Face it, "working the system" is not going to get us anywhere

[MadHound]

Working within the political constructs set up by our country is not going to achieve significant gains or change. The political system is simply not set up to bring about change, but rather it is set up as a control method, one designed to force us to expend our energy working the political system. In the end, that energy is dissipated and the change is minimal. Not to mention that with corporate control of our government, the political system is rigged against we the people.

For example, health care in this country. For years, public opinion was solidly behind adapting a single payer health care system like Canada's, one that eliminate the insurance middle man. Yet when the health care reform debate came around, despite a massive effort to get even the bare minimum of a public option, that energy was dissipated, deflected, and not only did the public not get a single payer system of health care, we didn't even get a public option to offset the monstrosity of a mandated monopoly for the insurance industry. This scenario has been repeated time and again throughout our history.

What history also shows is that progress for the American people only comes about when the American people are pissed, when they turn out in such large numbers, shutting down industries, cities, threatening the social and political order to such an extent that it forces the powers that be to sit up, take notice, and actually make a positive change, just to restore stability and order (which is valued by TPTB almost as much as they value money). The union struggle, civil rights struggle, the fight to end the Vietnam war, the fight for women's rights, gay rights, all of these struggles point to one overwhelming conclusion, that working within the system is not going to bring about change. The only way to bring about real change in this country is to take it for ourselves, not politely ask for it, trying to work the system to get crumbs.

Our country is desperately in need of change, now, and since, as we've seen once more, change is not going to happen working the political system, it is time that we get out and take it for ourselves. Anti-war protests, general strikes, labor uprisings, all these and more are needed in order to get the change that this country needs. Otherwise, if we continue to politely work the system, we are simply playing into their hands, and the only change we will see is that things will get worse for us, and much, much better for the wealthy and power elite.