Belphegor - 02-02-2006 - Updated Tue/Thu/Sat

Arise! Arise! So I can sit down.

I think I'm becoming a caricature of myself. Mostly because I rant and rave about the same things all the time. Nothing changes, but neither do I, so it works out okay. I talked to a professor yesterday about the culture of cynicism, and how, while it's cool to be cynical, it's a terrible trend in the macroscape. The civil rights movement, the rabble rousers of the bygone days, they fought tooth and nail, blood and bone, not because they were bored, but because they saw the need for change. We, on the other hand, us of the cynical, jaded demographic generation, we've let ourselves be convinced that we can't win. This is an important point.

It's not about winning, people. It never has been. The weak never beat the strong. They rise up, they cry foul, they fight bloody battles, but in the end, they are repelled by the rich and entrenched, and are sent home.

But those rebels, those poor, they are the workforce. They are the backbone of the wealthy's wealth. Which means if the wealthy want to keep drawing in the bucks, they have to give those rebelling masses some concessions. Like women's suffrage (if not social equality), like equal rights (if not opportunity), like a free (if corruptible) press. Each push you make, you advance a foot, and get pushed back 11 inches. That's how progress works.

My buddy Mookie plugged me this weekend at Vericon said this comic was good if you HATE the government. I don't think that's entirely true. I want to appeal to people who are willing to get angry with the government. Who will protest. Who will donate to groups like MoveOn.org. Who know that they won't win the battle, but if they stop trying, we stop progressing.

That's my Braveheart speech of the day.

If you are looking for something to get mad about, there's a big silver plate right here for you. Here's what's on it:
- We all knew the Iraq reconstruction effort was plagued by thievery. Now some of it's being exposed. How does the Pentagon miss a felony fraud conviction in a background check?
- We all knew the White House was working to cover-up Plamegate. Now Patrick Fitzgerald knows it too.
- We all knew the administration wants to control the press. Now they're writing editorial letters. Okay, so that's not actually censorship (not matter what those far-left wing-nuts say... *wink*, but it really sums up the Talking Point response to anti-war humor. I hope I get a letter too. I want to feel special.

I'll be back on the storyline soon. I'm just having ADHD (Advanced Dungeons and Haberdasher Dragons).

EDIT: It seems there was some sort of problem loading the strip. It should be all better now.