We Need a Revolution

The fact that so few people actually have their own opinions about world issues (or at the very least do not openly share them), but instead conform to media inspired beliefs is something rather concerning.  We need a revolution, yet this won’t happen unless everyone realises the ideological control of the media and societal institutions in biasing our perception of the world.  So many people do not care nor have opinions about things that really matter, such as the state of humanity, the way we so easily obey the people at the top of hierarchy because we believe they’re better than us, or the way the environment is used for capitalistic gain. 

Before David Cameron rearranged members of The Cabinet, Michael Gove announced he was planning on changing the National Curriculum at GCSE level to only teach British literature, and it would appear that Nicky Morgan is willing to carry out this scheme.  We do not need more British / English literature, we need more good literature, more substantial written works that motivate students.  This announcement was largely revolted against by a proportion of the British population, yet government has not listened.  Gove (and now Morgan) see the centralisation of power over literature as another step towards promoting the whole “keep Britain British” keepsake.  Gove's syllabus changes mean that classic US books will be removed from the GCSE syllabus and the focus will be on pre-20th century writers from England.  It is another meagre attempt to suggest that English is an ethnicity, rather than a language.  This approach is very similar to the Stalinisation of Russia which only allowed Russian pro-government literature.  Who really cares where the literature studied for examinations comes from, when at the end of the day, all that matters is that students can identify with the texts and are inspired by the themes and characters?

If more than 80,000 people were able to sign a petition in response to this announcement and were willing to attempt to revolutionise the way Gove viewed and controlled schools and pupils, then why have they not been willing to disobey and defy more outrageous governmental economic policies? 

In July 2014 the government gave the hydraulic fracturing (fracking) drive the go-ahead.  Ministers admitted that they were authorising the expansion of fracking across Britain that would allow drilling in national parks and other protected areas in “exceptional circumstances”.  Roughly half the country will be advertised for exploration by onshore oil and gas companies seeking to expand their profitability.  However, mainstream media channels controlled by the capitalist state did not discuss this.  This is another example of how the general public has been influenced by societal institutions and their expanse of ideological power and control.  The “positives” of fracking were highlighted and emphasised:

1. Shale gas will help tackle climate change
2. Fracking wells will be almost unnoticeable
3. UK shale gas will lower bills

Conversely, these are all myths peddled by large corporations and governmental agencies in order to win over the approval of the public.  The truth of the situation is shocking:

1. The carbon footprint for shale gas is up to 100 times greater than wind and tidal energy (both offshore wind and tidal energy emit between 5-13g of carbon dioxide/kWh, whilst shale gas produces 423-535g)
2. In order to match North Sea gas production, up to 20,000 fracking wells will be needed
3. Bill savings will be tiny (approximately £19 a year for a medium sized house, compared to £125 saved a year on a house after solar panels are installed)

But where were the people fighting this atrocity?  There were the Greenpeace activists and the environmentalists, but no major outcry from the general population.  Where was the revolutionary spirit that we have, and has been seen in response to educational changes?

We know that people care, so why do they not act?  People only engage when it is affecting them directly, rather than acting on behalf of their fellow neighbours and peers.  This hypocrisy of society is affecting everything and everyone. 

We need people who are open-minded yet can hold their values in the face of adversity; rational yet radical; free-spirited yet efficient. 

The British government claims it wants to listen to its people.  When its people speak up in response to proposals and changes, they are shut down and dismissed.  Yet they question why we are so afraid to stand up to those at the top of society and express our discontentment with the way we’re told to act?  Do we honestly believe that these people are better than us?  That they are worth more than the people they claim to work for?  They are no better than us.  They simply have more money, and consequently more power, which has reinforced their capitalistic mind-set of greed, avarice and hostility.  The difference between them and us is that we know the truth.  We know how difficult life can be without the support of an old-boys’ network.  We know what it is like to be on the breadline.  We are forced to succumb to and accept the spurious choices a government we elected to serve us because we were fooled into the illusion of choice.  And what a great job they’re doing at ruining us as a nation.  We have lost so much, but they have gained at our expense.  Is this the society we want to live in? 

We don’t live in a democracy.  We are heading towards a totalitarian state.  How does it happen that the majority of good citizens with good intentions end up as participants in an inhumane power structure that is leading the country toward a kind of totalitarianism?  The greatest impediment to true democracy in the West is not socialism and revolution, but the corporate world. 

We need a revolution.  Not only because we don’t have enough jobs, not solely because the public health system is no longer functional and is being sold off and privatised. Not just because our political system and politicians are corrupt or because our teachers are not being paid their worth.  Not only because we have put the needs of the few over the needs of the many, nor because we have exploited the environment at the cost of our health and community.  We need a revolution because the current system is not working, it is not a system where people can live the way they are meant to live; because even those who are on the favoured side of the corporate machine are not able to find true fulfilment, happiness and contentment - this is not a system created by the people nor for them, but it is a system created by the untamed machine that operates on the power of money and greed alone.

We need a revolution.