Beginnings
I don't think I told you so is adequate, so maybe it is I have informed you thusly. Yes, stolen from the Vulcan Sheldon Cooper, but it fits.
There is no one that is more disappointed in the course of America, currently, than me. And, I don't care about which party is in control of what. At the heart, they are wholly bought subsidiaries of their wealthy backers, and almost indistinguishable because of that. The corruption is massive and pervasive.
So, what is left is the American people. The folks that created this country and this government had a solution for situations like we find ourselves in. They created a way for the people to regain dominance. It is called voting, the franchise, ballots, elections. It is the primary and preeminent power of citizens and the path they travel to gain and remain in control of the nation.
What the pretty savvy folks that wrote our framework of government did not expect, was the disinterest and laziness of the citizenry that is currently affecting America. More people (that were eligible) voted than didn't, but by only the slimmest of margins. Most of those that voted are largely uninformed about the issues facing the nation, and sadly, even more uninformed about how the process and government functions. And they chose the champion of disinterest and non-intelligent existence.
We, as a people, used to find truths to be self evident. Now we just kind of gloss over the whole responsibility piece that comes with self realization and self actualization. Entitlement without realization or actualization leads to a kind of hazy tyranny from whoever can be the lowest common denominator.
It does not disturb me that there are large factions in the government that want to shrink government and return power to the states. It is doing so at the expense of the people that all of us should be enlightened to protect that disturbs me. They have been telling you they are going to do it for decades. They have practiced this kind of top down policy and economics since 1980. It led to a great boom, on inflated and corrupt economic and banking policies, that resulted in the largest wealth destruction in the history of the nation and the second worst economic collapse after the Great Depression in 2008. It is a discredited and proven wrong policy and process, that all of us felt the failure of, except the top bracket of the economy that gained all the wealth the rest gave up.
It does not disturb me that there are large factions in the government that want to expand the role of government in our lives, and consolidate federal power. It is doing so at the expense of the interests and growth that drives our national economy that disturbs me. Industry, wealth and success are not evil actions. They are required for us to continue to exist and grow. It is not a bad thing that people get richer. They have been telling you that it is a bad thing and practicing this economic practice since the 70's. It has resulted in a crushing and almost inescapable national debt that our children's children may not be able to discharge. It is a discredited and proven wrong policy and process, that all of us are feeling the failure of, except the top bracket of the economy that has grown richer on the back of inflation passed on to the consumers.
See, neither side is correct. I think that the Founders understood that would always be a truth, regardless of the circumstances. For that reason, they established a see-saw arrangement of elections and power sharing from the triune of the government that was supposed to ensure that the will of the people could only be disregarded for at most 24 months, before the people could right the course. They never counted on people being unable to understand, or being disengaged enough not to try. They never counted on me first being the primary motivation of the American citizen, over the common good. Those conditions they did not address, because they are self correcting.
The way that corrects itself is that the nation falls. It nearly fell in 1861, in the secession crisis that resulted in the Civil War. We fought internally, almost to extinction, to ensure that government of the people, by the people and for the people should not perish from the earth. We cauterized our wounds with compromise and treachery and regressive policy for nearly 50 years. But, with the rise of a towering reformer at the turn of the century, we began an ongoing cycle of reform and progression that would hold until 2012 when key provisions of the Voting Rights Act were struck down by the Supreme Court and removed legal protections that guaranteed the equality of franchise to all citizens.
Additional judicial findings paved the way for the dilution of political gain, allowing rivers of nearly unrestricted cash into the function of elections and politics. We have long known the scourge and cancer of lobbyists, but the decision Citizens United vs FEC in 2010 opened the floodgates and magnified the power of lobbyists and the wealthy. Couched in a rhetoric of America First, with a nearly inexhaustible bank account, politics became strident, uninformed slander and ugliness. No election since 2010 has been contested on principles or policies, but have completely been transactional and based on what negative nugget could be run most effectively and completely.
Each side appeals to the depths of its base, its lowest common denominator. The rhetoric, the campaigning is all about why the other side are bad people. There is no consideration of them as equals with wrong ideas. There is no basis of respect for what they believe, even though you believe it to be the wrong approach. There is no language that allows compromise, because we have spent billions ensuring the either polar opposite is the only true condition.
We have settled into our relative corners, and sunk to our basest motives. Nothing indicates that more than the Clinton-Trump campaign of 2016. Unfortunately Trump won, but the other choice would have been as unfortunate. The election underscored an ugly fact. We have become polarized partisans that have rejected the validity of any opinion that does not agree exactly with our own. The only saving grace at the moment is that this trend does not just exist between Democrats and Republicans. It exists deeply within the parties themselves and the geography.
In the Democratic party, there are factions that are rabidly angry and mistrustful of the centrist elements in the party. The centrist elements are equally mistrustful and angry at the more progressive wing of the party. As such, they don't know who to be more angry at, or who to align against more, their own Democrats or the opposition. It is a bipolar and schizophrenic turmoil that completely stalls them. Anybody still felling the Bern?
In the Republican party, there are factions that are rabidly angry and mistrustful of the centrist elements in the party. The centrist elements are equally mistrustful and angry at the more nativist wing of the party. As such, they don't know who to be more angry at, or who to align against more, their own Republicans or the opposition. It is a bipolar and schizophrenic turmoil that completely stalls them. Anyone know a RINO?
Nothing encourages hatred more that stagnation. Stagnation of salary and income comes from something. We have installed Democrats and Republicans in the White House, in control of Congress, in the judiciary, and still, our middle class buying power has stagnated or decreased. Our safety net and our confidence that something, somewhere, will be there to support us if the worst happens is nonexistent. We have deep seated racial motivators about what is happening to us.
The reality is that the vast middle class has been screwed for over 50 years, to ensure the enrichment and further stratification of the wealthy. This screwing has been orchestrated by willing participants in elected office in both parties. None of us know who to choose anymore, because the choices are nearly indistinguishable. With the exception of maybe women's rights, I guarantee that you can find evidence that at some point both Clinton and Trump were for and against the same things. Famously, they were both for and against the war in Iraq. They are indistinguishable, except for their nastiness.
We have such a deep wound and such hurt, that all we can do is gravitate to the nastiness. We want to see someone beat down whoever we decide is mostly at fault this moment. In Trump, we find our ultimate champion. Why do people not find him disgusting? Because they hurt, and their lot is not improving, and he is getting back at their tormentors, just a little bit. I have not found a single Trump supporter that thinks there is something in Trump that elevates the conversation or the ideas. That is not what they chose him for. They chose him because he stuck his thumb deepest in the other guy's eye.
It feels so good, temporarily, getting that pay back. But the good feeling is starting to wear off, and the realization that we just picked a packet of hate that is empty of ideas and solutions that do anything but help the richest in the nation is starting to sink in. Surrounded by billionaires and "business" men/women, they are working to consolidate and codify the gains the wealthy have made, as quickly as possible. Because we always end up seeing the man behind the curtain, and realize he is not a Wizard at all. The puppet masters already knew that, and are working feverishly before the correction starts to take hold.
We need to understand and be aware of our own worst instincts. They are reflected in our politics. This would be no better, had Clinton been elected. As best I could tell, with the exception of the amateur hour that exists in the White House now, not much would be different. Congress would no more go along with her initiatives, than they can go along with Trump's. A four way tug of war is pretty hard to judge, so we just call everybody losers and get screwed again.
Until we demand something different, this is what we will get, until we completely deplete the reserve that props us up right now. In terms of treasure, power and influence, we are trading them all away for short term gains to a few buyers that are playing the long game (China, Russia). Eventually, the sheep become wolves, and the schism is huge. I am not predicting that we will find Communism enticing, but a study of Russia from 1910-1924 would be well advised. Many of the stratifying elements and inflection points are very similar. And when the large bulge of people with limited growth, limited buying power and limited hopes have finally had enough, the explosion is unbelievable. Just ask the Romanov's...wait, you can't, they are extinct.
We do not create something new with this stew we are cooking. And, some in the country have pointed it out for years. Neither side has the truth as their champion. It remains for us to pick it up and use to consolidate the representatives we elect into sound policy and responsible legislation. We need to demand that compromise be the most desired skill in our elected representatives, and stop finding the person most rabid to stick to indefensible and unenforceable positions (Cruz, Warren). They are the definition of what is wrong, not the source of what will solve.
So, this series is about what history and contemporaries have tried to explain. Because the realization that the worst has happened is about to set in, and we will need to make some decisions that have huge implications, in less than 13 months, in the primaries. Maybe we need to just consider them one by one.
Peace
There is no one that is more disappointed in the course of America, currently, than me. And, I don't care about which party is in control of what. At the heart, they are wholly bought subsidiaries of their wealthy backers, and almost indistinguishable because of that. The corruption is massive and pervasive.
So, what is left is the American people. The folks that created this country and this government had a solution for situations like we find ourselves in. They created a way for the people to regain dominance. It is called voting, the franchise, ballots, elections. It is the primary and preeminent power of citizens and the path they travel to gain and remain in control of the nation.
What the pretty savvy folks that wrote our framework of government did not expect, was the disinterest and laziness of the citizenry that is currently affecting America. More people (that were eligible) voted than didn't, but by only the slimmest of margins. Most of those that voted are largely uninformed about the issues facing the nation, and sadly, even more uninformed about how the process and government functions. And they chose the champion of disinterest and non-intelligent existence.
We, as a people, used to find truths to be self evident. Now we just kind of gloss over the whole responsibility piece that comes with self realization and self actualization. Entitlement without realization or actualization leads to a kind of hazy tyranny from whoever can be the lowest common denominator.
It does not disturb me that there are large factions in the government that want to shrink government and return power to the states. It is doing so at the expense of the people that all of us should be enlightened to protect that disturbs me. They have been telling you they are going to do it for decades. They have practiced this kind of top down policy and economics since 1980. It led to a great boom, on inflated and corrupt economic and banking policies, that resulted in the largest wealth destruction in the history of the nation and the second worst economic collapse after the Great Depression in 2008. It is a discredited and proven wrong policy and process, that all of us felt the failure of, except the top bracket of the economy that gained all the wealth the rest gave up.
It does not disturb me that there are large factions in the government that want to expand the role of government in our lives, and consolidate federal power. It is doing so at the expense of the interests and growth that drives our national economy that disturbs me. Industry, wealth and success are not evil actions. They are required for us to continue to exist and grow. It is not a bad thing that people get richer. They have been telling you that it is a bad thing and practicing this economic practice since the 70's. It has resulted in a crushing and almost inescapable national debt that our children's children may not be able to discharge. It is a discredited and proven wrong policy and process, that all of us are feeling the failure of, except the top bracket of the economy that has grown richer on the back of inflation passed on to the consumers.
See, neither side is correct. I think that the Founders understood that would always be a truth, regardless of the circumstances. For that reason, they established a see-saw arrangement of elections and power sharing from the triune of the government that was supposed to ensure that the will of the people could only be disregarded for at most 24 months, before the people could right the course. They never counted on people being unable to understand, or being disengaged enough not to try. They never counted on me first being the primary motivation of the American citizen, over the common good. Those conditions they did not address, because they are self correcting.
The way that corrects itself is that the nation falls. It nearly fell in 1861, in the secession crisis that resulted in the Civil War. We fought internally, almost to extinction, to ensure that government of the people, by the people and for the people should not perish from the earth. We cauterized our wounds with compromise and treachery and regressive policy for nearly 50 years. But, with the rise of a towering reformer at the turn of the century, we began an ongoing cycle of reform and progression that would hold until 2012 when key provisions of the Voting Rights Act were struck down by the Supreme Court and removed legal protections that guaranteed the equality of franchise to all citizens.
Additional judicial findings paved the way for the dilution of political gain, allowing rivers of nearly unrestricted cash into the function of elections and politics. We have long known the scourge and cancer of lobbyists, but the decision Citizens United vs FEC in 2010 opened the floodgates and magnified the power of lobbyists and the wealthy. Couched in a rhetoric of America First, with a nearly inexhaustible bank account, politics became strident, uninformed slander and ugliness. No election since 2010 has been contested on principles or policies, but have completely been transactional and based on what negative nugget could be run most effectively and completely.
Each side appeals to the depths of its base, its lowest common denominator. The rhetoric, the campaigning is all about why the other side are bad people. There is no consideration of them as equals with wrong ideas. There is no basis of respect for what they believe, even though you believe it to be the wrong approach. There is no language that allows compromise, because we have spent billions ensuring the either polar opposite is the only true condition.
We have settled into our relative corners, and sunk to our basest motives. Nothing indicates that more than the Clinton-Trump campaign of 2016. Unfortunately Trump won, but the other choice would have been as unfortunate. The election underscored an ugly fact. We have become polarized partisans that have rejected the validity of any opinion that does not agree exactly with our own. The only saving grace at the moment is that this trend does not just exist between Democrats and Republicans. It exists deeply within the parties themselves and the geography.
In the Democratic party, there are factions that are rabidly angry and mistrustful of the centrist elements in the party. The centrist elements are equally mistrustful and angry at the more progressive wing of the party. As such, they don't know who to be more angry at, or who to align against more, their own Democrats or the opposition. It is a bipolar and schizophrenic turmoil that completely stalls them. Anybody still felling the Bern?
In the Republican party, there are factions that are rabidly angry and mistrustful of the centrist elements in the party. The centrist elements are equally mistrustful and angry at the more nativist wing of the party. As such, they don't know who to be more angry at, or who to align against more, their own Republicans or the opposition. It is a bipolar and schizophrenic turmoil that completely stalls them. Anyone know a RINO?
Nothing encourages hatred more that stagnation. Stagnation of salary and income comes from something. We have installed Democrats and Republicans in the White House, in control of Congress, in the judiciary, and still, our middle class buying power has stagnated or decreased. Our safety net and our confidence that something, somewhere, will be there to support us if the worst happens is nonexistent. We have deep seated racial motivators about what is happening to us.
The reality is that the vast middle class has been screwed for over 50 years, to ensure the enrichment and further stratification of the wealthy. This screwing has been orchestrated by willing participants in elected office in both parties. None of us know who to choose anymore, because the choices are nearly indistinguishable. With the exception of maybe women's rights, I guarantee that you can find evidence that at some point both Clinton and Trump were for and against the same things. Famously, they were both for and against the war in Iraq. They are indistinguishable, except for their nastiness.
We have such a deep wound and such hurt, that all we can do is gravitate to the nastiness. We want to see someone beat down whoever we decide is mostly at fault this moment. In Trump, we find our ultimate champion. Why do people not find him disgusting? Because they hurt, and their lot is not improving, and he is getting back at their tormentors, just a little bit. I have not found a single Trump supporter that thinks there is something in Trump that elevates the conversation or the ideas. That is not what they chose him for. They chose him because he stuck his thumb deepest in the other guy's eye.
It feels so good, temporarily, getting that pay back. But the good feeling is starting to wear off, and the realization that we just picked a packet of hate that is empty of ideas and solutions that do anything but help the richest in the nation is starting to sink in. Surrounded by billionaires and "business" men/women, they are working to consolidate and codify the gains the wealthy have made, as quickly as possible. Because we always end up seeing the man behind the curtain, and realize he is not a Wizard at all. The puppet masters already knew that, and are working feverishly before the correction starts to take hold.
We need to understand and be aware of our own worst instincts. They are reflected in our politics. This would be no better, had Clinton been elected. As best I could tell, with the exception of the amateur hour that exists in the White House now, not much would be different. Congress would no more go along with her initiatives, than they can go along with Trump's. A four way tug of war is pretty hard to judge, so we just call everybody losers and get screwed again.
Until we demand something different, this is what we will get, until we completely deplete the reserve that props us up right now. In terms of treasure, power and influence, we are trading them all away for short term gains to a few buyers that are playing the long game (China, Russia). Eventually, the sheep become wolves, and the schism is huge. I am not predicting that we will find Communism enticing, but a study of Russia from 1910-1924 would be well advised. Many of the stratifying elements and inflection points are very similar. And when the large bulge of people with limited growth, limited buying power and limited hopes have finally had enough, the explosion is unbelievable. Just ask the Romanov's...wait, you can't, they are extinct.
We do not create something new with this stew we are cooking. And, some in the country have pointed it out for years. Neither side has the truth as their champion. It remains for us to pick it up and use to consolidate the representatives we elect into sound policy and responsible legislation. We need to demand that compromise be the most desired skill in our elected representatives, and stop finding the person most rabid to stick to indefensible and unenforceable positions (Cruz, Warren). They are the definition of what is wrong, not the source of what will solve.
So, this series is about what history and contemporaries have tried to explain. Because the realization that the worst has happened is about to set in, and we will need to make some decisions that have huge implications, in less than 13 months, in the primaries. Maybe we need to just consider them one by one.
Peace
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