A World of Tyrants and the Lessons the Ukrainian People can Teach us

By: OccidentalTemplar on 17:02

The month of February has showcased a host of protests by people as far and wide as Venezuela, Thailand, Greece, Ukraine and more. We saw countless Greek protests in the past, all of which failed to achieve any real change. At times, we couldn’t help asking ourselves, “is this it? Are we witnessing a chain reaction of change with which our generation could have never imagined?” No, we didn’t witness that change. Why did these protests fail to ignite changes sought by their followers? This can be answered by one word, “Force”.

All of these protests start and end in the same way. People get frustrated, they take to the streets. The police contain them and the protest gets media time. Then the police disperse them with water cannon, tear gas, rubber bullets and batons. What is achieved? Nothing.

These protests are indicative of the days we live in. Activists want something done, they go to streets and speak their mind, and then they are driven away through the use of violence controlled by the state. But what happens when a large group of citizens stand their ground against the charge of police. This is where the people of Ukraine come in.

The country of Ukraine is a very divided country. West of Kiev, the people are very pro-European Union whereas east and south the people lean towards Russia. The protests were big but most of the days on Maidan square were quite small. This ranged from fifteen to twenty-thousand people on the weekends and two to four thousand on the weekdays. On top of the fifty-fifty divide in the country, it is safe to say that an even smaller percentage wanted to see both the 2004 constitution and a resignation letter from president Yanukovich.

These goals were achieved despite their lack of popularity. If not a resignation letter, the president has lost any power with which to exert over the country. This was done because the states use of force backfired. The protesters wanted something, and the state wanted them to go away. But when the police tried to use violence, they were met with violence. By now the familiar image of police catching fire with Molotov cocktails and being pelted with rocks is as vivid an image as ever. But this wasn’t just a few isolated instances of violence, even when the police tried using armored cars, the protesters forced them back. How? They did this by meeting one person’s use of force with force of their own. Finally the police were pulled back and the president evacuated the city.

What do we have to learn from this? The state is not the only being with the right use violence. Violence is an awful tool. It makes people suffer unwantedly. But the state is willing to use it to maintain its role as a governing force in our lives. We all have a right to do whatever we wish. We can be influenced by others, however nothing can stop you except a simple decision between “Yes” and “No”. What tyrants in history show us is that might makes right in this world. But what Ukraine shows us is that the state can do whatever, whenever it wants and it will back up its words with violence.

The question then becomes, are people willing to defend their ideas with the same methods the state uses to enforce its? Ukraine is in a chaotic phase because what the protesters didn’t lack in fortitude, they lacked in thinking ahead. There will probably be a default the national debt, there could be a civil war and Ukraine could be balkanized in some time. But these protesters achieved something unheard of, a big change. Now other Ukrainians will be tested. Will they be able to defend their ideas in the same manner as the Kiev protesters will enforce theirs? In the end, individual thinkers able to make the “Yes” or “No” decision will determine if and when change comes to their countries.