4 ms·

Ummm...fight for your rights?

• CamperBob2 12y ago
  Interestingly, "fighting for your rights" seems to be one of those things that works only when a small minority is doing the fighting. For instance, the American revolution was instigated and conducted by a few discontented landholders, without seeking permission or widespread acceptance from the broader population. If the means for widespread democratic input had existed in the years leading up to 1776, would Washington have been able to mobilize successfully? Or would the mainstream media have been co-opted by the British to proclaim him a "radical dissident" or a "terrorist," hopelessly marginalizing the revolutionaries? That's the problem that any would-be Chinese or Russian revolutionary faces. Earlier revolutions could be conducted with the involvement of only 10-15% of the population, but these days, you can't do much to change things even with 80% of the population behind you.