Why Myanmar Could Never Happen Here...But Should

The Union of Myanmar, or simply Myanmar, has it all - an abundance of natural resources (including gas), precious gems and minerals, both opium and meth (hey, there are many Americans who really appreciate that), and the will to fight for their rights.

The nation, formerly known as Burma, believes in freedom from their oppressive government, and they fight for it. So what are they fighting for now? What we should have been fighting for: the price of fuel to go down.

A simple Q & A with CNN cites that the increase in the price of fuel in Myanmar has caused the price of transportation to increase and the residents want an about face right NOW. They are a poor nation with most of the population using the mass transit system.

We are, allegedly, a rich nation, but the gulf that separates those who are actually rich and those who are not grows every nano second. Those who are in "the middle" are basically in the middle "squish"; and unlike Myanmar nationals, we drive our own cars, and not small ones either -the bigger the better. Urban residents drive off-road SUVs simply because those potholes are like little ditches, of course. Suburban residents drive them so that all 2.5 kids can fit all their soccer gear comfortably. But I digress.

This issue in Myanmar should sound familiar to anyone living in America; gas prices have increased "for no apparent reason" (aside from corporate greed) and has never returned to a number below $2/gallon for regular. Friends, $2 is way too much to pay for gas. When the prices inch up to where they are now, $2.73, I cry RAPE because that's what it is. And because gas prices have hiked, so has the price for every other thing, i.e. milk, Cheetos, you name it. What has been done about it? A few studies, some investigations, some federal reporting, which means, nothing has been done aside from the usual response of a spurious threat of boycotting Exxon/Mobile.

Now Myanmar has Buddhist monks leading their eventful and world-attention-getting protests. They fought against colonization by Britain and ruthless military dictators, and we have...Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson, who make noise over whether Don Imus should keep his job on the radio after using familiar, but inappropriate language.

Where is our outrage over ridiculously high gas prices? What about this ineffective war in Iraq, which is more about US colonization than freedom and democracy. You can't force-feed democracy on a theocratic people, especially when your own government-sanctioned authorities (US brand junta) taser purveyors of free speech. UCLA or University of Florida, anyone? Their military junta has full control and even their journalism is richly censored. Starting to sound familiar yet?

Where are our dissidents?

What appears to be happening is that we are living in 1984 and people actually believe that the government knows best and will save them from big bad dictators. Can anyone see how ineffective Congress has been and continues to be? Could Mike Gravel be right after all? Are we really just getting fatter and dumber? We need a serious protest, but until then, it will be the same false song of 'peace and safety' until the terror alert changes.