“Every generation needs a new revolution”: Thomas Jefferson
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In April, 2002, my wife, an Italian friend, a Japanese middle-aged lady friend and I had decided to demonstrate in front of the U.S embassy against the criminal U.S foreign policy. Most of the time, there were only the four of us ( it was to go on for more than two years until the police and the U.S embassy found a way to get rid of us) but sometimes other activists joined us. At first, we (the 4 of us) used to be on the sidewalk right in front of the embassy, but after a while, after some U.S embassy staff started being rude to us for showing them pictures of children killed by U.S foreign policy, and as we reacted not exactly the Gandhi way, the police decided to move us on the other sidewalk across the street (quite large). Between 30 and 40 policemen to move away 4 protesters; very heroic!

After that, one day, we managed to get a little more than 30 protesters to join us. The police dogs were taken by surprise so I decided to take advantage of it and asked the people who had joined us to take a vote: all those in favor of going back to the other sidewalk were to raise their hands which most of them did and so most of us crossed the street back to where the 4 of us were forced away from although we have the right to be there! You should have seen the powerlessness on the faces of the police officers. It was beautiful! They just stood there in the middle of the street with their hands stretched, unable to stop us and not knowing what to do. Now, you may think this story is no big deal but imagine 500.000 people with a plan of action and demands that appeal to �gthe masses�h. My point is this:

�THE ULTIMATE AUTHORITY RESIDES IN THE PEOPLE ALONE�h
James Madison (1751-1836) 4th U.S President

We, the anti-war protesters and all the other activists, people committed to social change for the better, have been involved in activities that are, although opposite, parallel to those of the ones committed to lead our world to ruin in order to gain a short term profit. By parallel I mean alongside, demonstrating, protesting on the side without trying to find a way to get rid of them. It seems as if they keep breaking things and we keep trying to pick up the pieces when actually we should be trying to derail and eliminate such elements.

We, the people committed to the struggle against injustice, must impose ourselves as an alternative to the avaricious and morally corrupt politicians, the agents of imperialism that have been using us, the people, to further their criminal designs at our expense, at the expense of a better world, a world of the people, by the people, for the people. Speaking of the politicians, Bertold Brecht said: �gPoliticians are swine. You cannot reason with swine. You must hit them on the nose with a stick.�h We, the activists (at least in the West and in Japan), have been (some of us for decades) protesting, demonstrating, peace walking, parading, shouting slogans, debating, arguing, fighting with each other, ignoring each other, demanding this, demanding that�cetc�cetc�c Now, what have we achieved in the past 30 years? Have our ranks swollen? We, the activists, have to ask ourselves some hard questions about the way we have been carrying out our activities and most importantly about the efficiency, efficacy, the impact, the prospects of our activities, about the results that we have obtained through our actions so far. What do we, activists, look like to the people who are not involved, to the �goutsiders�h, to the people sitting on the fence, in short: to the population at large? Do we look like a viable alternative to the mainstream political parties?

WHAT DO WE WANT, EXACTLY? WHAT IS OUR VISION?
Do we have a vision of a better Japan, a better Asia, a better World? WHAT ARE OUR DEMANDS?
DO WE HAVE A COMMON PLAN OF ACTION? WHAT IS OUR PLAN?

When, for example, some group goes demonstrating in front of a U.S military base at Yokota or Yokosuka, whose soldiers are taking turns going to Iraq and killing Iraqi people ( so far more than 100.000 Iraqis killed for OIL) in an illegal war and occupation, when that group goes there and chants slogans demanding that they (U.S military) leave Japan, does that group realize that lots of Japanese people don�ft want them to leave? Why is that? One reason may be �gsecurity�h but, in my opinion, the main reason is economic. No matter the deaths caused by the U.S military around the world, no matter that Japan is an accomplice, more often than not, in those deaths (latest example: Iraq), no matter the girls and women raped (mainly in Okinawa) and other crimes committed by U.S degenerate soldiers almost on a regular basis (monthly), no matter all that, the U.S military are an important source of income for the Japanese who do business with them and let�fs not forget all the Japanese people who work on U.S military bases.

If we, activists, were successful in forcing the U.S military to leave Japan, that success would probably at the same time render economically precarious hundreds of thousands, even millions, of lives of Japanese people whose revenues are dependent on the presence of the Yankee military bases. Not only would a great number of Japanese families find themselves with a huge hole in their pockets but we can also be sure that the economy of the whole country would be affected.
If the U.S military were forced to leave Japan, it (the U.S) would most certainly retaliate in a ruthless fashion of which one would be: Economic sanctions. The U.S being Japan�fs most important trading partner, you can imagine the consequences of any successful blow to Uncle Sam�fs imperial designs. Empires, colonial powers, never leave of their own will, peacefully, without grudge. They always leave bloodied-nose. They always have and they always will (Japan should know). And once they leave, the problems are far from over. Remember Vietnam, Algeria, the Congo, Ireland, Afghanistan, Cuba, Kenya, Sudan, India, Pakistan, Kashmir and many others. So, as Lenin once famously asked:

�WHAT IS TO BE DONE?�
Do we, activists, have an alternative to the current U.S-Japan (master-vassal) �gpartnership�h ?

I urge all the groups, the people involved in the struggle for a better Japan, a better Asia, a better World, I urge all of us, if possible, to try to get together and have a frank exchange of ideas on how to REORIENT Japan within Asia (that�fs where Japan belongs) and the world and extricate it out of the U.S imperialist system. Everybody would be able and encouraged to express an opinion, idea, a thought, to speak and help build a new and more decent Japan. STALIN said �gIDEAS ARE FAR MORE POWERFUL THAN GUNS�h. And I insist on �geveryone�h because I have been to many gatherings where only the �gleaders�h of various groups spoke. Enough with that! WE ALL MUST PARTICIPATE! So, first, we have to get together, as many of us as possible, no matter our differences in ideologies. We must stop bickering because it leads nowhere. On the contrary, it only harms us and our cause (if we have one) while strengthening our opponents. We must get together in order to come up with a serious, intelligent and efficient plan of action that will give birth to an alternative to a Japan whose economic prosperity is due to its complicity in the U.S exploitative economic system and not only, as the myth would like it, to Japanese people�fs hard work.

DO WE, ACTIVISTS, HAVE AN ECONOMIC ALTERNATIVE RIGHT NOW? HOW MUCH DO WE KNOW ABOUT ECONOMY?
An economic alternative to the current capitalist one in which man eats man, driven solely by profit and based on exploitation and war. An alternative more humane, based on solidarity and a desire for a good life for everyone and not only for those who have the money and the guns.

DO WE HAVE AN ALTERNATIVE? DO WE REALLY WANT ONE?
I am not sure. To explain why I�fm not sure if most people really want an alternative, I�fd like to point out three recent elections that took place in three different countries whose leaders are war criminals: the U.S.A., Australia and England. Bush, Howard, Blair. In Australia and England, the majority of the people were opposed to the war on Iraq and despite the piles of lies on which the war was sold to the public, lies well known to everyone even before these criminals were reelected, Howard and Blair were reelected by the majority of the people. Let me recapitulate: the majority of the people in these two countries (as in Japan) were opposed to the war on Iraq and yet the majority of the people reelected Howard and Blair, the criminals (as well as Koizumi) who have taken part in this ILLEGAL war and in the slaughter of more than 100.000 Iraqis (for OIL) so far. And the main reason Howard and Blair were reelected was based on their economic achievements which for the majority of those who voted was pretty satisfactory. To me, this sounds as following: �g we are against the war but we don�ft mind profiting from it, so screw the Iraqis!�h
So, it brings us back to economy. It is a difficult issue, I know, but as a Burmese saying goes: � What is difficult to understand place before you. What is easy to understand place behind you�h. Now, if someone were to ask me what can be done, my answer would be: �gI don�ft know�h. That�fs why we all have to unite and think and act together to come up with a plan and a vision to share with the people who think that the current state of affaires is as good as it gets, that there is no better ALTERNATIVE.

That�’s where we , activists, come in. DO THE PEOPLE SEE AN ALTERNATIVE IN US? An alternative to the mainstream political parties? Why have most people stuck with the LDP for close to 60 years, that party that has stood behind every single criminal imperialist U.S adventure, and there has been at least one every year since 1945, the latest being IRAQ. It is true that Japanese people haven�ft been always this passive, indifferent, tamed. In the 50s, 60s, 70s, Japan was rocked by large, violent anti-government protests. They didn�ft accomplish much beside strengthening the LDP�’s grip on power. Although I am not a pacifist and I am not condemning their violence, I find their violence was empty, devoid of any theory, a plan of action, a vision, an alternative, an objective (just like us today, minus the violence). It was nothing more than an outburst of emotions. Nevertheless, we should praise them for trying and we can learn from it. We have lots of material at our disposal to learn from. We can also learn from some events throughout History like the Paris Commune, 1871 or the Chichibu Uprising, 1884. I am talking about the organizational (ORGANIZATION IS THE KEY-NOTE TO A MIGHTY MOVEMENT� Mary Elizabeth Lease, 1890) and inspirational aspects of these events, the power of collectivity and solidarity. There are also more recent events that demonstrate organized and promising people power in action such as the ones in Bolivia, Ecuador, Brazil�c. The most successful and inspiring so far being Venezuela. The point is:

�THE BATTLE MUST BREAK OUT AGAIN AND AGAIN IN
EVER-GROWING DIMENSIONS, AND THERE CAN BE NO
DOUBT AS TO WHO WILL BE THE VICTOR IN THE END-
THE APPROPRIATING FEW, OR THE IMMENSE WORKING MAJORITY�. 
From �gThe Civil War in France�h by Karl Marx

I realize that the circumstances that led to the events in the countries I�fve just mentioned are different from those in present-day Japan, but what I am aiming at is the fact that when people unite, organize, when they take matters, their destiny in their own hands with a plan of action, an objective, a vision, anything, everything is possible!! Sam Smith once said:

�gWE DON�fT GET TO CHOOSE OUR TIME IN HISTORY BUT WE GET TO CHOOSE WHAT WE DO WITH IT�h.

But how willing are we to rock the boat? I mean, why change anything in the current U.S-Japan relationship since things have been pretty good so far? This reminds me of a French movie called �gLa Haine�h which means �gHatred�h. In this movie, a man falls off the rooftop of a high-rise and while he�fs falling to a certain death, he keeps telling himself: �gSo far, so good�h.

Knowing that Japan has been a most loyal accomplice to the criminal imperialist U.S foreign policy (to which it owes its economic prosperity) and its murderous economic system, with the Japanese people reaping the fruits (economic prosperity) of their tacit support (and with their taxes) for, according to Martin Luther KING Jr. �gThe greatest purveyor of violence on Earth (is my own government)�h, knowing all this, the Japanese people are partly responsible for Uncle Sam�fs crimes since Japan has been used quite often since 1945 as a staging point for some of America�fs bombing and other criminal campaigns around the world, the latest one being Iraq.

Here are the words of William Blum to illustrate Japan�fs best friend:

�gFrom 1945 to the end of the 20th century, the U.S.A. attempted to overthrow more than 40 foreign governments, and to crush more than 30 populist-nationalist movements struggling against intolerable regimes. In the process, the U.S.A. caused the end of life for several million people, and condemned many millions more to a life of agony and despair�h.

Speaking of responsibility which, in the case of Japan, involves culpability since it has taken part in THE SUPREME INTERNATIONAL CRIME (war of aggression on Iraq), I recommend a book called �gOn the justice of roosting chickens�h by Ward Churchill in which he (Churchill) cites (in a somewhat revised form) a passage about a schematic of culpability set forth in 1945 by the German philosopher Karl Jaspers:
1) Criminal guilt
2) Political guilt
3) Moral guilt
4) Metaphysical guilt

2) Political guilt says: �gIT IS THE COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE CITIZENS IN A MODERNSTATE TO ENSURE BY ALL MEANS NECESSARY THAT ITS GOVERNMENT
ADHERES TO THE RULE OF LAW, NOT JUST DOMESTICALLY BUT INTERNATIONALLY. THERE ARE NO BYSTANDERS. NO ONE IS ENTITLED TO AN �gAPOLITICAL�h EXEMPTION FROM SUCH OBLIGATION. Where default occurs, either by citizen endorsement of official criminality or by the failure of citizens to EFFECTIVELY oppose it, liability is incurred by all. Although degrees of onus may be assigned along a continuum traversing the distance from those who most actively embraced the crime to those who most actively opposed it, NONE ARE �gINNOCENT�h.

4) Metaphysical guilt : �gTHIS RESTS MOST HEAVILY UPON THOSE WHO, WHILE NOT GUILTY OF ANY SPECIFIC OFFENSE, AVERTED THEIR EYES, SITTING BY WHILE CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY WERE COMMITTED IN THEIR NAME. It encompasses as well all who, while WE may have registered opposition in some form or degree, did less than WE might have�\failing thereby to risk our lives unconditionally�\in OUR struggle to prevent or halt such crimes. Therein, incontestably, lies the guilt shared by all who opt to remain alive while OTHERS are systematically SUBJUGATED, DISPOSSESSED, TORTURED and MURDERED�h.

To all of us: �gTO BE CONTENT WITH PAPER PROTESTS OR TO PLAY RISKLESS POLITICS�cIS EVASION OF RESPOSIBILITY�h Karl Jaspers, German Guilt, pp. 56,85.

So, is Japan going to dissociate itself from the crimes of America and try to find a better way, a decent, honest way to make a living or is it going to wait for cheap Iraqi OIL to start flowing in, OIL paid for by the more than 100.000 and counting killed Iraqis in an(other) ILLEGAL US-Britain led war and illegal occupation in which Japan is an accomplice?

Sometimes when I speak with Japanese people about telling the Yankee to go home, although some of them may agree with me, nine out of ten bring up North Korea into the conversation. Some Japanese are genuinely afraid of North Korea but for many it is just an excuse to justify Japan�fs hiding behind America and continue profiting from Uncle Sam�fs spoils. Whatever the case, North Korea is a very convenient boogieman for not doing anything that would upset the almost 60 year old criminal but profitable relationship with the Yankee. Therefore, North Korea is another issue that we, activists, have to deal with in order to dissipate the false, perpetual atmosphere of fear and danger that is exploited by our politicians and spread through the cowardly, servile and truth-murdering mainstream media to manipulate �gthe masses�h and promote mind-numbing patriotism. HITLER said: �gWhat good fortune for governments that the people do not think�h.
This article is already too long, so I won�ft be expressing my thoughts on the issue of North Korea here, but since there seems to be a patriotism fever catching on in Japan, here is what Guy de Maupassant said about patriotism: �g PATRIOTISM IS A KIND OF RELIGION; IT IS THE EGG FROM WHICH WARS ARE HATCHED.�h

I realize that this article may appear a bit disorganized and confusing at times but, to sum it up, it is about us, activists, and what we can do to AWAKEN the people (electroshocks? Just kidding) to the dangers, the responsibilities and the immorality of Japan�fs following the present path. We have to find a way to attract more people on our side, but we won�ft be able to do that as long as we are scattered, disorganized, bickering�c We must find a way to break out of the current circle in which we have caught ourselves. By circle I mean the fact that, for example, when we hold lectures, they are attended mostly by like-minded people. Our publications, too, end up mostly in the hands of like-minded people, and we, here in Japan, are not the only ones in this circle. As for the alternative media, there is very little serious material in Japanese. Very little also is translated from English and in English, there is an abundance of information that is dying to be used. Even big names like Chomsky, Pilger, Blum, Fisk�c are virtually unknown out of activism circles. This is a fact, believe me. I know because I work at a language school teaching French and English and as such I get to meet people everyday. Sometimes I ask my students if they know the names of the people that I�fve just mentioned here above; I get blanks most of the time (actually, some of my students don�ft even know MY name). Chomsky sometimes rings a bell but mainly as a linguist. This (voluntary) ignorance is not restricted to a particular age category, I teach people of all walks of life. We, activists, need to cooperate more in order to devise a way to reach out to the population at large: the disillusioned, the disappointed, the indifferent, the ignored, the ignorant, the neglected, the student, the housewife, the blue color worker, the white color worker, the part-time worker, the unemployed�cetc.

WE HAVE TO PLANT IN PEOPLE�fS MIND THE SEED OF HOPE, WILL, THOUGHT, ACTION, RESISTANCE, CHANGE, PARTICIPATION, SOLIDARITY, RESPONSIBILITY, INITIATIVE, SACRIFICE, UNITY THE SEED OF PEOPLE POWER!! WE, ACTIVISTS, HAVE TO BE THAT SEED! WE HAVE TO PAVE THE WAY!

Here is the end of this article with the last part of a song called �gPeople have the power�h (1988) by Patti Smith(I found it at the end of Howard Zinn�fs great book �gVoices of a people�fs history of the United States�h): 

THE PEOPLE HAVE THE POWER
THE PEOPLE HAVE THE POWER
THE PEOPLE HAVE THE POWER
THE PEOPLE HAVE THE POWER

THE POWER TO DREAM TO RULE
TO WRESTLE THE WORLD FROM FOOLS
IT�fS DECREED THE PEOPLE RULE
IT�fS DECREED THE PEOPLE RULE
LISTEN. I BELIEVE EVERYTHING WE DREAM
CAN COME TO PASS THROUGH OUR UNION
WE CAN TURN THE WORLD AROUND
WE CAN TURN THE EARTH�fS REVOLUTION
WE HAVE THE POWER
PEOPLE HAVE THE POWER

-Patti Smith

It is time to start the steamroller of the REVOLUTION!!
WE, THE PEOPLE, ARE THE HISTORY MAKERS!!