‘Raise Your Voice’ Archives
On Defending Democracy
from the series Raise Your Voice... By PETER MOLENAAR Protestors in downtown Minneapolis. PHOTO: Peter Molenaar Peter Molenaar ‘Democracy’ is derived from the Greek words: demos (people) and kratos (rule). In short, democracy is a system of government where significant power is vested in the people. Imagine: political equality, voting rights and majority rule. Whereas ‘fascism’ (when fully fledged) is an open dictatorship of the most reactionary sector of monopoly-capital. Indeed, such dictatorships have historically emerged incrementally. Naturally then, we applaud our NO KINGS MOVEMENT for having mobilized hundreds of thousands in the here and now! Meanwhile, some from our community don’t even bother to vote… presumably because, under our existing economic system, democracy is distorted and diminished by the force of capital and the associated political opportunism. That said: a bourgeois-democratic republic is preferable to a fascist regime! Therefore, [...]
Dear MAGA
from the series Raise Your Voice... By PETER MOLENAAR Peter Molenaar Dear MAGA, why do the oceans now rise against our shores… and whence, the destruction of hurricanes? Do you not honor the one crucified in retribution for his rebuke of the capitalists who occupied the temple? (Note: Matthew 21:12-13) Dear MAGA, do we not all descend from communal peoples who, after foraging, returned to their villages to receive the honored sharing with those in need? (Note: The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State, a book written by Friedrich Engels, can be purchased from May Day Books in the not-faraway land known as the Cedar-Riverside Neighborhood.) Yet, you call us “garbage” and “losers” when, cast in time, our collective labor is the source of value in your commodities! Moreover, feel free to cast light upon the spirit of the original beholders of the land we share, and note: our national parks are not for sale! Oh, dear MAGA, we now cry out: did you [...]
Worst of the Worst?
from the series Raise Your Voice!... By PETER MOLENAAR Peter Molenaar For many residents of the Phillips Neighborhood and surrounding communities, the designation “worst of the worst” is now granted to the masked invaders, who, operating with a quota in mind, were here to dislocate the lives of immigrants… people who have earned our respect, whose children have warmed our hearts for many years! : for the sake of all the children, we must ask ourselves: were the masked monsters morally deficient upon leaving their mother’s wombs, or had they been dehumanized by their masters?Lord knows, mace to the face is more than a “whiff of fascism”. Looking ahead, therefore, WE THE PEOPLE are compelled to resist by means of nonviolent demonstrations, general strikes, and presumably the ballot box as well. To which I will add: that whole world is watching!
