CPNN

Events this month inspired me to write a blog entitled “Power of the Person” in which I trace how advances in communication and transportation over the course of human history have amplified the power of a person to influence that history.

As Myrian and Herbert describe, young people in Brazil used social media to mobilize other youth who did not vote in the first round to come out and support Lula in the decisive second round of the Presidential election.

Mobiliations in the United States and Western Europe were organized by means of new technologies that were not available to previous generations.

In the United States on October 17, despite the shut-down of Zuckenberg’s META social media during the NO Kings mobilization, there were important events in all 50 states encouraging people vote in the upcoming elections that may be able to stop Trump’s culture of war. As this goes to press, we don’t yet know the result.

In Paris on October 24, despite the violence of police and probably that of agents provocateurs, and despite the governments revoking freedom of assembly in the usual place, hundreds of thousands joined in the hastily-organied march demanding government reforms, especially in education.

Elsewhere in the world, the “Cockroach” movement of youth demanding educational reform continues to develop in India. The movement began when an Indian student living in Boston, posted a comment on Instagram: “What if all cockroaches come together?” and millions responded.

The October 24 mobilization continued mass mobilizations a week before in France, Spain, Italy, Belgium and Germany that were led by students demanding education reform. Massive student mobilizations have been organized in Paris since October 9.

In Serbia, also, it is the students who have mobilized and won an historic election against a corrupt government. They developed their movement by means of extensive and innovative use of social media.

As always, it is the youth who are the most receptive to the use of new technologies.

The European mobilzations were opposed by governments with violence and police brutality. As I have written in another blog this month, this governmental strategy reminded me of the use of agents provocateurs by the American government to try to stop our student mobilizations against the Vietnam `War.

Also reminding me of the 1960’s in the United States, the mainstream mass media supported the government strategy by devoting most of their reports to violence rather than the demands of the students and other demonstrators. In the United States at that time, the mainstream mass media were infiltrated with government agents to determine their reporting.

Agents provocateurs and infiltration of the media are conducted in secret for obvious reasons. Hopefully, the truth will eventually be revealed.

I conclude my blog with the following.

Despite the opposition of governments, will the new power of the people, led by youth, enable us to make the transition from the culture of war to a culture of peace?

What more can we do to promote this peaceful revolution?