American Spring?

[GGT]

We've seen the Arab Spring....people using democratic principles to fight against fascism or totalitarianism.

What does this mean when Americans can't decide between democratic principles and policies?

[LittleFuzzy]

Nothing at all. Regular protesting and agitation has been a staple of our society for decades if not centuries.

[RandBlade]

For Americans with a passport it means some foreign countries may be changing. That's it.

[GGT]

Taking all things into consideration, for a comprehensive view of things:

Our military presence in the the middle east, and around the world. The financial meltdown, sub-prime crisis, and "Great Recession". Fighting over gun rights, reproductive rights, voting rights, marriage rights. Education and healthcare and infrastructure, funding public services. Taxes. Bankrupt municipalities, counties, states. Police brutality and lethal force. The NSA programs, drone killings, Gitmo. Wiki-leaks. The CIA using torture, and lying to congress. Congress suing the POTUS for signing the ACA legislation. Historically low trust/confidence in so many institutions and leadership....


I think that's enough fodder for an "American Spring". How many more public demonstrations or protests do we need in order to say so?

[LittleFuzzy]

GGT your desired "American Spring" happened more than 40 years ago. And it didn't change all that much in the long term which is something I predict will also be the cases in North Africa and the Middle East. Agitation and chance for any change is less now than it was before, during, and immediately after Bush Jr.'s invasion of Iraq. Also less than during the Occupy protests which also changed nothing. The closest thing we've had to an effective protest movement enacting change is the Tea Party which went about it in the rather more effective method of rallying around ballot boxes rather than statues of bulls or in million-man marches.

[GGT]

I wouldn't say it's something I desire, or that it would necessarily look like civil rights or war protests in the 60's. There are probably anthropologists or social economists 'studying' these things, and tracking trends in new places (especially the internet) that have replaced the 'effectiveness' of sit-ins or marches.

There have been plenty of small protests across the country, and even though the numbers are pretty small, they manage to get enough media attention to spread virally -- and turn into hash-tags on Twitter and Facebook postings, etc. Various groups are doing sporadic things (like hands up gestures or t-shirts on NFL or NBA players, 4 minute Die-Ins in public places, including medical students and doctors, and congressional staff).

But you're right -- it only matters if these things translate to changes in legislation. The movements in the 60's were powerful and volatile enough that politicians changed laws ahead of ballot box results, not because of them. I'm not sure our current political system can or will do the same, for many reasons. But that might just fuel the discontent/frustration that finds its way into political power (like the Ron Paul Revolution or Tea Party did), and cause real change (?)

It's just something to think about. Especially since US demographics, society/culture, and 'conventional wisdom' are changing at different rates, but still pretty damn fast.

[LittleFuzzy]

I wouldn't say it's something I desire, or that it would necessarily look like civil rights or war protests in the 60's. There are probably anthropologists or social economists 'studying' these things, and tracking trends in new places (especially the internet) that have replaced the 'effectiveness' of sit-ins or marches.

If you don't think it will look or act or create change like the Arab Spring, then you should probably stop using the Arab Spring as your presentational marker and benchmark. The Arab Spring looked like the 60s, albeit more focused and for a much shorter period of time. Very large scale and effectively constant marches, protests, and demonstrations against those in power and how they were using that power.

There have been plenty of small protests across the country,

There always are. This is a country of over 300 million people across ~4 million square miles.

[Loki]

Well, if something becomes a hashtag on Twitter, it must be a sign of revolution!

[GGT]

I'm using "Spring" to mean anything from a refresh to a jump forward. The Arab Spring was just an example I used because it's sometimes easier to recognize efforts for "change" when it happens in other places, and not in our own face.