Anarchy, A New Beginning For America
The future always has a way of asking questions about the past. A future that does not know its past is like a bastard child who wants to know who its father was. Later, when they start asking the tough questions about what happened to America, they won’t be about what happened, but why.
Looking back at my wonder years, I am astonished at the lawless place America has become. With our population skyrocketing, filling our cities to capacity, and turning our small to mid-sized towns into cities or metro areas, we have fewer protections from evil doers, both crime entrepreneurs, and corporate felons than we did 30 years ago. In the case of the former, there are an inadequate number of police, and even fewer who possess any real competence, so the cops lock up the stupid criminals of which there is no shortage, leaving us at the mercy of the smarter thugs, of which there is a similar number.
In the case of the latter, long drawn out court procedures result in those few corporate offenders unfortunate enough to have been caught with a smoking gun in hand and registered to them to pay fines minuscule compared to the profits gained from their crimes, and an agreement that they may admit to no wrongdoing. Looking backward at our past as a nation, we know what happened. It's not so hard to understand that a fledgling nation with vast natural resources, and a relatively small population would become a leader in world markets, and a magnet to overseas labor and investment.
The what and the why match perfectly. No real detailed history of that period is needed, because logic holds the whole premise together as seamlessly as a roman arch supports itself. Later in our history it was necessary for Presidents, then our undisputed leaders, to curb the power of those few ultra wealthy men who had become known as the robber barons. Teddy Roosevelt was arguably the first to truly challenge the threat of vertical integration by getting laws passed forbidding monopolies, as well as a raft of laws making it difficult for big money to grow so large that it threatened our democracy. During the tenure of FDR, a distant cousin of Teddy’s, it became necessary that president Roosevelt pass a series of laws prohibiting banks and investment houses from colluding to make a few people fabulously wealthy at the expense of impoverishing the rest of America. Income tax rose on the wealthy during this era as well, putting a healthy curb on the nascent fascism growing in the heart of the world's greatest democracy.
Despite an attempt at a treasonous coup, Henry Ford, Prescott Bush and some other notable billionaires were stymied by Snively Butler, and America continued to thrive. Again, form beckons to function, and this piece of history needs little explanation. Following these events, a period of discord fell upon us. Still our undisputed leader President Truman ordered the atomic destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Why he did this is at odds with logic. Yes, it's true that the lives of American soldiers were saved by the bombing, but they accomplished nothing even close to the destruction wrought but Curtis LeMay and his technique of firebombing. So here, at this point some tough questions emerge. The “why” questions. Form and function seem to parallel rather than merge.
Later, during the Eisenhower administration, a shadowy but robustly powerful man by the name of Robert Moses emerged. Powered by big oil, and the big three auto makers, he blazed an unlikely trail across the landscape of the American future dictating that the automobile was to be the dominant, if not only form of transportation used by Americans. With no mandate, no referendum, indeed in secrecy, he insured that America would build a wildly expensive infrastructure of highways, city streets, and automobile pathways that would not just compete with, but virtually eliminate trains, subways, and buses. As far as self locomotion such as cycling or walking were concerned, citizens were, and still are invited to travel at their own risk. Now the connection between form and logic become fuzzy. These measures enriched the lives and furthered the agendas of ordinary citizens how?
As we were to see, these were tough questions, and there was little appetite to unearth the why of these actions. After a brief squabble over who might be elected and allowed to live out their presidencies it became clear that our presidents were no longer our supreme leaders. Now shadowy figures prowled the corridors of power. King makers, and would be dictators. For a brief shining moment America united its leadership of religion and government under the single figure of President Carter. Vilified to this day by ignorant fools who do so because they read it on a bathroom wall somewhere, President Carter managed to integrate our future and our past, and came within an ace of solving the conflict in the Middle East. Walking the walk, instead of talking the talk, our great Christian leader was nonetheless deposed by a likable candidate whose entire administration was carried out by active CIA operatives, and Wall Street magnates. Logic broke down as far as the American vision was concerned, unless you were among those who profited by these maneuvers. But for every day workers, folks trying to get ahead, not just survive, it was poison. But we do have answers to the tough questions of why from this era. Maines electric and their financing partners, the activities of the economic hit men, and their CIA funded jackals make it clear that vested money, and vulture capitalism were in the ascendant.
Fast forward to 30 years ago. The libertarian party declared war against taxes, government regulations, government oversight, any and all government agencies, and assistance to the poor. Their platform even called for the abolishment of the military. For once, form was nowhere near function. At theosbranch we inform our bastard present as to who is our father. We name names, and explain why. Visit us soon.
The future always has a way of asking questions about the past. A future that does not know its past is like a bastard child who wants to know who its father was. Later, when they start asking the tough questions about what happened to America, they won’t be about what happened, but why.
Looking back at my wonder years, I am astonished at the lawless place America has become. With our population skyrocketing, filling our cities to capacity, and turning our small to mid-sized towns into cities or metro areas, we have fewer protections from evil doers, both crime entrepreneurs, and corporate felons than we did 30 years ago. In the case of the former, there are an inadequate number of police, and even fewer who possess any real competence, so the cops lock up the stupid criminals of which there is no shortage, leaving us at the mercy of the smarter thugs, of which there is a similar number.
In the case of the latter, long drawn out court procedures result in those few corporate offenders unfortunate enough to have been caught with a smoking gun in hand and registered to them to pay fines minuscule compared to the profits gained from their crimes, and an agreement that they may admit to no wrongdoing. Looking backward at our past as a nation, we know what happened. It's not so hard to understand that a fledgling nation with vast natural resources, and a relatively small population would become a leader in world markets, and a magnet to overseas labor and investment.
The what and the why match perfectly. No real detailed history of that period is needed, because logic holds the whole premise together as seamlessly as a roman arch supports itself. Later in our history it was necessary for Presidents, then our undisputed leaders, to curb the power of those few ultra wealthy men who had become known as the robber barons. Teddy Roosevelt was arguably the first to truly challenge the threat of vertical integration by getting laws passed forbidding monopolies, as well as a raft of laws making it difficult for big money to grow so large that it threatened our democracy. During the tenure of FDR, a distant cousin of Teddy’s, it became necessary that president Roosevelt pass a series of laws prohibiting banks and investment houses from colluding to make a few people fabulously wealthy at the expense of impoverishing the rest of America. Income tax rose on the wealthy during this era as well, putting a healthy curb on the nascent fascism growing in the heart of the world's greatest democracy.
Despite an attempt at a treasonous coup, Henry Ford, Prescott Bush and some other notable billionaires were stymied by Snively Butler, and America continued to thrive. Again, form beckons to function, and this piece of history needs little explanation. Following these events, a period of discord fell upon us. Still our undisputed leader President Truman ordered the atomic destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Why he did this is at odds with logic. Yes, it's true that the lives of American soldiers were saved by the bombing, but they accomplished nothing even close to the destruction wrought but Curtis LeMay and his technique of firebombing. So here, at this point some tough questions emerge. The “why” questions. Form and function seem to parallel rather than merge.
Later, during the Eisenhower administration, a shadowy but robustly powerful man by the name of Robert Moses emerged. Powered by big oil, and the big three auto makers, he blazed an unlikely trail across the landscape of the American future dictating that the automobile was to be the dominant, if not only form of transportation used by Americans. With no mandate, no referendum, indeed in secrecy, he insured that America would build a wildly expensive infrastructure of highways, city streets, and automobile pathways that would not just compete with, but virtually eliminate trains, subways, and buses. As far as self locomotion such as cycling or walking were concerned, citizens were, and still are invited to travel at their own risk. Now the connection between form and logic become fuzzy. These measures enriched the lives and furthered the agendas of ordinary citizens how?
As we were to see, these were tough questions, and there was little appetite to unearth the why of these actions. After a brief squabble over who might be elected and allowed to live out their presidencies it became clear that our presidents were no longer our supreme leaders. Now shadowy figures prowled the corridors of power. King makers, and would be dictators. For a brief shining moment America united its leadership of religion and government under the single figure of President Carter. Vilified to this day by ignorant fools who do so because they read it on a bathroom wall somewhere, President Carter managed to integrate our future and our past, and came within an ace of solving the conflict in the Middle East. Walking the walk, instead of talking the talk, our great Christian leader was nonetheless deposed by a likable candidate whose entire administration was carried out by active CIA operatives, and Wall Street magnates. Logic broke down as far as the American vision was concerned, unless you were among those who profited by these maneuvers. But for every day workers, folks trying to get ahead, not just survive, it was poison. But we do have answers to the tough questions of why from this era. Maines electric and their financing partners, the activities of the economic hit men, and their CIA funded jackals make it clear that vested money, and vulture capitalism were in the ascendant.
Fast forward to 30 years ago. The libertarian party declared war against taxes, government regulations, government oversight, any and all government agencies, and assistance to the poor. Their platform even called for the abolishment of the military. For once, form was nowhere near function. At theosbranch we inform our bastard present as to who is our father. We name names, and explain why. Visit us soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment