Bruce channelling Joe!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqRN7N7lH8o

Sadly, The Clash's immortal, "Clampdown" is far too relevant in far too places: theocracies, monarchical dictatorships, despots in hard-left, or hard-right countries (Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, China (ughurs, Hong Kong), Myanmar (Rohingya), North Korea, Syria, Russia, Venezuela, etc., etc., etc.). Western liberal democracies are not immune. Decent folks, who occupy all points on the political spectrum, have to vociferously and consistently, express the required outrage and demand that their leaders take notice and stand-up for human dignity. As depressed as this makes me, it's nothing compared to the hopeless souls rotting away in prisons throughout the world. I'm humbled by the young protesters in Hong Kong, of the women in Iran who take off their headscarves, of the free-thinkers/secularists who blog in Pakistan and Bangladesh, student dissidents in Moscow, and so many other places. I visit our malls and see the mindless consumerism. I hear the uninformed cackling of the neighborhood Trump supporters, and I'm disgusted by our mountain of good fortune, and fearful that we're squandering it all. I could do a hell of a lot more than writing a letter-to-the-editor, sending a check, and teaching my students. This is not virtue signaling from me. 

Peter T.