A Revolution Of One

More on Tank Man.
He embodies the idea of a revolution of one as much as anyone could. A single defiant act by a single human being that significantly changes the world. Like Rosa Parks' refusal to give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger in Montgomery Alabama on December 1, 1955. An act which sparked the famous Montgomery Bus Boycott and changed the Civil Rights movement and America forever.

Nobody knows where the Tank Man is now or if he survived after being dragged away from this confrontation. His actions didn't end the Chinese goverment's horrible repression of it's citizens. And his acts weren't the only one's that contributed to the changes that did occur. Changes in China's economic policy that granted new opportunities to its citizens. Many of his countrymen, whose fate we know, lost their lives in Tiananmen Square that summer. But it is his fearlessness, no doubt brough on by outrage at the massacre that occured there, that leaves a lasting impression in everyone's mind. It is something we should remember as some politicians push for more trade with China. And as American companies like Yahoo and Microsoft aid the Chinese government in repression of it's citizenry. It is still a violently repressive government. It's people are not free.

And though it is these kinds of acts that people remember, a revolution of one doesn't have to be an act that changes the world. It doesn't have to be one that anyone notices but you. It can be as simple as expressing an unpopular opinion against any wrong by those in power, especially against the powerless. It could be exercising your right to vote, especially in a conscientious way. It could be voting with your wallet for things you believe in. Like ethanol, biodiesel and solar energy.

Ok listen, I gotta go. Gotta slip on my Nike's and gas up the Hummer and get to Wal-Mart. See ya.