Remember, remember the fifth of November

V for Vendetta
by Moore & The Wachowskis

...I thought we could mark this November the fifth, a day that is sadly no longer remembered, by taking some time out of our daily lives to sit down and have a little chat. There are, of course, people who do not want us to speak. In fact, even now, orders are being shouted into telephones and men with guns will soon be on their way. Why?

Because while the truncheon may be used in lieu of conversation, words will always retain their power. Words offer the means to meaning, and for those who will listen, the enunciation of the truth. And the truth is, there is something terribly wrong with this country, isn't there?

Cruelty and injustice. Intolerance and oppression. And where once you had the freedom to object, to think and speak as you saw fit, you now have censors and systems of surveillance, coercing your conformity and submission. How did this happen? Who is to blame?

Certainly, there are those who are more responsible than others and they will be held accountable. But again, truth be told, if you're looking for the guilty you need only look into a mirror.

I know why you did it. I know you were afraid. Who wouldn't be? War. Terror. Disease. There were a myriad of problems which conspired to corrupt your reason and rob you of your common sense. Fear got the best of you.

And in your panic, you turned to the now- High Chancellor Adam Sutler. He promised you order. He promised you peace. And all he demanded in return was your silent, obedient consent.

Last night I sought to end that silence. Last night I destroyed the Old Bailey to remind this country of what it has forgotten. More than four hundred years ago, a great citizen wished to imbed the fifth of November forever in our memory. His hope was to remind the world that fairness, justice and freedom are more than words. They are perspectives.

So if you see nothing, if the crimes of this government remain unknown to you then I suggest you allow the fifth of November to pass unmarked.

But if you see what I see, if you feel as I feel, and if you would seek as I seek, then I ask you to stand beside me one year from tonight, outside the gates of Parliament, and together we shall give them a fifth of November that shall never ever be forgotten.