remember, remember the 5th of november

Allison Kilkenny takes a deeper look.

A quest for accountability really was the root of Fawkes’s plot. Admittedly, he picked the crudest, most violent means to express his disdain for the governing principles of the royals. However, a suppressed people who feel they lack representation in their government usually lash out in “uncivilized” ways. Human beings can only be beaten, mistreated, and marginalized for so long before they snap.

[snip]

The oligarchy is misbehaving once again. Corrupt, overfed, and cruel to their constituents – who are poorer, sicker, and angrier than ever — the residents of the Houses of Power should not raise their brows in surprise when a flaming effigy floats by them. It’s just a sign that the people finally recognize the true villains of history — and it’s not some dead dude who wore a funny hat.

Despite the awesome casting choice of Hugo Weaving as “V” in V for Vendetta, the film overall was… meh. However, watching and reading the news of our times now, the film still resonates. The fact that I value fake news over the establishment, a flu pandemic, the backlash and undeniably repressive stance our fellow Americans take against same sex couples, the fact that we’re debating the legalities of torture and fail to hold ourselves accountable to our own rule of law. Jeez, am I stealing plot lines from a Hollywood blockbuster or am I talking our lives now? Even today, the “Right” and its fringe are convening a rally bemoaning the ‘loss’ of American values and whining about persecution because of the specter of universal health care reform or in its most weakest incarnation, the public option.

This speech in the beginning of the film totes the line between fiction and reality.

Crazy right? Personally, I’m interested in topics and solutions in our national conversation that lead toward a sustainable future. I’m not a mother yet, but I’m an aunt and godmother to some. Somehow, during this time of great difficulty, more of us will have to rise to the occasion and make the ‘right’ choice: to affirm life.

Remember, we’re the ones we’ve been waiting for.