today is the birthday of cesar chavez. i will not include a link to his history and palmares as i suspect the majority of our readers have some idea who he is. for those that do not, a quick spin through wikipedia or other online archives detailing the achievements of those who strive for justice should be elucidating. for those who fail to understand the distinction between the social concept of justice and the man's concept of justice, here's a primer for h. rap brown...
cesar chavez, like many in this tradition, was a dignified person who understood what needed to happen and worked tirelessly to achieve it. in states like california, cesar chavez day is an official state holiday. it's not a day off, it's a day on: a chance to celebrate the life of one who left things better than he found it. this is a very active period as the birthday of francis perkins falls on April 10th so this is a time when many of us are making a big push to have people open their eyes and think about the courageous individuals who have made such tremendous sacrifices to get us where we are. it's regrettable that the phrase standing on the shoulders of giants has so little meaning now. our collective attention span is measures in picoseconds, about the lifespan of some physics particles of interest.
it's good that you all browse the real news at the people's portal because the MSM ain't getting the job done. with two such titanic figures in the movement to better people's lives, what does the post choose to cover? how best to help the indigent? more mind control. this article is a smack in the face. my favorite line, admittedly taken out of context, but still funny enough to make me shoot coffee out my nose:
Those with satellite and cable subscriptions, as well as those with newer digital TV sets, should not have to do anything to keep watching TV.
yes, that would be a good outcome for them wouldn't it? another gem can be found on the second page where a general discussion about the lack of awareness about the impending end fo analog signals yields this hysterical bit of hyperbole:
People are going to start to get super-alarmed and panicked.
that would be funny, if it wasn't so utterly devoid of self-awareness. televsion, and the "journalists" who appear on it, have as a whole not really been all that good at mobilizing people. the last time i can seriously remember people being shocked awake was when anderson cooper lost it on tv while reporting on the aftermath of katrina. and you can see what sort of true mobilization that yielded. in these times, education about social justice must be done in spite of the media, not because of it. take a few moments each days this week and do just a bit of digging and learn some new things about someone who really made a difference in people's live. drop me a line and tell me who you were reading about. we'll summarize it as the week goes on....