5 Minute Strike

The 9/11 General Strike was a great idea, but it didn't work.

Why not? Because not enough people participated. It didn't send a message loud enough for the tyrants to notice. It didn't put a dent in the corporate machinery or the "bottom line" or the machinery of government.

The problem wasn't getting the word out. The General Strike was advertised really well. The problem, instead, was that many people (including most Americans) were too comfortable and not motivated enough to take a whole day off from work, from shopping or from school.

But if we don't strike and protest in large numbers, then -- given how worthless both blue and red politicians are -- the slide towards fascism will continue until it is complete.

So are we helpless? No. I think people just aren't pissed off enough yet to pour out into the streets. We have to do a better job of educating people about what's really going on.

And I would would argue that, by thinking smaller (at least in the short-run), we may actually get bigger results.

Instead of taking a whole day off, let's take 5 minutes off. Almost everyone can sneak away from work for 5 minutes. Everyone can stop shopping for 5 minutes. Many students can make an excuse and get away from their class for 5 minutes.

If, instead of a couple of thousand people engaging in a general strike, we can get a lot of people to take 5 minutes off, it will send a clear message to the wanna-be emperors in Washington, D.C. and elsewhere that we're here, we're awake, and we know that we have the power to shut down the whole economic, social and political machine if we want.

I propose every Tuesday at 10:03 a.m. local time. Why 10:03? That is the time that the 9/11 attacks ended, and the last hijacked plane crashed, according to the 9/11 Commission. Because many of our freedoms have been taken away since the horrible attacks of 9/11, and two wars (and counting) waged based upon 9/11, and because numerous highly-credible people question the 9/11 Commission's findings, the Tuesday at 10:03 a.m. time is appropriate.

So take 5 minutes once a week to walk out of work or school (and don't buy anything for those 5 minutes). EVERYONE can spare 5 minutes. And if enough of us do it, we will send a message loud enough to be heard by the powers-that-be.

Context: The Indonesian people stood up to tyranny and won. The Ukranian people stood up to tyranny and won. The East German people stood up to tyranny and won. The people of the Phillipines, South Korea, Bangladesh, Serbia, Czechoslovakia and other countries around the world have won against tyranny whenever ordinary people have poured into the streets in massive numbers and demanded freedom.

What about present day American people? The U.S. has turned or is close to becoming fascist. Are we standing up to the tyranny in our country?

America taught the world something about the fight for liberty back in 1776. But we've forgotten what it means to be free people. We've forgotten that we have the power to make the government start representing us and respecting our freedom. Perhaps looking at modern people in other countries who have stood up to tyranny will help us to remember our power.

Spending 5 minutes once a week peacefully protesting is a good place to start. It might not sound like much, but it will get people in the habit of taking action to protect their rights and liberties, and will help wake people up from their stupor and inertia of passivity.