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How could it happen that the one
thing almost everyone agrees upon as a basic underpinning for this nation,
could ever have been turned against the people of the USA? Well - a lot has
happened since the American public began taking regular doses of The
Shining City on the Hill that was practically "mainlined" into the
public's veins. The message however was only masquerading as all that
anyone would ever need to live the good life; during the Reagan years back
when "Greed is Good" was what ruled the day!
In reaction to the previous
article I wrote (Again & Again (1)) a reader wrote that I had advocated
Anarchy. But Anarchy is a tool of those interlocking and overlapping
directorates of MONEY&POWER INC. (the enemy of all who work). It's a
weapon of theirs and a basic part of what the Puppet-Masters do. Anarchy
was pre-figured in the aftermath of both the War on Iraq (murder &
chaos internally) - and in Hurricane Katrina, where the government's hands
off approach, raised the number of casualties and intensified the
destruction. To insure against riots after the hurricane, the only thing
that was done, besides calling in Blackwater's mercenaries to patrol the
scene; was to scatter the population across the nation and then just
move-on - depending on the short-term memory loss of all those not
affected; to bury this crime along with all their other efforts at
destabilizing the Un-United States.
Ordinary people on the other hand
that have families, responsibilities and some form of job, can't really be
fans of Anarchy either - because that brand of street theater offers
nothing by way of real survival or continuance. Anarchy is also unworkable
for that segment of America that was the former "backbone" of
this society and that still cannot believe they have become the target of
this government that wants to crush them. Moreover: Anarchy has become the
hand-puppet of the extreme wings of all the "ists" &
Isms" that currently plague the world - it's what our dollars paid for
when the people did not balk at having the last two presidential elections
stolen from them - right before their very eyes!
Critics say that an "Elevated
focus" is what is needed to resolve this serious breakdown of life in
America today. Yet given how many have already been personally "broken" by
the pace and promises of this government; an "elevated focus" is almost
beyond reach when one hasn't got a job, or much of any kind of future. This
is especially true when those same people tend to listen to the distortions
of the mass media that sold them out in the first place. Depression and
anger are what is being spoon fed to the disillusioned - so now most of
these people just don't want to hear anything anymore!
Almost buried in the confusion is
a poisoned tar-baby - visible as the Weaponization of "The American
Dream" - the practice, not the concept. Back in 1973 there was a major
gathering of about 300 of the world's most prominent Robber-Barons, in the
Caribbean. The council was held under the rubric of the Trilateral
Commission. That august body of thieves and conspirators had observed that
the population of the planet was beginning to make strides toward a better
and more promising world. The reason for this tiny sprout of promise that
concerned them so - was that in their view: TOO MUCH FREE TIME was now in
the hands of working people everywhere. (2)
It seems that the G.I. Bill in
WWII had begun to change their plans for domination: because it was giving
too many people the idea that there actually might be something more in
life than just MONEY&POWER. The arts were beginning to show some
promise and with the free time created by well-paying jobs, people wanted
to make things better, and not just for themselves - (imagine that)! So the
Trilateral commission acted and by 1994, this was part of the
"new" situation in the USA. (3)
The fascinating thing about
"The American Dream" as it is practiced today is that its only
target seems to be "more for me - and to hell with anyone else."
Gone are the dreams of a better world; more education that actually led to
knowledge instead of only data accumulation and regurgitation. IN is the
acquisition of everything that glitters, glows or communicates. This "idea"
came directly from marketing schemes developed by Edward Bernaise in the
1920's. Madison Avenue then advanced his work to create the kinds of
products that could liberate people; but by the1980's this idea was being
used to control people for international business, and for those who
supported them. MONEY& POWER INC. took things from there by
successfully linking this basic commercial idea of acquisition, with the
suggestion of "Democracy." as a way to gain control over people through
their inmost fears and desires. Thanks mostly to the seeming innocence of
television and consumer surveys this began to work - and profits soared! (4)
Gone now are the thoughts of free
time, or free thought about anything that does not have to do with
MONEY&POWER INC. The crescendo of this success was completed when the
PR industry and the media combined to lead consumers to this Nirvana of
their dreams. Of course this "idea" is no longer limited to those
in the USA as this disease has grown wings and has now infected people
everywhere.
The weaponized form of "the dream"
like the concept of Anarchy itself is just the bait that attracts new
followers like flies. Where Anarchy relies on images of romantic-daring,
other-people's blood, and the mystic heights of "celluloid
rebellions": The American Dream is far more subtle. The bait in the
"dream" is based on "Joining-In," signing-up and
behaving very professionally about every facet of life. Credit is a major
factor along with timely payments to whatever corporation is billing them.
This can be difficult as companies are often allowed to change the terms of
those signed agreements that have beggared so many at their whim. It's very
serious, but it comes in those shiny wrappers for the dreams of a care-free
life. Yet the truth beneath the packaging can be dire and deadly for the
continued future of the unwary. This is just the boiler-plate of unfettered
Capitalism run amuck. But for anyone who is chasing those eternal dreams of
grandeur, it is often hard to see the bear-traps in the road. That's the
basic idea; "do everything we ask of you, follow what we say exactly and
know that those golden years are just ahead - for YOU!"
But the task of following the new
leaders and their sponsors is tough. The consumer (no-longer-the-citizen)
is expected to "do what is expected" while self-censoring your
every thought - ALWAYS. No private doubts or personal thoughts are allowed
to question these equations for any reason. Ambition is encouraged to be
sure, but only when the worker's ambition will lead directly to
ever-greater profits for the company. The plight of the dutiful-cog in this
machine is as futile as dreams of freedom were for the slaves that built
this nation.
Still, when one is young the
future is bright, unless you happen to be young during the continuing
eclipse of the sun that has marked the entire five years of Cheney-Bush.
Students go to college, or to war, depending on how deep their pockets are.
And after having spent the time and money and a few years in the
"after- world" of the post-graduate experience, certain
inconsistencies appear. First it's clear that profit does not always flow
from choices made, or from the duties carried out. By then it is also clear
that laws are only made for underlings - the rich have more important
things to do because there is a two tiered system that only watches over
"lesser individuals." It's also clear that whatever course is
followed in the system will be closely scrutinized, recorded, and reported;
often to those above who will not smile upon whatever or whoever has been
revealed to them.
A big part of the "American
Dream" is compartmentalization. Whenever a problem occurs in the
overly-busy-life of a pod person, the appropriate professional is called
and the cog goes immediately back to their "Oh So Busy" life! So when there
is a perceived-political-problem, they call a professional and leave the
"problem" in the capable and knowledgeable hands of a political
professional - much as one might call a plumber to fix a broken pipe. It
takes awhile for it to dawn on those who believe they are on a fast-track
to success, to figure out that for decades no one has been protecting them,
from any of the horrors that now make the nightly news. When global,
national, and local events begin to daily overwhelm the majority, as is
happening now, the rigid follower (who always believed that he or she was
definitely "aware") begins to PANIC. (but only on the inside).
The problem is that we have
allowed the World to be turned Upside-Down. The vagrants, the bandits and
the true killers from the fringes have taken over the US, from the offices
and boardrooms to the courts and especially to the inner-chambers of
government. That leaves the so-called "secure jobs" of the
pod-people and the rest of us in either permanent limbo, or in something
that employers can hold for ransom, while the worker tries to continue in
the game.
It would be one thing if the
slithering and sneering leadership would pause occasionally - but events
are moving so fast (against the public good) - that there is no time to
even let each new crime sink in - before the next catastrophe overwhelms us
in its vehemence. One critic thought that any solution should definitely
include "Universal principles." But with this nightmare tar-baby
in place - where Dreams-envisioned become Dreams-denied - "Universal
principles" have almost entirely disappeared. Whatever became of those
high-minded principles seems to have died with the rise of the Culture of
the Self. If they're still "out there" Universal Principles might only be
found in the Smithsonian, under glass of course, and viewable for a fee.
For a peek at what we're dealing
with on a higher level just look at how this works: The Free Market ideas
contained in the international trade-agreements NAFTA, GATT, and FTAA are
all expanded versions of this scenario. First the nation, or the citizen,
is set-up. Promises are hinted at while requirements are created, only to
find after signing, that the terms of this agreement are not only
impossible to pay for, but will in the end bankrupt the applicant. In the
case of nations, their resources are taken in lieu of payments - in the
case of citizens who cannot pay, they become consumers without rights, and
their souls are forfeit while their dreams are canceled outright.
So in this view "The American
Dream" is not what those millions of marchers may think it is. True
the dream offers more monetarily than they can make back home, but they
reach for this bauble at the risk of losing much of whatever depth their
lives had had before. Hunger and poverty are brutal task-masters, but in
the sweat and pain derived, the mind is often sharpened as thoughts
intensify. What is to be gained in money may have to be paid for with
self-esteem. The "American Dream" is in reality a form of
ultimate control that can be more addictive than any drug, and is usually -
at least as delusional!
Politics has overridden much of
the best that the humanities had to offer to humankind. But for the world
to survive, some combination of public ethics private morality and personal
determination must rise again - or there will not be a world to live in.
How do we get there?
Sometimes people must just go with
what the gut has to say - because if you really listen to that voice - it
is seldom wrong (it's just usually not convenient). If the people of this
country ever do begin to plunge into this nightmare with determination,
they might be surprised at just how much each one of us can do - in
affecting real and lasting changes to this disgusting place that we have
created as our world!
It is said that "it's not a
prison if you haven't tried the door" But If people were really
interested in knowing the degree of their personal freedoms - they would
try the doors of whatever life they might be leading. And SURPRISE! Most
will find that they really are LOCKED-IN!
The most damning thing of all is
that what each of us decides to do as individuals is the only thing that
will ever change this nightmare for the better!
Jim Kirwan
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