Remembering Shays’ Rebellion | Mickey Z.

[Tace]

Photo credit: Mickey Z.

Mickey Z. -- World News Trust

Sept. 1, 2014

"Military men are dumb, stupid animals to be used as pawns for foreign policy."

- Henry Kissinger

Two hundred and twenty-eight years ago this month -- long before the cries of “support the troops” became commonplace during every U.S. military intervention -- the powers-that-be made it clear how little they intended to follow their own mantra.

“When Massachusetts passed a state constitution in 1780, it found few friends among the poor and middle class, many of them veterans from the Continental Army still waiting for promised bonuses,” explains historian Kenneth C. Davis. To add to this, excessive property taxes were combined with polling taxes designed to prevent the poor from voting.

“No one could hold state office without being quite wealthy,” Howard Zinn adds. “Furthermore, the legislature was refusing to issue paper money, as had been done in some other states, like Rhode Island, to make it easier for debt-ridden farmers to pay off their creditors.”

Perhaps heading the advice of Thomas Jefferson that “a little rebellion” is necessary, Massachusetts farmers fought back when their property was seized due to lack of debt repayment. Armed and organized, their ranks grew into the hundreds. Local sheriffs called out the militia… but the militia sided with the farmers.

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[leftyohiolib]

1. this

Perhaps the more important lesson Shays’ Rebellion can offer today is exposing the lie of “support the troops.” This mind-numbing mantra specifically ignores any real examination of who those troops are, what those troops are doing in war zones, what happens to them when they come home, and why many of us don’t want them waging war in the first place. In other words, when we're told to "support the troops," we are, in essence, being compelled to support the policies that exploit those troops.

[enlightenment]

2. Nice that they are mentioning it.

It should be - Shays's Rebellion.

The man's name was Shays, with an 's' at the end. I'm surprised the text pictured misspelled it.