Things are better than they have ever been. Unemployment is at a lower point than it's been in decades. The gunfire in Belfast and Beirut is at a lower frequency than it's been in decades. Fewer children in the "civilized" world go hungry. This will be regarded as a good time by some history.

Now, more than ever, this society must be destroyed.

It's easy to rail against the system when a Bush is in office. The idea of overthrowing governments, for instance, seems much more logical when the pigs are kicking in the door every day. But Bubba Clinton is considered an honorary brother in many circles (cheats on his wife, likes barbeque, jazz music, he's from the South), and has ushered in a state of economic stability the likes which few have ever seen. The most horrible police departments – LAPD and NYPD – stand hip deep in legal settlements, their tanks and truncheons holstered and silent. The stifling fog of the status quo has settled over the national consciousness like mornings in San Francisco.

It is now, on the first July Fourth of 2000, that Damage Control takes a look around at the world, and what we see is not pretty.

• Africa is burning. News reports come back every day, speaking of ethnic strife and senseless slaughter. Military forces march into town and chop the hands off children and mothers in some twisted sense of retribution. This means that men literally chase down people, hold them down, and stare into their eyes as they bring down machetes on their arms. Personal responsibility for this horror never comes to bear. Nobody cares because the Berlin Conference started all this and it's considered an unpopular part of the world.
  
• Russia is a mystery. Somewhere in a land strapped for cash and resources, thousands of nuclear warheads are out there. Absolutely nobody knows where they all are. Numerous movies have been made fictionalizing terrorists grabbing these nightmares-in-waiting and holding continents hostage. This possibility is all too real. Nobody's at the wheel, but it will fuel the defense budgets of tomorrow when no threats are left, and will create the next McCarthyism to peer over your shoulder.
  
• All over the world, women are being violated and attacked by men with no respect for their right to exist. An expression of cultural pride in New York is marred by scores of assaults and gropings. The idea of honoring the female of the specie like your sister or your mother is becoming an obselete idea of days gone by. Take What You Want is becoming the way of the land, as the law is too overloaded and too corrupt to protect you.
  

The solutions are the same as they've been for decades. The mechanisms that hold the world in a state of wickedness are no longer manned by legions of enemy troops – they're running on auto-pilot. The only thing holding us back now is ourselves.

• Organize. Korean communities are best at the idea of forming economic collectives based on minimal investments. Six families contributing twenty dollars a month builds up over time. Annual reviews for whether to save or spend benefit them all – one opens a grocery, everybody gets food at cost, and as many get jobs as possible.
  
• Overthrow. The wonderful thing about economic prosperity is the ability to buy things, like guns and ammo. The reason the Second Amendment exists is so the people cannot be oppressed by government forces. Go make friends with your local gang bangers. Go practice shooting together. Patrol your own block for problems if you really claim it. Remember that the police is just a better equipped, better funded gang that you have a vague truce with. Fight them if they attack you unfairly. If they ask you why, tell them Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson told you too. Hell, you may even be related to Tommy if you're Black ...
  
• Think for yourself. Take time to read – with your kids if you have them. George G.M. James. Runoko Rashidi. Haki Madhubuti. Chancellor Williams. Che Guevara. Read and learn and know. Analyze the lies on television and listen only to people working for the same goals you have. Vote if you think it makes a difference, don't if know think you know better. The latter group won't be bothered with jury duty. If indeed these times are so good, the only excuse for not knowing is not wanting to know.
  

There's no need to televise any revolution. You can go in circles by yourself, in the privacy of your own home. However, if you decide to evolve, and move from one state to a better one, you can grow into TV, radio, and online. Maybe together we can change things so someday people like us won't have to put up with this bullisht, and the devils who laugh at us and hold us down will be trying to laugh their way out of coffins and obselescence.