A Rabble Rises Again
On this day in 1775, a Revolution began
On this day in 1775, British forces number near a thousand marched toward Concord, Massachusetts, on orders to quell a young rebellion. A small band of revolutionaries put up a nominal resistance, exchanging fire in what would be recorded as the first open armed conflict of the American Revolutionary War.
In their attempt to end the rebellion, British forces fueled the revolution and illuminated the path that would become our independence from Great Britain.
Today, we are faced with an equally fearsome master. And on this day a revolution continues to grow. Just outside the lens of mainstream media, a rabble has formed with a most noble cause — to free this country from the corruption of big money.
If you are new to this issue, please take note: we live not in a democracy but in an oligarchy. Your voice carries influence proportional to your resources. Such a system is the antithesis of the vision of our founding fathers and mothers.
But the revolution is indeed building. Over the last two weeks, over 1,400 people were arrested in the name of democracy in Washington DC, resulting in the largest civil disobedience action of the century.
Also today, a special election to fill the seat vacated by disgraced NY House Speaker Sheldon Silver. We have made more progress in the fight against corruption in the last 6 months than we’ve made in the last 6 years. This, my friends, is the next American Revolution.
Meanwhile, outsider candidates like Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders continue to erode the stranglehold of the political establishment. Yes, both the Democrats and Republicans are to blame for the political corruption that deprives our children of clean water and our economic system of justice.
How do we know this is a political revolution and not just the cyclical nature of partisan power swapping? Because voters of all stripes are ignoring party lines to send a message of discontent rippling through the political system. Polls show broad, cross-partisan support for ending the corrupting influence of big money in our political system. And conservatives are standing alongside progressives in calling for fundamental reform.
Whether Sanders and Trump will win is irrelevant at this stage. They have already won. The revolution is upon us and the political establishment is looking over their shoulder because CHANGE IS COMING.
Cyrus Patten is the CEO of MAYDAY.US, a national grassroots campaign to elect reformers. Be on the right side of history by joining the revolution.
