What should one do if one discovers one's government is corrupt and evil?

Highlights from our meeting on 03/05/03

1. Is that where we are in this country?
2. In Hitler's Germany the transformation to evil was so subtle at first that by the time people realized how serious things were, it was already dangerous to speak out and take action.
3. Hitler was democratically elected and in the beginning did much good for the Germans.
4. It seems that integrity in government in this country has been in decline for decades.
5. Jimmy Carter seems to be the only exception to what seems to be an accelerating decline in the quality and character of our political leaders.
6. Nixon was brought down in large part by the courageous journalism of Woodward and Bernstein.
7. The press today seems to be part of the same big money, vested interest, power structure that is ruining this country.
8. It seems we can no longer rely on our own press for accurate news coverage.
9. Foreign news services give a much different picture of events than our own press.
10. It would be nice if we had better access to foreign news services.
11. We can get foreign news over the Internet.
12. But what do you do if you are one of the few who does see what is happening?
13. Trying to work through your political representatives may not do much good if they are all part of the power structure vested in the status quo.
14. Where does the power structure get its power?
15. We give the power structure its power in a Faustian bargain.
16. "We will give you our money and our permission to act on our behalf, if you take care of our dirty work."
17. In exchange we don't need to worry about our responsibility to our fellow man/woman, because government will take care of that.
18. Government replaces individual compassion and frees us to pursue individual greed without guilt.
19. We empower government through the money we give it.
20. The same is true for large corporations.
21. The most powerful vote, the one that carries the most weight, is the vote of the dollar.
22. You could protest poor press coverage by cancelling your newspaper subscription.
23. If everyone agreed not to buy a new car in a given year, the big auto makers would really feel it and start paying attention.
24. To be effective, boycotts need to be organized and synchronized.
25. If you could coordinate a mass action to withhold paying income tax, the federal government would collapse.
26. Is total collapse the best goal?
27. Total collapse might cause much suffering among innocent citizens.
28. Ganhdi is a good model of effective use of mass participation.
29. How do you organize a mass action if the majority is ill informed?
30. Most people are already suffering from "information overload".
31. Actually it might be more accurate to say "misinformation overload".
32. There seems to be a time and credibility gap. Most people don't have the time to check the validity of all sources and therefore are left not knowing what to believe.
33. More powerful than facts, figures, and "hard news", is the power of stories to reach the general public.
34. The arts and entertainment media are ways to provide information to the public.
35. A musical parody about President Bush and Saddam Hussein is currently playing to sell-out crowds in London.
36. Actual stories are also powerful, such as the story of the young man who was forced by security guards to leave a shopping mall because he was wearing a T-shirt that said "Give Peace a Chance".
37. Middle America is sometimes slow to react, but when it does, it is a powerful force, like a sleeping giant.
38. Body bags coming home could be another kind of story that could wake up the sleeping giant.
39. Events happen faster and faster as history progresses.
40. Is there enough time for the sleeping giant to wake up before it is too late?
41. Is history inevitable?
42. Perhaps now is the time to start planning for the aftermath of the collapse of western civilization.
43. It may not be possible to repair or dismantle the present system by intent.
44. A system lacking integrity will have internal tension and in-fighting that weakens it.
45. The present system may come to an end on its own accord.
46. Like a car running out of gas.
47. Like a natural death at the end of a life span.
48. What happens after the collapse may depend on those with enough foresight to plan for it.
49. Remembering that we are spiritual beings can provide peace of mind when dealing with the injustices of the material world.
50. An alternative form of compassionate self-governing based on a higher power/authority has yet to be invented.
51. Could such an alternative power structure, if implemented soon enough, prevent a total collapse of our current way of life?
52. A total collapse would mean starting over from scratch.
53. Nature is indifferent.