Voting the "lesser of two" evils" over a long period of time eventually and inexorably brings a nation to a Donald Trump. Having both political parties owned by the very rich produces such resentment and anger that almost anything can happen. In some countries a revolution comes out of the resentment. In others, the elite are able to deflect anger toward minorities, bringing great suffering to already marginalized people. In America we have such a racial and ethnic mix that blatant racism has always been the method of choice for our corrupt politicians.
Alliances of the non-elites are the best way to fight a system dominated by the billionaire class. And challenging racism is often the spark that leads to a broader, class based change. So it is at Standing Rock, where veterans are standing up against this country's long term environmental and cultural assault on native American populations.
In coming together, something else happens. There emerges a general consensus that the present system is illegitimate and that many groups can work together to bring it down. When thousands march, local authorities get anxious. When hundreds of thousands march, the whole kleptocracy begins to grow alarmed. The Occupy Movement was only stopped by state violence orchestrated from the White House. The entire corporate controlled media had to avoid any coverage of Bernie Sanders to end his revolutionary candidacy.
The Standing Rock movement presents another challenge to the system. Here are veterans and Native Americans coming together, along with Black Lives Matter, immigrant groups, labor unions, LGBTQ activists, etc. We survived a blizzard in our tented community. Perhaps we will bring new hope in the spring after our Valley Forge experience. For it will be a movement such as this that gets rid of the corporate controlled parties and restores our democracy.
