Even doing so much as glancing at the occasional
headline or ticker feed can make one feel as if the world is going to hell in a
handbasket. From the economic crisis in Europe to the bombings in Boston, to
the continuing news about the false economic recovery, the world can seem like
a dangerous and terrifying place, yet we must realize that the people and
forces behind these problems and realize that solutions are in fact possible.
Children
are starving in Greece due to the fact that Greece’s economy “is in free
fall, having shrunk by 20 percent in the past five years” and in the United
States, the amount of suburban poverty is
increasing, with neither situation seeming to change anytime soon. The
entire global economy looks like
it may come apart at the seams. Governments from the US to China are
engaging in a massive
currency war which is backed by the G20 and will hurt
the average person.
The governments of the world are hiding the economic
downturns by fiddling with the indicators, such as the levels of unemployment
and inflation. Generally, “the
way these numbers are calculated sometimes doesn’t reflect the true economic
landscape at all,” however this is unsurprising when we realize that the
market has been
manipulated time and again.
Due to these economic problems, one would think that
many nations would be busy attempting to fix their wrecked economies, yet Western
nations such as France have found the time to fund and arm radical
Islamists in an attempt to overthrow Assad, the Chinese government is making “increased
military spending a top priority,” and the threat of regional wars from Israel-Iran
to North and South Korea.
The corruption of governments around the world and
how they do not care for their people has been shown time and time again. The
fact that the Greek government is allowing for austerity to occur even if it
means children starve is a crime in and of itself. What is occurring is the
bastardization of the so-called First World countries by their own governments and
in the case of Europe, the IMF and World Bank are helping in cannibalizing
Europe, allowing for poor euro countries such as Greece to essentially become a
corporate colony for the major EU countries like Germany. What has happened to
the so-called Third World countries is now happening to the ‘First World,’
where “areas
of education and health care as well as other public enterprises are
dismantled, privatized and sold off to mega corporations and banks for pennies
on the dollar,” resulting in a type of neo-feudalism
where corporations are in control of our entire society, from the government to
the very food that you eat.
While the situation may seem dismal and it seems as
if all hope is gone, we must fight. People have been fighting all over the
globe, from anti-austerity
protests in Europe to
the number of protests planned for this month across the US to labor strikes
and social protests being
on the rise in Egypt.
These protests are a sign that people are realizing
that the power to change their reality doesn’t like in the halls of government
nor in the offices of a corporate office, the power is- and always has- been
inside of them. If we are to stop this madness, we must fight and not just for
our own sake, but for the sake of those who have yet to be born.
Politics Magazine
Even doing so much as glancing at the occasional
headline or ticker feed can make one feel as if the world is going to hell in a
handbasket. From the economic crisis in Europe to the bombings in Boston, to
the continuing news about the false economic recovery, the world can seem like
a dangerous and terrifying place, yet we must realize that the people and
forces behind these problems and realize that solutions are in fact possible.
Children
are starving in Greece due to the fact that Greece’s economy “is in free
fall, having shrunk by 20 percent in the past five years” and in the United
States, the amount of suburban poverty is
increasing, with neither situation seeming to change anytime soon. The
entire global economy looks like
it may come apart at the seams. Governments from the US to China are
engaging in a massive
currency war which is backed by the G20 and will hurt
the average person.
The governments of the world are hiding the economic
downturns by fiddling with the indicators, such as the levels of unemployment
and inflation. Generally, “the
way these numbers are calculated sometimes doesn’t reflect the true economic
landscape at all,” however this is unsurprising when we realize that the
market has been
manipulated time and again.
Due to these economic problems, one would think that
many nations would be busy attempting to fix their wrecked economies, yet Western
nations such as France have found the time to fund and arm radical
Islamists in an attempt to overthrow Assad, the Chinese government is making “increased
military spending a top priority,” and the threat of regional wars from Israel-Iran
to North and South Korea.
The corruption of governments around the world and
how they do not care for their people has been shown time and time again. The
fact that the Greek government is allowing for austerity to occur even if it
means children starve is a crime in and of itself. What is occurring is the
bastardization of the so-called First World countries by their own governments and
in the case of Europe, the IMF and World Bank are helping in cannibalizing
Europe, allowing for poor euro countries such as Greece to essentially become a
corporate colony for the major EU countries like Germany. What has happened to
the so-called Third World countries is now happening to the ‘First World,’
where “areas
of education and health care as well as other public enterprises are
dismantled, privatized and sold off to mega corporations and banks for pennies
on the dollar,” resulting in a type of neo-feudalism
where corporations are in control of our entire society, from the government to
the very food that you eat.
While the situation may seem dismal and it seems as
if all hope is gone, we must fight. People have been fighting all over the
globe, from anti-austerity
protests in Europe to
the number of protests planned for this month across the US to labor strikes
and social protests being
on the rise in Egypt.
These protests are a sign that people are realizing
that the power to change their reality doesn’t like in the halls of government
nor in the offices of a corporate office, the power is- and always has- been
inside of them. If we are to stop this madness, we must fight and not just for
our own sake, but for the sake of those who have yet to be born.
