Author name: Treesong

A lot of people complain about the problems in today’s world. Not a lot of people spend their time articulating their own comprehensive vision for how the world could and should be if we’d live up to the best of our human potential. Since my last entry pretty much raged about how we should do something positive and revolutionary, I’ve decided to re-articulate some of the general principles or practices I have in mind when I talk about revolution.

I watched Children of Dune recently, and I couldn’t help but draw a connection between the classic Dune phrase “plans within plans” and my understanding of what’s going on in the real world right now.

In 1999, the WTO protests in Seattle sparked a whole new wave of mass demonstrations and radical activism in the U.S. Really, the anti-globalization movement had been on the rise for years in other countries around the globe. But on those fateful days in Seattle, the slumbering giant of radical action was reawakened on the streets of America.

In the ensuing months and years, many different commentaries and documentaries emerged about the significance of those events in Seattle. One of these was a cult classic called “Break the Spell” that was embraced by many militant young dissidents for its focus on themes such as police violence and property destructions as a means of insurgent revolutionary action.

I’m not going to examine the movie itself. That would be too easy… 🙂 Instead, I’m going to examine the overall theme of “breaking the spell” – its strengths, its failures, and the future as I see it.

As Samhain approaches, I can feel the veil between the worlds thinning…

So what is this “Samhain,” and what does it mean?