Nightmare on Main Street

When most Americans face the nightmare before us, when they realize the irreversible devastation unleashed on the ecosystem and the economic misery from which they cannot escape, violence will have a broad and terrifying appeal. Those of us who demand a return to the rule of law and remain steadfast to nonviolence will find ourselves cast aside — the useful idiots Lenin so despised.
~ from Ralph Nader Is Tired of Running for President by Chris Hedges ~

As is usual, this week's column by Hedges is a good one! However, for my purposes this morning, I want to focus on these two brief sentences.

One aspect of the civil rights movement that Martin Luther King, Jr., worked tirelessly against was the specter of violence within some factions of the movement itself. He continually warned America's leaders that, if they refused to deal with nonviolent protesters in a respectful and just manner, there were many others that were more than willing to utilize violence to make their voices heard. After his assassination, his prediction came to horrible fruition!

We stand at a similar crossroads today. While the nonviolent movement pales in comparison to that of the 1960s, it would behoove our leaders -- provided they actually give a damn -- to learn from recent history. If they follow through with their threat to eviscerate the portion of the federal budget that serves the many -- while leaving untouched or increasing the portion that benefits the few -- the country may explode in an orgy of indiscriminate violence.

When people come to realize in direct and concrete terms that their country has been sold out from under their feet, I shudder to think how many people will react. When voting doesn't do any good and peaceful protests are met with an apathetic yawn, in many people's eyes, unmitigated violence will be the only recourse.

As Hedges points out in his essay, those of us who call for determined resistance through nonviolent means will be drowned out by a cacophony of rabble-rousers -- some of which will be demagogues who merely want to profit from the misery of their brethren!