The Boat That Rocked the Establishment
Pirate Radio has this scene where The Count (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is about to say the ‘f’ word on air:
Quentin: You can’t do this.
The Count: Why not? It’s just a word!
Quentin: Charming thought, but here’s the simple situation. The authorities already dislike us. If you do this they will hate us, and by hook or by crook they’ll find a way to close us down.
The Count: They can’t close us down. We’re pirates. That’s why we’re sitting out here in the middle of the freaking ocean.
Quentin: Believe me, they will find a way. Governments loathe people being free.
For all our bluster and pride and fighting for what’s right, we can’t survive without some form of compromise. We need governance. We need to live by the rules to enjoy life’s luxuries: public utilities, garbage pickup, cable, food — basic necessities provided within the confines of society. But when our civil liberties are held hostage and basic human rights are threatened, some of us awaken from the brainwashing machine that is our society and rock the establishment.
The internet has expedited our ability to organize. The power of social networking has made it easier to get millions of people behind a cause to raise money, protest corruption, get out the vote, or save an endangered resource. It is one thing the net has changed forever. It is fundamentally game-changing. Before the net, this used to be really difficult, feasible only if you were filthy rich.
Although technology doesn’t solve the problem of injustice, it solves the first hard problem of righting wrongs - getting people together. But this fact remains: you still have to do the harder work of risking life and limb, personal fortune and reputation.
Every wonderful thing in our world has fight in its history. Our rights, our good fortune, our happiness and all that is sweet was paid for, once upon a time, by principled people who risked everything to change the world for the better. Those risks are not diminished one bit by the net.
“To all our listeners, this is what I have to say - God bless you all. And as for you bastards in charge, don’t dream it’s over. Years will come, years will go, and politicians will do fuck all to make the world a better place. But all over the world, young men and young women will always dream dreams and put those dreams into song. Nothing important dies tonight, just a few ugly guys on a crappy ship. The only sadness tonight is that, in future years, there’ll be so many fantastic songs that it will not be our privilege to play. But, believe you me, they will still be written, they will still be sung and they will be the wonder of the world.”
- The Count, Pirate Radio
Rock ‘n’ Roll!
(image via jjarichardson)
