolution. We should instead compare and contrast the situation in Cuba to the situation, say, in Haiti, The Dominican Republic, the nations of Central America and the Caribbean, and assess accordingly.

But, once again, I've gone off topic. My only point was to encourage anyone reading this to check out CrawlingWestward's post and reflect upon it. In the age of hate-radio, abortion clinic bombings and assassinations of abortion doctors--hell, in the age of terrorism--let's hope that the United States will become an example of political tolerance, even as we passionately debate the great issues of our day.