"And then remember this: the Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that.
And know this, the day will come when all these skirmishes and battles, these moments of defiance, will have flooded the banks of the Empire's authority and then there will be one too many. One single thing will break the siege.
Remember this. Try." - Karis Nemik (Andor )
Authoritarians and right wing populists now sit atop many of the world's great democracies. No matter the ideology, they all gravitate towards Empire – because power is the point.
Representative democracy, once the shining light on the hill, is fading fast. Funded and captured by vested interests, major parties struggle to meet the needs of their constituents, let alone meeting the moment. Increasingly they cede leadership to strong men and populists who sell change, but deliver carnage.
Brutal they may be, but they ate also brittle. Vulnerable to resistance, they aim to overwhelm us into submission. By resisting – street fight by street fight – campaign by campaign, we break the illusion of inevitability they thrive on.
We've seen it happen in the US, with the recent progressive Democrat's resounding electoral wins. We have seen it in Australia as independents flourish while old parties fumble. We see it in frontline and indigenous communities around the world, resisting crony capitalism's faux inevitability.
And we see it every day on Do Gooder. Every campaign is an act of rebellion, and whether successful, or not – democratic society grows stronger, every, single, time.
✊🏽 DAVID GRAVINA
PS The image and quote are from the TV series Andor. I highly recommend it (though I'll leave it to readers who support Palestine to decide if they want to support Disney and to work alt ways to watch it if so) – for an entertaining and insightful take on the formation of rebellion and how it speaks to our current moment.
Good news from Do Gooder : In this issue ... Information Rights, Koalas for the win, Zapier, Upgraded sharing, UK expansion & more ...
