FreeWhat!?

**This article first published on a previous version of Freewhat.org in 2007**

Come On In, The Water Is Boiling

By Regie Thompson

I’ve been hearing rumblings of a new revolution in America.

Right on. And… yeah, right.

On one hand, nothing would make me happier than to be a witness to a complete changing out of our elected officials. The right claims to be on the side of citizen’s freedoms and liberties, yet when push comes to shove, they take those same freedoms away in the name of security. Ben Franklin had it right when he said that those willing to give up liberty in the name of security deserve neither. The left claims to be standing up for the rights of the little guy, yet they are in the same corporate beds as the right. You can compare apples and oranges, but to me, they’re both still fruit. Thanks, I’ll have a mango.

On the other hand, a complete makeover might have our country looking more like Tammy Faye than a supermodel. There’s a bunch of candidates stumping for the space soon to be vacated by Bush, and from what I’ve seen, I’m not sure any of them are in touch with the rest of us. Neither side seems to have a cohesive clue of what most of us go through on a daily basis.

That brings me to the question: Is a revolution what our nation needs, or just an evolution?

A revolution is less likely than a comet hitting downtown Salt Lake City in the next week. Sure, the idea of revolution is romantic. But we are too damned comfortable as a people. We have everything at our fingertips, comparatively cheap energy, food is plentiful, unemployment lower than most nations. We sit in our air-conditioned homes, dumbing ourselves down with the latest news of Paris or Lindsey, while enjoying a cold beer. Life is cushy for many Americans, if not downright good. The last major revolution in western Europe wasn’t a revolution as much as it was a nation held down, collectively saying “We’ve had enough. This system is NOT working.” They had trouble getting food, work was scarce, travel was severely restricted, and the government controlled everything except thought. Then the wall fell, and change began to occur. We’re not even close to that point, but we’re heading that way with our current corporate-controlled media and special-interest influenced government. If we don’t stay on our toes, we’ll find ourselves in hot water.

Evolution, while not as quick as revolution, seems more likely to me, mainly due to our comfort level as a nation. As we discover flaws in our current system, we adapt to them, or we change the system. Each time I travel by air, I ask, “why must I put my three ounce bottle of shampoo in a plastic bag? What if I have five bottles of the same product? Will I be pulled aside?” But, I bag it up to get through security without hassle And be on my way. I evolved, rolling my eyes all the way through the process.

Revolution requires a great deal of discomfort to begin. Consider the last revolution in America. Taxation without representation, crown control of everything, etc. Life in early America was not fair in the least. We’re not at that point, yet. Evolution happens to each of us every day, but the question I pose is, what are we evolving in reaction to? If you put a frog in a pot and gradually increase the temperature, the frog will evolve to that environment and live, even in boiling water. But put him directly into the boiling pot, and you’ve got boiled frog for dinner. Or the frog jumps out and says, “No fucking way, man.” Now, that’s revolting.