> well I just noticed there was a pattern.
> Civil Rights movement, with mass revival of civil disobedience, direct democracy movements (Port Huron statement) - government both gives big concessions and starts overseas war (Vietnam)
> Anti-Nuclear movement, rapid rise of movement based on CD, direct democracy, again govt seems to panic unduly, make surprising concessions, and right afterwards ends detente and starts proxy wars (Afghanistan, Central America)
> Global Justice movement followed by surprising concessions (well, surprised us how quick) and war on terror
>
> now, I have absolutely no idea how conscious any of this was, one is tempted to assume not that conscious at all, maybe there's some deeper process produced both things - and of course the war on terror had the biggest provocation possible supplied by Mr. Bin Laden (and I'm not a truther or anything like that). Still, it's such a pattern - sudden flare up of movement based on CD, direct democracy (in civil rights movement with SNCC, then SDS) etc, then a big overseas war and the whole thing has to turn into a peace movement which is always more hierachically organized. How the mechanisms work, I don't know exactly. But it always seems to happen.
>
> I'm a little optimistic because I think they've boxed themselves into a position where they can't really start a war this time. Obviously some are really pushing for it...