It is amazing that in a world where the internet increasingly promotes freedom of expression, the ability to rally behind a cause, and promote the widespread dissemination of ideas, that a totalitarian regime can still function and survive. Totalitarian regimes thrive on their ability to control every aspect of life within their borders and the un-educated society that is thus created. If you look back to middle ages where kingdoms and empires were the norm (in essence pre-cursors to todays regimes) the general populace was un-educated. They did not have access to education, books, or any knowledge outside that town or hamlet that they lived in. The ones who were better off, held more power. For this reason, although people still complained of being mistreated, they did not know that widespread extent of what effect the ruling class had.
As time progressed and education became more widespread, people were harder to keep under the powerful hand of a ruler. Through the invention of the printing press and the ability to suddenly spread information more effectively, people began to question their own status and place in life. Philosophy, the arts, politics, math, and science were all avenues that became available for people to pursue and in the act of pursuing them, came to question the very essence of a kingdom, empire, or totalitarian regime and the limits that it placed on people. Through this awakening, people were able to see that everything they had been fed by the ruling class, the status quo that they were expected to uphold, was not the only way to live. They began to yearn for better options, more mobility in society, and the option of freedom in their everyday lives. When people learned of these new and better options, they rose up and protested, much as we are seeing in the Middle East and North Africa today.
The driving factor behind today's protests and revolutions in totalitarian regimes is the ability of people to organize themselves from the relative safety of their own homes over the internet. The internet is in essence today's printing press. It has the ability to show people living under these regimes how the rest of the world lives and works. Before the internet, it was much easier for these totalitarian rulers to disseminate information, not based in truth, that would to an extent, coalesce their people behind a common cause. This cause, most times, was the evil empire living outside the borders of the country. This evil empire was and is the bastion of freedom that these people desired. These evil empires allowed people to speak their minds, remove rulers and politicians peacefully, and overall, allowed people to live their lives according to their wishes and desires. Once the internet was able to show the citizens in these regimes other options besides theirs, they began to yearn for it. It is a basic need of human existence to be free and have the freedom to decide as he wishes.
With this influx of new information virally spreading through these regimes, it becomes harder for the people in power to effectively stifle dissent and keep themselves removed from the people. One of the most effective weapons that these regimes possess is the ability to remove people from society when they become to powerful or come to possess a desire for freedom and change. When people speak out, they vanish. Families do not know where they disappear to, but they know who took them and unfortunately have no means for retrieving their loved ones. When enough people speak out and demand reform, people are shot and blatantly killed in an overt effort to stifle them. The internet, while spreading ideas of freedom and change, also works the other way, it makes the rest of the world aware of what is actually going on in these totalitarian regimes. Regimes firing live ammunition into crowds can now be witnessed across the world days later and these rulers finally have something they never had before, accountability.
Before the internet, these rulers had no accountability except to themselves. They had their own twisted freedom to do as they wished without fear of reprecussion because the rest of the world either didn't know about it or it took so long that by the time the world found out, "peace" was restored and nothing seemed amiss. In essence, accountability will topple these regimes in the end. As foreign countries back the interests of those being subjugated, the regime will have to answer to outside powers and their own people as to why they are committing these acts. Totalitarian regimes can not survive in the globalize world that we now live in. People living in these supressed countries now have a support group in effect to assist them in achieving the freedom that they desire and the changes that they want.
The protests in the Middle East and North Africa show no signs of ending. Over the past week, Syria and Jordan have shown an increase in protest activity and in Syria alone, an increase in those being killed for speaking out. Freedom has gone viral and will spread. China will suffer eventually, maybe not today or tomorrow, but they will see a demise as well. The Jasmine Revolution, a movement started recently after the protests in the Middle East, has so far effectively been stiffled, not through outright violence, but through one of the tactics discussed earlier, disappearing people. China is excellent at removing people from society at the first inclination of dissent. (As evidence, check out this letter from a Chinese woman.) The world is now watching as events unfold, mostly in the Middle East, but soon hopefully in China as well.
As citizens of countries that promote freedom, we have the ability to support these subjugated people through the internet and through our government. We can not remain apathetic. Our support must be felt by these people, even if it is through our voices over the internet. The more we voice our support, the more empowered they become, knowing that they are not alone. Every person on this planet should have the ability to live freely, make decisions based upon their knowledge and morals, and to choose their path through life. In this globalize world, when one person is stilfed, the effect is far-reaching and can bring down regimes. If you are living in a society that promotes freedom, take advantage of that freedom and support those who do not have it. Lets all move to eradicate totalitarian regimes from existence. It is currently underway and it can be done. All we need to do is support it.
No comments:
Post a Comment