Yesterday....

Yesterday, I decided to take a walk a few miles from my house where people were gathering in a small neighborhood protest.

When I arrived, they were still setting up and there was an opportunity to talk with a few people. They seemed to wonder who I am and why I was there. One woman asked, "you're not a spy for the government, are you?"

Once assured that in fact I have no covert operative status to be blown, we had some brief conversations. Going from one to another, I noticed a some commonalities.

Most of them were unwilling to answer the difficult questions. I asked one of the organizers, "Do you really believe this has an impact? Aside from taking the pulse of the neighborhood, do you think all of us, individually or collectively, can change a darned thing the government is doing? We have an illegal and immoral regime in place, firmly entrenched and reinforced through the national security establishment. Here it is, a gorgeous day, and it's rather pleasant to be here, but do you really believe it will do any good?"

Through multiple interruptions from her friends and acquaintances, she looked at me with a rather blank stare and said she didn't really know but we need to at least try. And, she continued, at least we know we've done something.

It was just about that point when a man on a bicycle came up to us and said that he was going to put a sign on his bike that said, "The Solution". I found that kind of interesting because I really had no idea what he was talking about at that point. He went on to tell me that it was the solution to pollution, riding a bike instead of driving a car. He chanted it like a mantra.

There is certainly truth to his statement. I'm all for alternative methods of transportation. Bikes, buses, affordable taxis. Heck, bring us tuk tuks and sawngthaews ... just like Thailand's. It would provide independent jobs, reduce traffic and all sorts of good things.

But that's really not the point.

In talking with many of the people present, I realized that I've become detached. It will take a while to figure out why. The fire in my belly is gone. The righteous indignance of youth seems to have been replaced with a kind of benign acceptance. Honestly, I don't believe gathering on street corners, holding signs and chanting does any good. There comes a point where realism trumps idealism. As much as I would like to believe street activity such as this does anything more than allow a community of likeminded people to meet up occasionally, I absolutely do not believe it will change public policy. The sixties are gone forever. The days of "Power to the People" are on the ashheap of history.

It's a different world now. Globalization has changed the nature of geopolitics. And geopolitics is far more of a driver than domestic unrest.

Demonstrations such as this provide a release. They provide a venue for meeting likeminded others and feel a sense of community. There's certainly nothing wrong with that and it is refreshing to spend some time in the presence of others who hold similar beliefs. Those beliefs are reinforced by the cars that drove by, honking wildly in agreement. (And there was a lot of honking!)

Standing so long in the sun began to get to me and my balance was becoming precarious. (I have balance problems and bright sun aggravates the condition. Long, complicated, boring story.) The best idea seemed to be to begin walking home. I stopped here for some food and a break. Who can resist?




Peace,


~Chani