The uninvited..
There was recently a national ritual in Washington DC. A very wealthy and powerful man died. He had mostly been allied with the ruling class. He fought in an imperialist war and was captured by the people defending their nation. He suffered. He then returned to the United States and began a political career that largely consisted of actions designed to increase the power of the wealthy few at the expense of the many suffering people in his nation. A few times he surprised the political class by voting against making things even harder for the people in his nation, but for the most part, he towed the line.
At this ritual, dignitaries abounded. There was a former president with the surname Bush who came to office in a fraudulent election, ordered the illegal invasion of several nations, killing hundreds of thousands of innocent people. There was a former secretary of state named Kissinger who illegally prolonged a war in indo-china, resulting in millions of deaths, orchestrated the overthrow of a democratic government in Chile and installed a fascist dictator who killed and imprisoned tens of thousands of people. Many other dignitaries were in attendance, but thankfully not the rude and evil current president. No, only the honorable were in attendance at this event.
Not present were the people in far off lands who saw their families blown to pieces in front of them because of the actions of these honorable men, nor the millions in this country who live and toil in obscurity, drowning In debt and living at the mercy of the bosses and landlords. They were not invited. They watched on television, reduced to hoping this collection of mass murderers, corporate titans and powerful people could somehow save them from the menace in the white house. These uninvited people do something heroic every day. In the face of debt, scarcity, poverty, illness and oppression, they carry on. When they die, there is no national day of mourning with speeches by some of the nation’s most exalted war criminals. No, they just disappear.
But these people who were not present are beginning to realize that the dubious characters at the national ritual will not be the ones who save them from the menace in the white house. It’ll be the people, who will continue to organize and unite and build their own power and chip away at the power of the people at the ceremony until all the power of this ruling class is stripped away and the uninvited millions take the power that was once wielded against them. No more national rituals for wealthy men who ordered the killing of so many. The people will build a better world where they live their lives without the fear that pervaded everything before, as they take all the riches from the people at the funeral and give it to the people no one ever remembers, the people who work all day, once for so little but, now with dignity and co-operating with each other. No longer competing to the death for little bits of what’s left over, but working together to ensure they all can finally be free.
happy labor day.
