Dirty Roots Revolution

By Ryan Mifflin

In the words of the revolutionary new band the Flobots, “There is a war going on for your mind”.

Don’t believe me? That’s because “they” don’t want you to believe me.

In our quest to change the world for the better, the creators of the Dirty Roots Revolution have intentionally set out to combat the all-too-prevalent concept that one person can’t actually make a difference.

Why do people think this? This is not the line of thinking that affected massive social and cultural changes in the 1960s. For all of its faults, that revolution did at least believe that what they were doing was going to make a difference.

I’m of the opinion that people don’t believe they can make a difference because they’ve allowed the powers-that-be to make them feel that way. “They” want you to feel like the problems of the world are too big. They want you to think that your efforts to change things won’t matter in the long run.

Because once you start thinking that way, you stop focusing on “them”. “They” are the powers that be. “They” are the government. I’m not a conspiracy theorist…well, not exactly, anyway. But I do believe that our government generally has its own best interests at heart. “They” are the large corporations. They need you to need what they’re trying to sell you.

What would happen if you quit listening to “them” and set out to make a difference?
What if you put all of your passion into loving on your homeless brothers and sisters living on the streets of your town? The government might not want you to do that because it would require admitting that there is a problem. And that means they’ve failed. And if you make the streets a better place, what ills would they work so diligently to rid the streets of? Never mind the fact that those efforts never end.

What would happen if you changed your priorities and put more of your time, effort, and resources, into your new outreach to the homeless? You might realize that you don’t need that flat-screen, high-definition, plasma-screen TV after all. And where would that leave Sony?

You might realize that you didn’t need most of the gadgets that you’ve enslaved yourself with. And where does that leave the widget makers?

I believe that it is in the best interests of the powers that be – all of the over-inflated, already-too-rich forces of our world – for you to continue thinking that you can’t make a difference. The problems of the world are just too big. So when you see things that bother you. Things that you know are wrong. Big things like homelessness, starvation, AIDS, children dying from lack of clean water. Local things like loneliness, heartache, despair, poverty. Things that you know deep down inside could be fixed…you don’t think anything YOU could do would matter anyway. So, you turn on that big screen TV, bury yourself in unnecessary junk, and root for the politician that says just the right things you want to hear.

There IS a war going on for your mind. If there isn’t, then why is everyone trying so hard to win your mind? Politicians need you to believe them. Companies need you to think that you need them. Everyone needs something from you. But your efforts don’t count? You say you’re just one person…but the powers that be are sure fighting for the attention of that one person.

EVERY life has value. Every life matters. Every effort counts and every small contribution makes a difference. I believe that if EVERYone could embrace this truth, all of the small contributions that we are all capable of making would add up together to a very large positive impact in our world.

John F. Kennedy said, “One person can make a difference. And everyone should try.”

You don’t need that fancy TV. You don’t need most of what you have. You want to see a power shift in our country? Away from greed and corruption? Against the mentality of bigger, better, faster, more? And toward the good things that every human being deserves? That’s one way to get there. Open your eyes to what is important. Realize that “they” want you to think the way they think. Your life DOES have value. What you do does matter.

We can make a difference in this world. But first, we have to wake up to the fact that we CAN. We must realize that there IS a war going on for our minds.

And when we realize that everyone wants to win our minds…when we realize the lengths and costs they’re going to just to win the mind of little old me…you’ll realize that makes us very dangerous people.

Dangerous because we matter. Dangerous because THEY need US – and not the other way around. Let’s make them think like us, not the other way around. Once we all realize our value, and act in a fashion that shows we realize our individual value, they will listen. And they will do whatever is necessary to keep in our good graces.

That is how our elected officials are supposed to think. They are supposed to represent us, not the other way around.

As I always say…I’m not advocating any kind of a violent uprising. But I am calling for a complete overhaul of the way you think. We must say “enough’s enough”. Once we exercise THAT kind of revolution, a change will come…