Taking on Anti-Xrist

I think all the talk about the power of the blogosphere is overblown and ill-conceived. While the excellent points and discussion going on here (where?) is important, it means nothing because it is simply words in a medium that verges on nothingness.

It's all too abstract. As many people have shown, the public sphere has been reduced to such a point that we are all anonymous voices and pseudonyms spouting ire and neat concepts but only within the comfortable zone of privacy.

Nothing will be done about the deception and evils among us until people regain the public in the phrase public sphere. Until they take to the streets, hold town mettings, host house discussions, and so on, politicians will just lie through their teeth because they know that public reaction is gonna be a whimper rather than a bang when it comes to real action. ...

I am not one for mass movements--though they have served their purpose in the past. More important are symbolic acts of individuals standing up and saying they'll be counted. Look at Thoreau and others who have followed this example.

Feingold is in fine company in this regard. He's set the example for all who care about this issue--a solitary individual willing to withstand the scorn, ridicule, and media disdain for his belief.

This does not mean that people should stop calling their representatives, writing newspapers, contributing to forums such as this one. It does mean, I think, that until people come up with creative ways to put their own bodies, spirits, or reputations at risk, the insiders on both sides will just yawn and smirk about the ghosts of the blogosphere.

To get the ball rolling on the suggestion I just made:

• Thousands of people petition the government, individually, for information on whether their email, phone calls, etc. have been monitored. I do not know the legal paperwork involved here--perhaps someone hasa website where this type of legal stuff is found? The Freedom of Information Act forms (FOIA) can be accessed online here.


• Stand on Main street's corner with sign saying: Stop Govt. Spying on Us: Call Senators ###-###-####


• Place ad in newspaper with same message as 2 above.


• Engage a conservative evangelical in discussion about how come they're against RFIDs and other potentially intrusive government tracking capabilities but not against NSA spying. There's a big disconnect here in the evangeical community. They think that the Anti-Christ will set up systems of controls similar to Orwell's 1984. Yet, I have read none of these leaders or others come out against the idea that the NSA is potentially spying and tracking them now. You don't have to buy into any of the mythology to simply educate them about 1) the NSA's p[rogram and 2) about their seeming contradiction on this point. On other words, why's it okay for Bush to spy on us but not the Anti-Christ?


• [piggbacking on an online poster called "eyes wide open"]: Put an ad in the newspaper with the following words: "I just found out about the sneak and peek clause in the new Patriot Act. The government can enter your house when you are not there and search everything, and not tell you about it for a year. And now, they can do that without a warrant."