Happy Canada Day --Time to Re-think Freedom. You too, America!

It's July 1st  2011  and   "Will and Kate" , Prince William and Kate Middleton are wowing the crowds in Ottawa for Canada Day celebrations.  Isn't that great?   Canadians are enjoying the "historic relationship of the Mother country England --by honoring the newest and most popular royals, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, -- that are merely  "Will and Kate" to happy Canadians on this sunny day.  

What does that acknowledgment of royalty really  mean?   Only 145 years ago, Canada became 'Independent' and free of Great Britain's colonial rule.  Are we "free" ?  

It is time to rethink what freedom really is. It's not 1867  any  more, that is a given, but freedom is more than a royal signature on dusty old documents.

"I live, therefore I must be free or die." Passionate, serious words that challenge the concept of freedom within an ordinary, normal society, but where does true freedom really begin and end?

What must one be allowed to do to be considered free? " (more)

Canadians, in fact all North Americans,  need to think for themselves and examine the shaky ground we stand upon.  One only had to watch the G20 security summit disaster to recognize how close to a police state we appear to be.  Is democracy real freedom when  authoritarian rules are arbitrarily inflicted upon a civilized population?   Let's totally  ignore the rabble and trouble-making element for a moment.  Does a demonstrating,  civilized population need to be threatened and controlled by robotic, heavily-armed,  riot-equipped police?  At Incoming Bytes  we think not.  

Clearly troublemakers should be identified and held accountable for their actions and the damage they do, but is it necessary to threaten average teenagers, average adults, and average Canadians who choose to express their opinion?  Freedom of speech comes to mind.  

     When we have studied, compared, and discerned our actual status within reality,  stripping  away the imaginary "freedoms" we are "allowed" by government and bureaucracy  that has  totally forgotten what the real  mandate of government IS,  what is really left?  

Perhaps Canadians are not the worst off in the world comparatively, but could real freedom make our lives so much better?  

Americans in the United States  will celebrate their July4th  holiday with equal gusto,  but they are suffering reduction of freedoms under the guise of the 'war on terrorism'. They, too, have riot-equipped police forces.  Go figure.  They look just like ours.  Imagine that.  

 

How far does legislation and government  go before "freedom" is no longer?  Why is there so much  awkward silence about real freedom, just as there is unnatural, official silence about the spate of  disasters and the potentially mind-boggling, civilization-changing effects of them?   

It seems that "Will and Kate" are more important today .   That's fine.   Really.  Happy Canada Day --but we continue to  encourage all North Americans to think for themselves --before it is to late to do so.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Egyptian Revolution: A Sign That Democracy is Not Dead

                                     Brilliant 1                                         Photo r.a. kukkee

     Being a relatively peaceful individual and living in relatively peaceful Canada,   I do not like to hear of chaos,  violence,  shootings,  or society on the rampage and out of control anywhere,   but in this ever-changing world,  once again it is happening.  The quiet, dusty world of sleeping mummies and  the Great Pyramids  is being  rudely awakened by violent uprising.
      For several days now there have been massive demonstrations in Egypt. A veritable revolution is being held with  chanting crowds on the rampage, looting, arson and shootings.  Troops are using rubber bullets  and tear gas on demonstrators.  Blood is being spilled.  Thousands of inmates have escaped jails, including Muslim militants.  Police have reportedly disappeared from the streets.
      Deaths and more major confrontations  will most likely continue  in Cairo and other major centers.   Demonstrators will continue to demand the removal of Mubarak's authoritarian dictatorship until that change has been achieved.  Egyptians are voicing angry dissent and unhappiness with the corrupt status quo with much vigour.
   
     Mubarak's reign is supported by the  United States, and Hosni  has   ruled Egypt with an iron fist for over 30 years.  In response to the contemporary  revolution,  he has ordered troops and tanks into the streets to shoot at demonstrators.    
     A 6:00 pm curfew has been established;  citizens are no longer free to stroll  amicably in the streets of  Cairo, shop in the markets,  conduct any assembly of persons,  or wander down the street to visit with momma, poppa  and grandchildren.  
     In an almost unheard of move, the Internet has been shut down, and armed  F16 fighter jets are  flying over downtown Cairo to instill  fear in the population.
Why?
     I wonder what Mr.  Hosni Mubarak  is  so deathly afraid of? Shoppers?  Visiting children?  Political reform?   
No. 
      He is afraid of losing power and control,  but more  likely,  he is afraid of losing  his collected fortunes, his treasures, and any access to his spoiled,  premium, obscenely rich and luxurious lifestyle. 
    Most civilized people know  that power corrupts just surely as wealth is concentrated by greed.  We must conclude  it unlikely Mr. Mubarak  is any different from any other control freak or  greedy opportunist that has held power for a very long term.  In the face of poverty, unemployment and anger in the general populace, he  doesn't want to give it up. 
     The fact is,  as history teaches repetitively,  change must be made willingly, or it will eventually be established by  demonstration, force, or civil war. 
     Should peace-loving  people instead  resign to their fate of oppression and poverty silently?   Is the revolution merely another example  of collective human insanity unleashed,  or is it a genuine sign  that  democracy is not dead?
How is the reader to interpret what is happening?  I think the inevitable  must prevail.  Nothing remains the same. Change is inevitable.   Change WILL happen simply because democracy is not dead.  

Transition to democracy will occur, one way or the other if only for the fact that Mubarak, unless he is totally brain-dead,  must recognize that his  vicious,  iron-fisted response to the demonstrations,  and his subsequent misuse of the military,  abuse of  authority and  suppression of expression of speech  are the  most blatant  condemnations of the rule he has practiced. 
Perhaps  he does not recognize the fact that truth always comes out regardless of how well hidden it may be.  Perhaps he is vicious enough to be certain of  his power and will continue to tighten the grip on Egyptian society for a while, but in doing so  he is  merely offering more proof  that his reign  is  decadent and requires termination.

In  the aggregate opinion of  democratic peoples world wide,  the principle of stifling free speech is unacceptable.   The inexcusable action of  using national troops and armaments viciously  against the citizens of their own country is criminal.
 In spite of the shut-down internet, EGYPT is as visible as any 3D picture of your dusty old  Pyramids.   The world is watching,  so at the very minimum,  surrender your corrupt regime with a modicum of dignity,  Mr. Mubarak.
In the eyes of the world, Egypt is not much different than any other aspiring nation;  so let the people speak, -or  carefully stand aside, for change IS inevitable, and soon.