The difference between participating in the Global March against Monsanto and voting in the European and Local Elections

Note: In Ireland local and European elections will be held one day before the Global March against Monsanto which will take place on the 24th of May. This post was written mainly for an Irish readership.

first published on News-Beacon-Ireland 21st of May 2014

by R. Teichmann

contributed by the author

On Saturday millions will take to the streets everywhere on this planet to voice their opposition to the blatant attempt by chemical conglomerates to take over the world’s food supply. To control what we eat, how much of it is available, who can afford it and who is to die of hunger.  Monsanto stands for these monsters who, on purpose, poison our food, our environment, who buy governments to pass laws protecting them, who buy science to turn out favourable studies. They are also trying to patent life. In short, they want to privatise what is given to humanity freely by nature for profit and control.

The people who will hit the streets in protest have a conscience and they follow it. They come together in defence of life. They do not care whether the person next to them is a communist, a green, a republican, a jew, an atheist, an African immigrant, whether they think there is manmade global warming or not. Because it does not matter when you have a common goal – standing up for life. By doing so they create a bond between them and with the earth. Though it may not change anything immediately it is nevertheless a step to create unity. It sends out a message to those who are participating that they are not alone. It sends out a message that there are limits of what they are prepared to tolerate. In the long run it may change history as we realise that we need to find answers to pressing questions of survival. What do we really need to live a fulfilled life? How can we overcome the artificial barriers between us? How can we devise a way forward together?  They march on the streets as individuals standing in their power not relying on anyone else but themselves and those beside them.  They know that it is up to them what the future holds and not to politicians or bureaucrats in some distant city. They know that it is up to them and it may be the first step to change their own lives, to take responsibility for themselves and to seek a way out of the status quo together with other like-minded folks.

Those who will go to the voting booths think others will do the job for them and they think they just have to elect the right ‘representative’ and things might change the way they want them to change. They live in the illusion that this so called democracy is the best system; that it cannot be changed and voting for the right person or party is the only thing they can do. By the act of voting they are giving the power they hold to someone else. Someone they do not know, who is bound by the party policy, who is lobbied by corporations like Monsanto. And even if that person they vote for is genuine he or she is up against an entrenched sytem that will try to co-opt, bribe, pressure them to be compliant. It will frustrate that person or break his/her spirit and what he/she originally stood for will be watered down to a point where it is no longer recognisable.

They are still thinking that governments have their interest at heart. And this while these governments bail out bankrupt banks with billions of their money. While these governments support wars and violence around the globe. While these governments allow their own population to be sprayed day in day out with aluminium and barium. While these governments poison their own people with fluoride in the drinking water.  While these governments tax their homes and make laws that allow banks to evict families more easily.

When they go to the voting booths what they do is to give justification to these actions. They perpetuate what they want to change. Some clever guy once said: “If elections would really change something, they would not be allowed.”

Would you rather join the March against Monsanto and stand up for life or would you cast your vote and hope that this time your trust will not be betrayed?

I feel for those who go to the voting booths. They do not see other options. It is for us who stand up for life to talk to them and give examples of how we can stand in our own power. Just recently in Australia people stopped the destruction of their water supply through fracking by coming together. They blocked a company from drilling for shale gas. The government was about to bring in hundreds of  riot police. But the story took a turn not anticipated. You can read about it here (AUSTRALIA: Bentley Blockade Wins – United Community Action Halts Drilling). This is how things can get done and things can change. We can take heart from that.

Join us peacefully on the 24th in the Global March against Monsanto and stand up for life. And for those who still want to vote, remember who betrayed you time and again. Do not vote for any of those ever again but for those who did not yet betray you.

About the author:
R. Teichmann is an activist living in West Cork / Ireland and an editor with www.news-beacon-ireland.info

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