The Zeitgeist Movement
Response to FBI Targeting Political Activists as Terrorists
...but I'm curious if you see any difference where
just very very kind of obviously peaceful activists,
like environmental activists, animal rights activists,
people that attend a documentary or that use sidewalk chalk on the street
in order to write their slogans are now being targeted
as if we are seeing a new low of what you call
"quashing dissent".
As many students of history are familiar,
Galileo, famed mathematician and astronomer,
known today by many as the “Father of Modern Science,"
was forced in the 17th century
by the Catholic Church under threat of torture
to recant his “heretical” view
that the earth revolved around the sun and not vice versa.
This scientifically valid idea voided long held religious dogma
and hence challenged the Church's integrity itself.
In a letter from 1634, René Descartes,
one of the world's most noted thinkers and philosophers, stated:
“Doubtless you know
that Galileo was recently censored by the Inquisitors of the Faith,
and that his views about the movement of the earth
were condemned as heretical.
I must tell you that all the things I explained in my treatise,
which included the doctrine of the movement of the earth,
were so interdependent
that it is enough to discover that one of them is false
to know that all the arguments I was using are unsound.
Though I thought that they were based on very certain and evident proofs,
I would not wish, for anything in the world,
to maintain them against the authority of the Church.
I desire to live in peace and to continue the life I have begun
under the motto 'to live well you must live unseen'.”
If we step back and think about the challenges that faced
this small progressive and scientific community
during the 17th century in Europe
and compare the fear and patterns of suppression
coming from the established orthodoxy of that time to that of modern-day,
we find only a mere variation.
Descartes' revelation and retreat from exposure
as expressed by the motto 'to live well you must live unseen'
is a disheartening disposition that speaks volumes
and sadly carries on to this day across the world.
The use of fear, intimidation and other time tested variations of oppression
continue to persist, as the dominant institutions of our society
work to protect its established order regardless of social validity.
Even more, the overall culture itself,
which invariably tends to support the accepted beliefs put forward
by those who define the power of a period,
also tend to condemn those who pose a challenge,
as it becomes a threat to the mass-accepted identity itself.
The result is that many are simply not willing to risk their lives,
occupations and reputations to challenge the orthodoxy of the time.
In late May, 2011, news reports were generated
that detailed how the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States
was actively targeting “Political Activists”
under the pretense of “Terrorism”.
Just as people like John Lennon and Martin Luther King
were watched and harassed by the FBI for their activism years ago,
it appears modern, so-called “Anti-Terrorism” resources are being used
to target environmentalists, peace, animal and political activists.
Just like the accusations of “Communism”
against people like Martin Luther King, Jr. in the mid 20th century,
this newer, more generalized device of the 21st century called “Terrorism”
is no less a “heretical," accusatory tool
than what was employed by the Inquisition centuries ago
to maintain the politico-religious social system.
So, we can sympathize with Descartes' notion,
as to move against the zeitgeist
is to position yourself against the odds,
regardless of how empirical, necessary or obvious
the truth you wish to convey and act upon is.
Unfortunately, Descartes' position is unacceptable in the modern world.
The risks that now exist within our current order
are beginning to far outweigh the temporal personal risks
generated by the act of activist objection itself.
It is no longer issues of accurate data, “rights” and “freedoms”.
Today our very stability as a civilization is in question
and, if left unhindered, it threatens us all,
regardless of one's position in the modern feudal hierarchy.
We can sit in confusion and watch
as global unemployment rises due to technological unemployment
and the resulting regional instability that is sure to grow.
We can stare blankly at the systematic debt collapse of the world economy,
country by country, like dominos,
as self-appointed global banking institutions
that derive money out of nothing impose austerity measures
against the poor and middle class of each country
to help support the wealthy, furthering the ever widening income divide.
We can twiddle our thumbs as what we have called “democracy”
turns inexplicably into global plutocracy
and the world economy becomes measured by how much money
the rich move around amongst themselves.
We can distract ourselves with our little gadgets as the rainforests,
considered by many the “lungs” of the planet,
are destroyed at faster and faster rates,
reducing our ability to absorb the growing CO2 in the atmosphere.
We can keep the TV on as clean water and food shortages
that currently affect over 1 billion people
continue to grow to 2 billion or 3 billion.
We can scan the tabloids at the grocery store news stands
as the very basis of industrial civilization, the hydrocarbon economy,
inches towards crisis scarcity
with virtually no active initiative taken to change course.
We can continue to pretend that our “leaders”
are anything other than “mis-leaders”
set in motion by monetary commercial interests
that follow the rules of the free-market
with all legislation and offices
going to the highest bidder one way or another.
And we can stand amused as a new global arms race gains speed
as each country comes to terms with the very real reality
that wars for resources are upon us
in a way unlike any other period in history.
This is what separates our world from the one that Descartes hid from.
The fear tactics of the orthodoxy,
in this context, the FBI or any such “Intelligence Agency,"
are no longer worthy of viable concern or even acknowledgement.
At no time in history has any true social change
come in a manner that was not opposed with hostility
by the dominant orders of the time.
If you choose fear, then fear exists
and those little lists and statistics
held by the intelligence and police agencies have merit.
If you choose love, pride and self-respect
then no accusations, lists or threats can ever stop you.
The trick now is in numbers
and if we can gain critical mass
to non-violently override the “divide and conquer” techniques
used to keep the orthodoxy in place,
the game is over.
The Zeitgeist Movement is a global sustainability activist group
working to bring the world together
for the common goal of species sustainability before it is too late.
It is a social movement, not a political one
with over 1100 chapters across nearly all countries.
Notions of division such as nations, governments, races, political parties
religions, creeds or class are regarded as non-operational distinctions.
Rather, we recognize the world as one system
and the human species as a singular unit, sharing a common habitat.
Our overarching intent could be summarized as
“the application of the scientific method for social concern.”
To learn more about our work, please visit www.thezeitgeistmovement.com