How “Pipe Down” turns into Pipe Bombs

Today I was thinking about the tragedy it is, that snail mail has become so obsolete. Today pipe bombs were sent in packages to the most prominent Democrats in the country. Apparently, it is not obsolete enough for it to be used as a guise for terrorism.

Politics is a giant “no-no” to talk about in nearly any situation. It isn’t one of my personal favorite subjects, because in reality there is no truly right answer to any issue, but there are many wrong ones. I’ve recently been thinking a lot about the logistics of creating a revolution. Whether it was the one which freed us from colonialism, or the suffrage movement. However, the Third Reich was a revolution in its own way, and so was the creation of Soviet Russia.

We connect the word revolution with something good, especially in the United States, but it isn’t. Revolution: a forcible overthrow of a government or social order in favor of a new system. Revolutions can create beautiful things, important and world changing. Yet, they rely on force. If we called the person or organization who sent democratic leaders explosives a revolutionary, we would be correct. For some reason it would lead people to believe we support this persons ideals, when that is far from the case.

Is one a crusader, or ruthless invader? It’s all in which label is able to persist. These are lyrics from my mom’s favorite song from the musical Wicked. It comments on the idea that everything is a double edged sword. So:

Can an act of terror be an act of revolution?

In my production class we looked at some scenes from a play called HOME/SICK a production about the counterculture movement and how a certain and important group collapsed in on itself. I looked further into this, because I found it fascinating, and this is the essential information: The Students for a Democratic Society were a huge group in the 1960s the largest student activist movement in what was known as the New Left. They had chapters at many universities and held conferences, to give delegates a chance to share their voice. They organized a demonstration in Washington D.C. that brought out 25,000 anti-war protesters. These were college students. Later, they organized the largest student strike in U.S. History, about a million students stayed home.

At the turn of the century the group split. Their final convention turned into a battle between factions and devolved into utter chaos, essentially dispelling members from the society. The last official convention of the Students for Democratic Society, in its transformation to the Weather Underground was known as the Flint War Council. The play HOME/SICK focuses on the branch which came to be known as the Weather Underground. They were the group which distributed the manifesto that started the chaos which split the Students for Democratic Society.

This group declared war upon the United States of America, and conducted a series of bombings on public buildings and banks. They went on to bigger targets and bombed the Capitol, State Department, and Pentagon in the early seventies. These acts of violence were referenced as responses to the escalation of Vietnam, a war that was protested because of its atrocious violence.

How does a group that started with anti-war ordeals turn into a terrorist group against their own nation? Analyzing the psychology of each of their minds could be useful in determining this answer. Or maybe they just wanted to start a revolution. They were in truth the definition of revolutionaries.

Why, then, do we praise the role of a revolutionary? Because, it is indeed a revolutionary sending pipe bombs in the mail.

I think people really value those who go against the grain, because usually they won’t allow themselves to. Americans especially value this, because it was defiance against the government that created us. The connotation of the word revolution, is not surprising. However what surprises and concerns me most, is that as each side of America battles each other more intensely, revolution can seem a true option to many.

Everyone is quite aware the Election of 2016 was a turning point in our history. The political atmosphere is highly charged, perhaps more so than we will ever experience in our lifetime. Bernie Sanders was a popular candidate and without the interference of Hillary Clinton, would have won the primary election for the democratic party. He is a man who firmly believes in socialist values.

Socialism is a value that was held in the New Left, at the time of the Weather Underground (formerly the Students for Democratic Society), and is a value that is held now by the left in America. This is not to say that anyone that finds value in these beliefs are going to bomb the Pentagon, or overthrow the Russian Tsar and his family violently. However it is to say that systems such as these are looked to in times of tumult or corruption. Its name can be falsely associated with those who turn to violence and upheaval as a means to achieve this end.

Conservatism is its polar opposite, a value held by groups such as the Ku Klux Klan. A group whose name requires no explanation, one that turned to terror in similar ways as the Weather Underground: bombings, threats, and violence. A value held by the right of America. This is not to say that anyone who holds these beliefs would burn crosses or attempt genocide if given the chance. However, it is to say that in times of great change people will desperately cling to what is familiar and if this is ripped away from them will fight to keep it. ts name can be falsely associated with those who turn to violence and upheaval as a means to keep tradition alive and relevant.

In my junior year of high school a kid in my AP US History class asked my teacher if he ever thought there would be another Civil War. He said if there were ever to be a split, it would be due to political associations. “A Civil War that couldn’t be placed geographically.”

This war has been waging for quite some time as the far right becomes further right and the far left further left. Today the far right (presumably), took a step that could turn a war on ourselves into a war on the government. From a social civil war to a violent, revolutionary act on prominent government leaders. It is an attempt made in desperation, like the assassination plot against the post-Civil War government. Our country’s greatest leader was killed during a play, because a coalition of citizens were sick of by-standing in a Civil War and wanted a Revolutionary one.

Today explosives were sent in the mail by someone sick of watching the Civil War and wanted to be a revolutionary. Today I laughed at the decline of physical mail in society. Today is a warning that change must come quickly, before a revolutionary from either side of the Civil War forces it upon us.

Author’s Note: Now, I will go attend a performance of Avenue Q with my boyfriend and laugh a bit to try and forget all the truths I just spewed. If you read this and are as bothered as I am at this concept I recommend you do something of similar nature. Watch The Office or something. And hopefully tomorrow I’ll be back to write quirky things about city life that can make you laugh rather than question the security of our institutions.