One of the fundamental rights we have in the United States is the right to protest. If our government (Federal, State, or Local) is doing something we don’t like, we have the protected right to take to the streets and complain about it. It’s a beautiful thing.
So, why aren’t more people doing it?
Unlike most answers in politics, this one is actually really simple. It can be found in a very old meme:
Consider how the average American lives these days. Most people get up in the morning, travel to work, work for 8 – 10 hours per day, then commute back home. Then its dinner, and maybe like 2 hours of TV or whatever, and then they have to go to sleep to do it all again. And I’m not even counting those of us who work longer shifts like long haul truckers.
Not a lot of time to go out and protest stuff.
Ok, Mike, but what about the weekends? Sure, you could. But most people need those two precious days to do household chores such as laundry, buying groceries, or to just plain recharge from the stress of the workweek.
And if you’re a parent? Forget it. Your weekends are fucked with taking care of kids, whether that’s taking them to play dates or birthday parties or just making sure they don’t kill themselves with a fork and a light socket.
What About Taking Time Off?
What about all the people who can’t take any time off? According to these statistics, 26.23 million people are considered part-time employees. That’s a lot of people. Even if you allow for those who are working multiple part-time jobs, that’s still a significant portion of the population. And what’s the #1 complaint about part-time jobs (besides lack of benefits and the shitty pay)? No personal time, and sometimes not even sick days.
Combine this with the fact that over half of the country is currently living “paycheck-to-paycheck” and you have a population that is exhausted from overwork and simultaneously can’t afford to miss any work or they will literally starve or become homeless.
So taking time off isn’t an option for most of America’s workers. And even the ones who do have vacation time use it to get away from their drone-like existences. They don’t want to use their limited freedom to walk around holding a sign, for what may end up being no payoff in the end.
But Wait, There’s More!
So exhaustion is the main reason there isn’t mass protesting in the streets. There’s also another reason, and it’s as old as Ancient Rome:
Distraction.
In the days of Ancient Rome, games were held in the colosseum to entertain the masses and keep them distracted from the corruption of those in power. We have our own colosseum games today. They’re called reality TV, sports, and basically any other form of “escapism” that is offered to the people.
These distractions are another reason why people who are not living paycheck to paycheck aren’t rising up in larger numbers. Because while things are bad for them, they aren’t bad enough for them to be motivated enough to protest.
This is why we’re not seeing mass protests like we just saw in Puerto Rico. The situation just isn’t bad enough. But it’s getting there. Right now we’re balancing on a knife’s edge….right where the establishment wants us.
It’s a Feature, Not a Bug
Even though America was founded on the principle that protesting is vital to the survival of the country, over the years that principle has been warped. For the past several decades, protesting has been discouraged, sometimes subtly, sometimes less so.
Recall the Vietnam era protests. The mainstream media and politicians were all over calling them anti-american. Nevermind that protesting is possibly the most American thing you can do. They didn’t agree with the actions of the elite, so they had to be denigrated.
The same thing is happening today. Everytime someone tries to speak up against the actions of the government they are mocked, dismissed, or – in extreme cases – threatened with physical harm. Sometimes they are harmed by overzealous police officers. But that’s a story for another post.
Through this misinformation that protestors are the enemy, as well as the subtle implementation of policies that further oppress 95% of the country, the establishment helps to cement their power and prevent any viable resistance from forming.
Are We Fucked, Then?
Not necessarily. Fortunately for us the knife edge balancing act that the establishment has been performing for decades is beginning to fail. Our corporate masters have been getting too greedy, and the rise of independent media sources has exposed their influence on our politicians in ways never seen before. More and more people are waking up to the grim reality of America in the twenty-first century.
Above all else, we finally have politicians that recognize the value of protesting. Politicians like Bernie Sanders and Shahid Buttar who have taken part in protests themselves and never fail to endorse a protest when the cause is just.
I’ll leave you with this quote from John Lindsay, former mayor of New York City. Feel free to bust it out whenever someone tries to tell you that complaining about America is un-american:
“Dissent is the highest form of patriotism.”