Disobeying civilly … ( 07 / 10 / 2014 )
Disobeying civilly … ( 07 / 10 / 2014 )
" Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere ." ~ Martin Luther King Jr .
He was right , you know -- that Martin Luther King Jr . He was right to call out the injustices of his era – he was right to take a stand against them – and he was right to do so peacefully , and thereby Power-fully .
Well , our generation is now up to bat . Make no mistake , my Friends , even in the United States of America -- the " land of the free and the home of the brave " -- freedom is lacking , and more than a bit of bravery is lacking right along with it .
" What ?!?!", I hear Americans cry . " How dare you insult our great country ?!? We are the land of the free , and we are a place where justice reigns supreme ." … Well , I hear that national pride knocking , and yet more than few raw & simple facts just won ' t let it in . Don ' t get me wrong ... I understand the noble sentiment of my American friends , and I do respect their opinion . ON PAPER ( and at times still in practice ), the United States is indeed still a land of liberty … and yet in many , many too-easily-overlooked cases , it most certainly is not . Consider the following :
* Americans are required to fund their government ' s unjust , illegitimate & immoral military conflicts whether they support those terrorist actions or not ...
* Americans are sentenced to long prison terms for petty offenses such as marijuana possession , not paying income taxes ( an unconstitutional mandate , by the way ), and minor vandalism in the name of animal rights ...
* Americans are convicted of crimes and given longer prison sentences in large part due to the color of their skin ...
* Americans have primary food sources that have been manipulated and tainted by large corporations like Monsanto & Nestle -- and this with the full support of their elected government officials ...
* America is one of the only countries in the world that does not provide adequate health care for its citizens ( though the aforementioned elected officials are cared for quite nicely ) ...
* The American meat & dairy industry is knowingly & purposefully destroying the health of its customers , and indeed the health of our entire planet , with its cruel and environmentally abusive practices ...
54