[at Coachella, 2007] 'A good friend of ours once said that if the same laws were applied to U.S. Presidents as those were applied to the Nazi's during WWII, then every single one of 'em, every last rich white one of 'em, from Truman on would have been hung to death, and shot. And this current administration is no exception. They should be hung, and tried, and shot. As any war criminal should be. And the challenges that we face, they go way beyond administrations. Way beyond elections. Way Beyond every four years of pulling levers. Way beyond that, because this whole rotten system has become so vicious and cruel, that in order to sustain itself, it needs to destroy entire countries, and profit from their reconstruction, in order to survive, and that's not a system that changes every four years, it's a system that we have to break down generation after generation after generation after generation after generation. Wake up.'
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The speaker argues that U.S. presidents and the current administration would face war crimes charges if held to WWII standards, and that the entire political-economic system is rotten and needs generations to break.
- In plain terms
- Leaders and the system they run are so corrupt and violent that they need to be completely overhauled over time.
- What can you take from it?
- Systemic change takes generations, not just elections.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What systems feel unchangeable to you?
- How do you define accountability for leaders?
Another view
It uses inflammatory language that may alienate moderate listeners.
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