There is a carefully cultivated myth that keep abusive elites in power, and that neuters We The People from standing up for ourselves. The myth is that we are powerless, and that they are strong, evil geniuses. That history is made by "great men." That this is the way it has always been and always will be.
Many, perhaps most of us have bought into these lies. We have all been taught this and nearly everyone has internalized these views. We simply go about living their lies, accepting subservience to abusive elites as "just the way things are."
In fact, everything about our civilizaiton was a choice, and we can always choose to do something else. The biggest barrier to fixing the crises and making a better civilizaiton is this mindset of impotence and obedience.
We need guts and imagination—and a dose of reality. The reality is that both the opportunity and obligation for change belongs to us.
History Says Power Belongs To The People
After 3 decades of uncontested iron-fisted rule, Hosni Mubarak was remove by the Egyptian people. In the "Arab Spring" of 2011, the people of many Middle Eastern nations were discovering their power. After 18 days of demonstrations, Mubarak stepped down. His reign was over. He was tried and convicted and jailed. A few years later, he was free after a retrial. Three years later, he died.
The "strong man" did not control events. The People did. The same can be said of many other despots who have been removed in recent decades; in most, The People played a key role, typically the lead role.
But elites everywhere want you to believe that resistance is futile. Despots do meet resistance with violence—but populations already living under brutal violent regimes have little to lose. So they withdraw support, stop working and paying taxes and stand together.
There is a long and growing list of deposed dictators. Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump and Xi Jinping and Kim Jong Un are not immune. I would argue that they are next, but I cannot predict what order.
Vulnerable, Weak and Stupid
Despots are typically vulnerable, weak and stupid. The current crop are no different. While this is most obvious with the American despot, all of them are ignorant due to the isolation inherent in their positions. They have rarely if ever faced serious challenges other than how to keep fools serving them.
They are much like the bumbling Wizard of Oz—excep the leader of Oz was a kindly fool and despots are evil fools.
Once we look behind the curtain, we see that these powerful people are all smoke and mirrors. We have been swindled into oppressing ourselves. We produce everything, but we also serve and protect the despot. Without our cooperation, obedience and active support, every despot is finished.
That's our role determined both by history and by the Nature of despotism. We must disobey, ridicule, disempower, defeat and punish despots.
We are still—somewhat—under the spell of despotic lies. We believe we are weak and the despot is strong. We are still obedient to the system and hope that existing institutions will save us. We lobby, instead of taking control, believing that our representatives will help us.
But "powerful people" are already part of the system—even those who sincerely rail against it. Only WE can save ourselves and our planet. That's what we must do.
A List
Here's an abbreviated list of deposed despots.
In some cases, parties other than The People paid significant roles. But in most cases, the driving force was the gutsy initiative of The People. Other individuals followed. The followers can be helpful, but don't let that fool you. No bill signed by a president allowed homosexuals to marry or granted civil rights to dark skinned people. Those battles were won the hard way—by determined people. The bills ratified and tried to take credit for accomplishments by The People.
Don't be fooled. We have the power. Let's exercise it. It's the best way.
Nicolae Ceaucescu
Hosni Mubarak
Ferdinand Marcos
Zine El Abidine Ben Ali
Ali Abdullah Saleh
Muammar Gaddafi
Jean-Claude Duvalier
Slobodan Milošević
Viktor Yanukovych
Blaise Compaoré
Erich Honecker
Sheikh Hasina
Gotabaya Rajapaksa
Omar al-Bashir
Abdulaziz Bouteflika
Robert Mugabe
Kurmanbek Bakiyev
Yoon Suk Yeol
Jair Bolsonaro