"V" for Vendetta

“People should not be afraid of their governments; governments should be afraid of their people.”

[A junior police detective asking his boss about the potential for masses of citizens to defy a curfew and face off against heavily-armed troops] “What do you think will happen?” The response: “What usually happens when people without guns stand up to those who do.” [Implying that many will be killed]

The above quotations are from a surprisingly bold and thought-provoking movie called, “’V’ for Vendetta,” – a futuristic drama (not to thriller status) about England becoming a fascist state and one man’s quest to wreak vengeance on those who shattered his life and in the process stir the consciences of the people to throw off the shackles of the police state. To me the film hits painfully close to home because of its portrayal of a population frightened enough by a terrorist threat to willingly give up their civil rights in exchange for the illusion of security.

The movie is rated “R” for violence, a bit of foul language, and some “disturbing images,” but it is well worth the viewing if you wish to ponder how easily it might be to fall into such a state. In “V” the seminal events were poisoning of large numbers of citizens by chemical weapons. In Weimar Germany the last straw was the burning of the Reichstag – blamed on communists, which led very quickly to Hitler being named Chancellor and then receiving extraordinary power less than three weeks later.

How many more 9/11-type attacks would it take for Americans to willingly give up as many of our rights as the Germans gave up in the 1930s? The Brits and Canadians have already given up their firearms. They have done so in the expectation that their government will always be able to keep them safe. But what happens when the government itself is the threat?

One additional caveat about the movie – homosexuals are clearly portrayed as a persecuted class, subject to being dragged from their homes and “disappearing,” into the abyss of police detention. Such a portrayal is disturbing, but has really made me think. While I in no way condone any homosexual act, I shutter to think that anyone would have their lives ripped away from them by governmental decree for such activity. All governments in human history with that much power have abused it to abominable ends. Just as no country has ever taxed itself into prosperity, no government has ever been perfected by voluminous legislation. Human beings are fallible. Every government ever instituted among men is imperfect and must be subject to and subservient to its people.

Thomas Jefferson, an honored Founding Father in spite of his proven sexual indiscretions, penned the following, “The government which governs best, governs least.” I wish the American people would demand that their legislators and other elected officials pledge to govern less every year until, perhaps, we could get back to congressional sessions lasting only a few weeks each spring and fall – like they did before air conditioning was installed in the Capitol.

Anyhow, if you can stomach the tough parts and want to tackle the thought of how easy it would be for our government to become oppressive, watch “’V’ for Vendetta.” I fear it is much closer to reality than any of us would wish.

“Fly high & roar loudly!”

dirk