We saw this film on Sundance Monday night. It's about how the people of Peru gave up their rights to a corrupt dictator who promised that he was going to smash the terrorist threat to their nation. Don't get me wrong, the Shining Path was indeed a nasty terrorist organization bent on subjugating the people of Peru to their Communist ways. But it turned out that the cure was worse than the disease. Alberto Fujimori used his war on terror as a pretext to rob the people of Peru of their civil rights, their lives, and their cash. Now does that remind you of a certain member of the Bush crime family?One is struck by the parallels between what Fujimori did and what Bush is doing. They both chipped away at our freedom in the name of fighting terrorism, although if you ask me one really did a have credible threat and it wasn't Bush. It's amazing how history repeats itself in these cases where we let fear mongering rule our lives and our national political discourse.
I was also struck once again at the insanity of using the military and the police to fight terrorism. This film shows once again that the only way to really fight terrorism is to address the root causes of why people become terrorists in the first place. And people usually become terrorists not because they hate freedom but because they have been oppressed economically, politically, sexually, or because of their dark skin. When people have had enough of being treated like shit by the rich elites and the oppressive governments and economic systems they impose then they usually strike out the only way they can, which is usually through violent means, case in point, the American revolution and most every revolution that has taken place after it.
Call me crazy or paranoid but I do indeed fear that one day soon another "terrorist attack" is going to take place and Bush is going to come on TV to tell us that in order to save the USA he is going to dissolve Congress, abandon the Constitution, and rule by decree like Fujimori did. If that does come to pass then I hope that we rise up sooner than the Peruvian people did when they finally tossed out their dictator.
8 comments:
thanks for saying that. I think it a lot. At some point there will have to be some sort of resistance. I hope it will be peaceful, but it will be necessary. It is so, so clear that the we are losing our rights and corruption is growing. It will take courage and bravery to step up, but it will happen eventually.
the quad is a few blocks from my apt === and they play a lot of terrific movies and small movies that would never make it into the mainstream theatres
thanks for sharing this one
Boy, just the other day you saying how you were more optimistic than I. See what watching movies'll get ya? Heh.
The same plan seems to be working right now in Pakistan.
Anyone in the US who isn't nervous just isn't paying attention.
Sadly I fear it would work just as you say and I wonder how many people would rise up?
Here is my scenario, Patricia. It isn't hopeful, per se, but it's consistent with Americans. In my opinion.
People won't so much "rise up" as become criminal and subversive. The dictatorship will fall not from an organized uprising, like a massive force upon it, but from millions of tiny cracks in its foundation from individual rule-breakers.
Thanks for the recommendation; I'll have to check the rental place.
I wonder about kind of revolution we will have here; I tend to agree with Ubermilf that there will be millions of rule-breakers, but those "tiny cracks" didn't stop the Stalinist gulag system from continuing. I don't think it will be enough to quietly and passively resist. I think it's more likely that there will be TWO systems -- one above ground, with rich or stupid people buying into the govt's bullshite, and then an underground system of people who drop off the grid and subsist on their own, in hiding.
Bubbles-We need to be on guard, that's for sure.
Dcap-It was my pleasure sir.
Randal-I'm optimistic we'll overthrow his criminal ass and put him in chains quickly.
POP-You're right. Pakistan is a dry run.
UberMILF-I think yo may be right, the power of small things is great when taken as a whole.
Dguz-Sadly, we've already got two systems.
Late to the party but I must say it looks great. I love Peru- an amazing land that has suffered much.
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