Friday, June 1, 2012
This doesn't take the part of a chart or a diagram, but it is a graphic used for propaganda purposes.
On a personal note, I remember back when I was 5-8 years old, and my father lived in Vancouver, Washington. At the time, Vancouver had the largest fire works show west of the Mississippi, which is somewhat unusual because Vancouver is not that large of a city. Within a half mile of the display point, there could be 20-30,000 people watching the fireworks. When they all got up to go, it was just as fantastic as the fireworks themselves. The streets would be packed for people leaving for a mile or so out. It felt exciting to be part of something like that.
As I got older, I would also march in anti-war rallies, and that was also exciting.
But at some point, the feeling of excitement can eclipse what it is that is the nominal issue. And here, that message is spelled out in big, big print. "WE ARE ALL ONE". This poster is pretty explicit that the point of marches isn't always the supposed issue, but is sometimes a way for people to feel that they belong to things. It is an intoxicating feeling, but a dangerous one.
Democracy is predicated on the idea that people disagree, and that different groups have to compromise amongst themselves. It is a dangerous illusion to pretend that Democracy means "WE ARE ALL ONE".
What specific issues were these people protesting about? Other than suspicion of authority, are these people coming from similar viewpoints? Of course, they all come from different countries, so they don't have to agree with each other totally. But even within a country, even within the people attending the march, once the euphoria of marching has passed, what do they have in common?
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