What Next, or, Is The Revolution Coming Soon

[Trudy]

Government is ever more oppressive. Citizens are ever more disgruntled. Obama comes along and says "Hope", and the young and disenfranchised thrill at the sound. They don't stop at supporting him, or believing him; They believe in Him. They are disciples.

These particular disciples, having had a true religious conversion when they heard him speak, felt the calouses on their hearts soften. For days they looked up speeches by such icons as Martin Luther King, and cried. They listened to Bobby Kennedy's speech on violence and cried. They felt reborn and blessed, and ready to roll up their sleeves and do their part; the Messiah said he would ask them to.

In modern times, disciples don't stick with a prophet or messiah who turns into a politician who doesn't deliver. Obama is already showing signs of preparing to maintain the status quo for those who pulled themselves up by their silver spoons. The disciples hearts are going to break. They're going to feel like fools. They're going to be very angry. First thing they'll do, after they give up on email and phone calls is get together and protest. Probably march on DC without a permit. He drew some outrageous big crowds when he was running. That could be one hell of a march. They may decide to camp out. They may find themselves being forcibly removed, violently even. Many of them will have videos and such.

Once it starts it might not stop. The Weathermen, The SDS, and the Black Panthers, all rolled into one big family. Somebody is going to have to have their confidence and their ear if they do, by some miracle, eventually succeed. Somebody with knowledge and conscience. Maybe somebody like Noam Chomsky, or John Dean. Maybe Bill Moyers. Maybe those guys are nobody to Obama supporters. Maybe somebody who's somebody they know of and respect that I'm ignorant of.

Really though, there'll likely be protests and a bunch of people will be beaten and jailed, and what happens after that is anybody's guess. I'm really just saying we need to be good scouts and be prepared for whatever comes.

[Willie]

I don't think it would be much of a revolution. While Obama's following may find themselves let down, the natural tendency of the believer is to make excuses for what he or she believes in. Look at the case of George W. Bush. While he was never worshiped the way "the messiah" is now, he was still highly regarded, at least by approximately 50% of Americans. Just before I left for Iraq, people were burning Dixie Chicks albums because they had dared to utter a discouraging word (Texas pun intended) about Bush. On the other hand, people WORSHIP Obama and anything short of a real slap in the face will fail to wake many of them. Others will take a direct slap in the face and claim that it’s for the good of America. Remember, Obama asked us to prepare to make sacrifices.

For years, I've been comparing Bush to Hitler. I made a serious error in judgment; Hitler maintained popular support and was WORSHIPPED. Is Obama Hitler-like? While that's a touchy subject, other than the WORSHIP factor, indicators point to "yes." He's already spoken in favor of nationalization of the financial and auto industries, and he supports socialized healthcare. Groups of kids who call themselves Obama Youth popped up before the election, although I don't know if they're still organizing. Their chants and militarized style are quite similar to the Hitler Youth. Obama's plans to fix America have been criticized largely because they fall outside the scope of the Executive Office. For example, he can't invest in rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure as he said he would do if he became president. Nor can he cut taxes, reform the health care system, invest in early child education, or recruit and army of new teachers. He never says he'll propose ideas to Congress for new legislation, he says he'll just do it. Some call this mindset megalomania. I guess we'll find out soon enough.

Americans have become too complacent to ever revolt. There are too many pacifists who claim that peace and diplomacy are the answer to our woes. Most people who could effectively lead an insurgency presently have too much to lose to concern themselves with such things. Then there's the bigger problem to consider; whom do you revolt against? What do you do, go kill all the politicians? What happens to the constitution at that point? Who gets to decide how to fix that nightmare?

Unfortunately, I see only two outcomes for our present set of dilemmas and they both suck: 1) The rest of the world gets sick of our shit and nukes us, we nuke back, and most, if not all of us die. 2) We’re conquered by an alliance of nations that form against us, kind of like how the Nazi Empire came to an end. I don't see any way that we can solve our own problems and I really doubt my option 2 could ever play out. People have been talking about the end of the world for years. I always thought that if the end came, it would be mankind acting out the biblical prophecy (self-fulfilling prophecy) and NOT the work of any god. So with masses calling Obama the messiah, perhaps the anti-Christ role in the play has been filled.

[Trudy]

Thanks for a thoughtful response, Willie. One reason I believe that there will be some kind of revolt is the economy. I read a study several years ago that found that revolt never comes until the majority of people fall below the poverty level. I believe this economic "crisis" is part of an effort to crush wages, to prevent workers from having any leverage, and to effectively do away with social programs.

If Obama follows that path, and unemployment rises while wages fall, the complacency of the nation, and the support of disciples, will disappear. When there's nothing else to do they'll hit back against the bastards who continue to eat, drink and make merry while kids starve and people are thrown in jail for occupying empty houses.

While US does deserve the things you've predicted, especially being taken over by a coalition of the willing, I don't think it'll happen because we have nukes, especially if Obama is seen as as fanatic as bush was. To date, the world sees him as a welcome change, and a man of peaceful intentions, but that could change in a hurry, if he follows up on the tough talk about Iran. Nukes kept us out of Korea. Lack of nukes in Afghanistan and Iraq let us in. The world doesn't mess with crazy people with nukes.

I'm agnostic, was once a Christian, and end times predictions may either be self fulfilling or actual prophecies, I don't know. It does seem that the self fulfilling variety is more likely every day, and Obama is as likely an anti-Christ as any I've seen so far. At first I thought it could be bush, but his brand of christianity only fooled fools, and his popularity waned as his belligerence increased. Obama, OTOH, is more of a smile at your face kind of guy, and might retain popularity, and supposing he does manage to save the economy somehow, his popularity will increase, especially worldwide. Yep, the money messiah. Sheesh.

There are so many possible scenarios now, that any prediction's chance of happening is pretty slim, and whoever hits on the right one will just be experiencing a lucky poke.