Why We Resist

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by Chris Hedges
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We face a crisis. Our democratic institutions are being dismantled. We are headed for a state of perpetual war. We are paralyzed by fear. We will be stripped, if we do not resist, of our few remaining rights. To resist, while there is still time, is not only the highest form of spirituality but the highest form of patriotism. It is, if you care about what is worth protecting in this country, a moral imperative. There are hundreds of thousands who have died in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. This number would be dwarfed by a war with Iran, which could ignite a regional inferno in the Middle East. Not a lot is being asked of us. Compare our potential sacrifices with what is being inflicted on and demanded of those trapped in the violence in Iraq, Afghanistan and soon, perhaps, Iran. Courage, as Aristotle wrote, is the highest of human virtues because without it we are unlikely to practice any other virtue. Once we find courage we find freedom.

[May 14, 2008: Perhaps, not a lot is being asked of us, in comparison to those who feel the most severe effects of an oppressive and exploitative U.S.A. foreign policy. But, that does not mean our task of resistance and working for change is, or will be, in any way easy or simple. No, it will take great acts, courage, dedication and persistence in the face of what might, at times, seem like an insurmountable wall of the establishment - and an ingrained and habitual (perhaps mostly unconscious) societal appetite for destruction. It won't be easy. Perhaps the sacrifice won't be great, in comparison. But don't underestimate the "power of the darkside" (so to speak.) It won't be easy. Change won't arrive on the night train. It will require overt and principled, difficult, yet nonviolent confrontation and resistance. May 14, 2008/]