Revolution in the air

Do you get the feeling that people are getting more and more angry of late, and are refusing to sit back and accept what their government tells them? All over Europe, austerity measures are being put in place leaving a trail of destruction and indignation, resulting in protests and strikes in those countries worst affected. But what reason does your average person have to protest? After all it’s our fault for living beyond our means, right? WRONG. Your average person should not be made to suffer because of the decadence of the banks over the last decade or so.  What’s more, our “democratic” governments should be on our side and not the side of the banks. They are quick enough to back up banks and the capitalist system, giving speeches that tell us that we must now pay for our own actions during the boom period when the banks were literally inventing numbers on computers and throwing money at us.  What a cheek they have.
But what else can we expect when the banks and the major corporations, in effect, run our political systems. Why not do a bit of research to find out who were the main investors in Barack Obama’s or David Cameron’s campaigns? Then you’ll see who really runs our countries. People like Rupert Murdoch. Is it not enough that he owns half the world’s press but also probably has a significant influence on what bills get passed or rejected in parliament too?

We need to be more aware. We need to read more and care enough to make a difference.  Sure, many people feel resigned to the their way of life and may think that if their votes don’t result in true democracy then what can be done? We must look within and change what we can ourselves to make the small steps towards overthrowing the capitalist system in which we live in. Why not boycott big supermarket chains and buy from local markets? Avoid the high street making an effort to know how retail companies do business in Asia? And most importantly of all, avoid watching so much television?It’s manipulating you whether you believe it or not. And even if you think you are not easily manipulated, then at the very least, it’s distracting you from doing more fulfilling or important things.

Luckily, people are starting to wake up and educate themselves on how our world really works. If we want a change, we must start small and think big. Yesterday there was a general strike in the European countries that have been hit hardest by the austerity measures put in place by their governments. Spain, is most certainly one of them. I live in a town of 65,000 people on the south-west coast of Andalusia and was heartened by the sight of at least 2000 people, including young people, marching through the narrow streets to show their solidarity to one another in this fight against capitalism. “El pueblo unido, nunca será vencido”. “A united people, will not be beaten”.