Of Ballots And Bullets

by Vagabond /August 28, 2012 / Originally published on #nothingtobegainedhere

Ballots & Bullets Revolver X by vagabond ©

“Political power comes out of the barrel of a gun.” – Mao Zedong

It’s (s)election season again in the United States Of America… Every four years when it comes time for the US to choose a president i’m reminded of Malcolm X infamous speech The Ballot Or The Bullet. The speech is a recognized as being the the 7th best American speech given in the 20th century. The power of that speech comes from it’s analysis of the modern American political system and in a way it’s a kind of bench mark in terms of how much progress (if any) has been made in American politics. But there never seems to be any real meaningful forward progress in American politics… and Malcolm’s speech made in Cleveland Ohio on April 3rd of 1964 is a reminder of just how much American politics hasn’t really changed.

Malcolm’s speech was delivered a year after the famous 1963 march on Washington DC in which Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his ‘I Have A Dream’ speech. That was a high water mark for the Civil Rights movement and yet with all it’s hope and promise of change, with all it’s generational upheaval and force of will very little had changed a year later in 1964 for Black people in America. In much the same way that Barak Hussein Obama was elected president in 2008 with all it’s hope and promise of change, with all it’s generational upheaval and force of will, not much has changed for Black people or for anyone else in 2012. And so Malcolm’s speech of 1964 has a haunting and prophetic relevance because the politics of America doesn’t change.

If you listen to Malcolm’s speech and replace the reference of Black people with the 99% you’ll see that the keen empirical and analytical analysis Malcolm makes of the American political system in 1964 is completely applicable in 2012. Why? Because the American political system is not designed to change in a way that benefits those who need it to change most. It’s not designed to respond to the demands of the people who are clamoring for it. History has born this out… from the abolition of slavery, to the suffrage movement, to labor rights, to the civil rights to gay rights and immigration reform, change has been achingly slow in this country. Change may be inevitable but in this country it’s not about stopping change as much as it is about slowing it down to a glacial pace.

Please don’t mistake this as some anti-Obama rhetoric, this goes beyond Obama… Obama is one man within a system… A system that was designed for self preservation no matter who was the president and what kind of change they might want to bring… Obama inherited an abysmal situation, but it’s a situation that’s been politically designed to be nothing else but a tragedy… The global financial collapse of 2007 – 2008 was created by the American political system. The so-called “rescue” of that financial system, on the part of that very same American political system, was only concerned with the financial institutions that the political class has always been beholden to in contrast to the people who elect them.

There has been recent pressure brought to bear on this American political system for a more rapid and radical change in the form of the occupy movements which by and large are rejecting these outmoded forms of political representation. That message though, seems to have fallen on ears that refuse to hear, eyes that refuse to see, minds that refuse to reason, and hearts that refuse to feel when in comes to the two major political parties. The occupy movement seems to have awoken people to the idea that the two major parties are dictating what the issues are from a top down position as opposed to a bottom up approach. This may be the reason why the two major parties have stayed away from the occupy movement, the threat of real democracy looms large within the occupy movement.

What Malcolm was trying to get at in The Ballot Or The Bullet, was that if we can’t get what we want by the ballot then we’ll have to get it by the bullet. If the political system that claims to represent you fails to do so then the only option left is revolution… The Ballot in Malcolm’s speech is of course, the status quo, the Bullet is the revolution. Revolutions are bloody as Malcolm points out but he closes his speech by saying that America has an opportunity to create a bloodless revolution… That bloodless revolution can only happen when the paradigm shifts and those at the bottom dictates the direction and speed of the change that need to happen. The form that our “Bullet” may take in this revolution may take on a less literal form in order to create this bloodless revolution, but make no mistake, whatever form it takes it must be in the end as affective as a bullet…

You can hear Malcolm’s brilliant speech here…

You can get a T-shirt or 1″ Button of the image Ballots Or Bullets Revolver X at my design company Audio Visual Terrorism. Between the Emma Goldman quote and the Malcolm X quote the design reflects my thoughts on the American electoral process…

Shortlink: http://wp.me/p1eniL-OZ

Along the Route: ¡Despierta, Borinqueño!

When one envisions a Caribbean island, one envisions palm trees, sandy beaches with clear ocean waters and a vibrant sunshine. A vacation on an island as such can be the escape from the mundane feeling, the stress and every day anxiety that work brings. A much needed vacation where one can relax, release and play.

It is there where one is devoid of the fact that just beyond the next palm tree lies unemployment, political deceit and a centuries old fallacy. That is the truth that befalls many Puerto Ricans that live on the island and are constantly infused with an American dream filled with promise. An American dream which makes one just capable enough to help run the machine's cogs and wheels but not to actually run the machine itself. Where the machinations of this society are in the hands of the money grubbing corporations which have politicians in their pockets.

Here is the deal. We are taught to believe that we can be as successful as the Gates and Zuckerbergs of this great society. But, like any society, there has to be a measure of control. Surely, this control has been occurring in Puerto Rico for well over a century under U.S. control. The U.S. has infused into the Puerto Rican psyche, even before the Jones Act, the dream of a Puerto Rico, USA. It is that dream that has created the political status dilemma that haunts islanders to this very day.The haunting takes shape in the psyche form that believes that without the U.S., Puerto Rico would fall into the hands a greater evil. That its very existence will be ravaged with greater poverty than currently exists. Yet, with a greater commonality or coexistence with the U.S. the belief that more can be achieved is envisioned on the other side of the coin. Within that exists the loss of a culture and identity. It continues as a belief that, without the ties that bind the two together, the island would cease to exist as a viable nation. There are many sides to the coin that make for a dilemma and either an American dream or nightmare, depending on where one stands.

Every attempt is made to assimilate into the American way of life. It is the copycat syndrome that the dream keeps alive. After all, it is said that you should follow your dreams. It is then safe to say that there is a thin line between dream and reality? The American dream is really more an illusion, a feeling of moving up from a lower social class, earning enough so your children can go to college and owning a home. It takes away the humility in the average man and replaces it with a greedy capitalists mentality. While the general population is busy keeping up with the joneses, corporate fat cats can run the country as they see fit. Just smart enough to maintain and keep the machine going but never having full control. Such is, the American dream.

A couple of questions, in Puerto Rico, then are, can it or can it not survive without the U.S. Are the people so heavily infused with an American dream that they are willing to assimilate to the point of cultural and identity loss? In the end, the answers lie within the people of the island and only if they awake from that dream and approach things on clear and concise footing.

¡Despierta, Borinqueño!

Along the parade route, as flags wave and multitudes of people adorn themselves with various trinkets of Puerto Rican  pride, we have to question where that pride leads us. We have to question the motives of the capitalist corporations that adorn floats in attempts to captivate the moment. The very same attempts which glorify the American dream across the globe. Can we continue to survive as Puerto Ricans solely on pride alone? Is that pride sincere or not? Can we carry that pride and convert it to truly preserving and enriching our fellow Puerto Ricans who are in the most need? Can we exercise our minds to learn more about the history and culture of our people?

Let us take the energy that fills our parades with pride further than the avenue routes and face that which divides us, both on the island and within every Puerto Rican enclave in the U.S. to a collective advent and confront the reality that is colonialism. It is with that, that we must find the energy to confront the stigma that affects the independent thought of a Puerto Rican dream.

Puerto Rico: Many Questions, Many Answers....

What will become of Puerto Rico?

In a recent conversation with a friend, I asked the question, "What are your sentiments toward the current Governor of Puerto Rico and where do you believe the island is going?" I asked this question because he was born and raised on the island yet currently lives and works in NYC. He owns a home in Puerto Rico and travels there extensively and his children are also being raised on the island.

I felt his reply was honest and heartfelt. He replied that he felt the Governor of Puerto Rico was no different than past Governors or politicians. That his motives were not of the people but rather self driven political aspirations. As for the direction the island is going, he would only reply, that if Puerto Rico were to become a state it would be an even greater opportunity for corporations, money grubbing realtors and the like to sink their teeth onto the island. It would be like a gentrification of sorts where many of the island folk would not be able to afford the very land that they have lived on for years and they would have to move on. For the people to believe that they would receive more assistance via statehood is absolutely absurd. They have been coached to believe that by constantly being provide with crumbs by the American government. That the identity of the Puerto Rican nation will, with time, become so minute that it will be nearly all but forgotten except by the truly ardent Puerto Rican.

Our conversation may have ended there but it remained in my thoughts. It is, after all, a year that revisits yet another plebiscite on the island. Where the politics of the island status has taken a seat alongside the gubernatorial election. I also wonder about the motives and aspirations of that Governor. Is it for the people or self driven? The bottom line is what will happen at the end. The tunnel that leads to the islands political status is dark and dank and has been for a very long time. There is no doubt that the people fear the light at the end of the tunnel. It is marred by the same repeated questions with many answers that lead to the same end.

It does lead me to other questions. Such as, what is the reason behind the U.S. Army Reserve investing heavily in Puerto Rico? What is really in the future of the former Roosevelt Roads Naval Station site? With the Governor seemingly bent on higher Washington aspirations, is this all tied to an inclination toward a statehood coating of the cake?
Depending on which side of the political spectrum one stands, the answers are never easy to swallow. The frustration never seems to have an end. What will become of Puerto Rico?