Arresting Liberty — The Biggest Story You Didn’t Hear: #DemocracySpring
On Monday April 11, 2016 over 400 people were mass arrested in Washington D.C.
“Wow,” you might say, “There must have been a riot, right?”
Actually there wasn’t.
It was over 400 people peacefully protesting a “nation on the take”. In a rousing call to action, #DemocracySpring leader, Kai Newkirk, explained:
We are here to defend our freedom, because the condition of freedom is participation in power. Because if you do not have a say — if you do not participate meaningfully in power — then someone else is ruling you.
Despite trending to the number two spot on Twitter — just behind the all important National Pet Day — mainstream media completely missed the event. An event that marks the largest mass arrest in our nation’s capitol this century.
In an act of civil disobedience, protesters blocked the steps in front of the Capitol building. After refusing three warnings of arrest if they did not move, each was processed and loaded onto buses that would take them to a temporary warehouse jail, because the regular holding cells were nowhere near large enough.
Yet, despite the significance of the event. Zero mainstream media covered it, but you can be sure they covered National Pet Day.
What the hell is going on? While Americans sacrifice their freedom in protest of a government corrupted by money, insiders, and corporate media, the nation just yawns?
Or does it?
Here you are now. Learning.
I get it, you might have more important personal concerns and on national issues, you might care more about national debt, climate change, term limits, or the size of government. That is fine, they are all important issues. Yet before anything will ever happen with your highest priority issue, your first issue must be to restore the balance within our system of representation.
Is it really that bad?
Former Republican Senator Alan Simpson cuts right to the chase:
I served 18 years in the U.S. Senate and was co-chairman of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform in 2010. So believe me when I say: it wasn’t always like this. When I first ran for office in 1978, money wasn’t the most important aspect of my campaign.
No current candidate for political office can say that now.
The balance is gone. Again Senator Simpson (emphasis added):
Day in and day out, members of Congress spend up to 50 percent of their time dialing for dollars. Unless you’re one of the wealthy few who can afford to “max out” by giving the full $2,700, it’s probably not your phone they’re calling. And it’s not your problems or issues they’re talking about either
This is not a bleeding heart liberal talking. Senator Simpson is a fiscal conservative from Wyoming. We need a WTFU (wake the …) moment.
This is not an unsolvable problem. There is legislation collecting dust in Congress right now that could fix half of the issues affecting our right to vote and fair elections. All we need is for Congress to do its job.
For the rest of the week Democracy Spring will be pushing Congress to do just that. If Congress does not act —and personally, I am expecting that they will not — then we must make it clear that there will be a political price to pay come November.
After the more than 400 people arrested on Monday pay their $50 forfeiture bonds, the government will have raised over $20,000 from this. It is an ironic consequence that should not go unchallenged. Perhaps those unable to sacrifice their freedom for a day could at least sacrifice that next beer or latte.
This is only the beginning after all.
Correction: The Monday arrests were the largest this century. The previous version stated that it was the largest ever. During the 1971 May Day Vietnam war protest, over 12,000 people were arrested.
