Sound Of Sirens

These song-lyrics are quite contemporary in my book, although they tell a story from 1649. They tell you about the beginnings of privatization, they tell you ‘what went wrong’ and make you think about what today is being considered normal: ‘buying and selling the earth for private gain’. They also tell you about a different way, about resistence and community.

The World Turned Upside Down
Lyrics and Music originally by Leon Rosselson
(Billy Bragg performing ‘The World Turned Upside Down’)

In sixteen forty nine, to St George’s Hill
a ragged band they called the Diggers came to show the peoples’ will
they defied the Landlords, they defied the laws
they were the dispossessed, reclaiming what was theirs

“We come in peace” they said, to dig and sow
we come to work the lands in common and to make the wastegrounds grow
this earth divided, we will make whole
so it will be a common treasury for all

The sin of property, we do disdain
no man has any right to buy and sell the earth for private gain
by theft and murder, they took the land
now everywhere the walls spring up at their command

They make the laws, to chain us well
the clergy dazzle us with heaven or they damn us into hell
we will not worship, the god they serve
the god of greed who feeds the rich while poor man starve

We work, we eat together, we need no swords
we will not bow to the masters or pay rent to the lords
we are free men, though we are poor
you diggers all stand up for glory stand up now

From the men of property, the orders came
they sent the hired men and troopers to wipe out the Diggers’ claim
tear down their cottages, destroy their corn
they were dispersed, but still the vision lingers on

You poor take courage, you rich take care
this earth was made a common treasury for everyone to share
all things in common, all people one
we come in peace, the orders came to cut them down

Find more information on the original ‘Diggers’ and a group that named themselves after them in the late 60s in San Francisco.

The development and practices of Monsanto, the worlds largest corporation connected to GMO, pestizides and fertilizer are so outrages and stunning to me and touch on such vital issues for everybodies well-being, that I will continue to write about it and I will call the series ‘About food’ for now. I have the feeling ‘About water’ will follow…

Let’s start with some quotes of the documentary ‘The world according to Monsanto‘, which you should have a look at on youtube! (Note: For people in the US it is very hard to get this information, since ’somebody’ obviously does not want it to be revealed and continues to urge youtube to take the videos off their server…).

‘It shows an organization that is determinded to push its products into countries around the world and is determinded to destroy the reputation of anybody who stands in their way.’

‘They want to control seed. They want to control life.’

‘This is a bigger weapon than bombs.’

‘They are in the process of owning food. All food!’

‘The result is that Monsanto is depriving us of our food sovereignty, of our ability to feed ourselves and that we become dependent on their seeds and products.’

This is not science fiction and we are not talking ‘third world’, we are talking the US and Latin America, we are talking India and China, we are talking the British Islands, we are talking France and Germany, we are talking ‘next to you’.

Großartige Aktion von Kirsten Brodde, Textilexpertin und Redakteurin des Greenpeace Magazins. Sie bestellte Shirts über eine Tchibo Online Plattform mit subersiven Texten bedruckt wie “Dieses Shirt hat ein Kind für Tchibo genäht” oder “Tchibo Shirts: Gefertigt für Hungerlöhne”.

Tja, da hat mal jemand den Spiess umgedreht und auf eine ganz andere Art und Weise die Vorzüge von Globalisierung und Automatisierung genutzt. Sehr schön!

Die dazugehörigen Artikel findet ihr auf Kirsten Broddes Blog. Der Anfang, Teil II, Teil III