We Are Failing: The Need to Rise Up

Greetings all!

This post comes after a self-imposed hiatus in order to assist in with work that needed to be done on DeviantArt. Now that that is over, I have returned to write anew. Much has occurred in the time that I was on break; the Boston marathon became the epicenter of a violent bombing, gun control debate flopped in the American senate, and Rhode Island, along with Uruguay, New Zealand, and France, passed laws legalizing same-sex marriage (and in some cases adoption). And while I do feel a need to write scathing remarks about our reaction to the aforementioned bombing, that will have to come later. I feel there is something greater to be addressed. While some parts of the world have made progress as of late, there is a certain horrifying trend of failure I’m seeing as well. It’s something that came together for me today, when it was announced that the Barisan National Coalition won elections in Malaysia. This week’s quote comes from Anwar Ibrahim, the leader of the opposition in Malaysia.

The world is not failing its people entirely. There are little bright spots along the way, and they happen when we least expect them. While gun control measures failed in the senate, a huge majority of Americans still support the measures proposed. And while same-sex marriage is not yet the law of the land, polls suggest that a majority of Americans support marriage equality as well. As far as I can tell, many of us around the world have what is right in our hearts.

But at the same time, these recent weeks have confirmed to me just how strong our foes are. Protection laws for Monsanto, written by Monsanto, have been passed. Egyptian Islamic law has been tightening as of late, with an amount of public support that should frighten any rational person. Hugo Chavez has died, and while Nicolas Maduro represents a good way to continue his legacy Venezuela is running out of good ways to keep progress coming. North Korea remains a belligerent state that betrays its own ideals, and it does not appear as though it will become truly free anytime soon. And despite proof that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad did not win the Iranian elections of 2009, Iran is still possibly one of the most backward, terrifying places on the planet.

The reason the Malaysian elections struck me so is because it fomented in my mind just how endemic reactionary and bourgeois forces are in our world. It has solidified in my mind not just how powerful conservative forces are within the hearts and minds of our people; conservative forces are part of culture.

This is best exemplified by the U.K. at the moment. As of late, the U.K. Independence Party has won seats in local elections. Unfortunately, this is one of the single worst things I can imagine for the United Kingdom. Hell, I’d rather tolerate Tories than the UKIP.

The UKIP has risen to prominence in the wake of a harsh economy in the U.K. As we all know, in times of extreme or prolonged hardship the masses of any nation become more politically polarized as discontent with the political establishment grows. This is an expected occurrence, no matter what the location is. This is why the Syrian opposition is increasingly dominated by Islamists; dissatisfaction with the lack of victories, people are turning to those more confident in their ideologies to act. Unfortunately, this situation always increases the risks present in any country.

Take, say, the Weimar Republic, the government of Germany between the two World Wars. At the beginning, the Weimar Republic made a good showing of Germany and performed leaps and bounds for a good part of the 1920s. But by the 1930s, serious economic depression strongly polarized the electorate, leaving the government split between communists and Nazis. This lead to inaction on the part of the government, eventually leaving Germany to hand over executive power to Hitler. We all know what horrors followed.

The UKIP represents a similar threat. The United Kingdom, however, is not now split between the radical left and right, nor does it look like it will be in the near future. The strongest left-wing party in the U.K. is the Labour Party, and at best it is centre-left and represents social democratic ideals which won’t compete with the vivacity of the UKIP. This is especially true in light of the fact that Labour is not now a majority party, and it likely will not become one. The risks involved with the UKIP do not involve there being a simple chance that a radical side of politics will take over. The UKIP may take power in Britain without opposition, solidifying a racist political party that will surely drive one of the world’s oldest nations into the dumps if given the chance. The war clouds hang over Europe with the arrival of the UKIP; my fear is growing for our world.

Greece suffers a similar situation at the moment. While the left-winged Syriza coalition holds the will of a good portion of the people, the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn Party has gained increasing popularity as well. This is more in line with traditional dissatisfaction with government; the population is split, and there is a risk that one of the two radical sides will take power and enforce its will on the country. At least in Greece the more rational left has a chance; not so for the U.K.

The Malaysian election proved to me that not only will conservative forces do anything to keep power, but that in some cases they don’t have a strident need to do so on their own. I don’t doubt that the BN coalition rigged the elections at least a little bit; that’s pretty much a given in a nation where said political grouping has held power literally since independence. However, I am thoroughly convinced that enough people genuinely believe in conservative forces in Malaysia enough to vote for them. We must not allow this to happen; we must be aware, and we must fight. We need numbers to win the world; that is where our power comes from. Never forget that.

That is all for this week, and I hope I've provided a well-backed argument. As always, I can be reached by comments here, or through my email at zerospintop@live.com. My accounts on Facebook, Twitter, DeviantArt, Steam, Tumblr, and Reddit can also be reached if necessary. Good night, and this is KnoFear, signing off.