In addition to the myth of the middle class, is the right to bear arms. We would be as farmers in the French Revolution with their hay forks facing the black powder rifles. Initially, the freedom to bear arms in the US Amendment to the Constitution came as a view to preventing Government from holding all the firepower, the National Guard was the State's army and the citizens of the state became the soldiers. Now it is foolish to pretend that this right provides any such guarantee of our ability to liberate us from a truly overbearing government. The Government holds and manages not only firepower but also weapons of mass destruction. These deter any legitimate attempt to take government back by any group of people. If you don't believe me, look at Wisconsin.
But of course what's even more disturbing to many of us, is the claim we should be able to buy tanks and, I suppose, laser guided rockets, and other weapons of modern warfare. And we who do not can trust those who do to protect us from an overzealous government, of course. Right. This logic scares me and my logic that I'd rather trust a government that I actively help elect seems to scare others. I don't know the better answer but I hope we find one before our grandsons and granddaughters get caught in the crossfire.
The right to bear arms currently provides only the following potential outcome. If the government stays out of a civil war, as they did in Egypt, then the ones most likely to lose in that civil war are those of us most likely to support the ones who are most hurt by the current system. My belief is that more people who have what is termed "liberal" or "progressive" leanings are less likely to own guns. I also believe that the very rich and the super Corporations, who seem to be doing very well right now, are more likely to to possess or have access to weapons.
These are the same ones who have financed the recent "conservative" agenda. Have you noticed how much money they have spent to elect friendly Tea Party types? For some reason the Tea Party movement appeals to many who I believe with lose the most from their policies. These are not the ones who have financed teh movement. Instead it is mostly financed by major money, see a recent NY Times article on the Koch Brothers. I guess some of the genuinely idealistic new Tea Party types haven't figured out they will just be cannon fodder when it comes to overthrowing the Democracy for a Plutocracy. The rest are making sure they become part of the New Plutocracy.
I do not apologize for my stereotypical comments below but warn you that they are such. I know there are many ways to argue the fallacy of stereotypes, but I also know that there is a grain of truth in the human experience as there is in both our perspectives. Here is an exaggeration of my perspective.
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He drives a Hummer and there are AK-47's in the gun rack. The reindeer are in the freezer ready for Christmas dinner. The antlers are proudly displayed on the Hummer's hood and also at his hunting lodge nestled in the woods near the former coal cache known as the Appalachian Mountains. It's OK, you can sit in his lap. Yes, I know he's scary, but he's a good Christian. And honey, don't worry about the acid rain, it's worse in China. Oh yes, there's a Tea Party bumper sticker on the back. So next time you see King George III you'll see him with a Tea Party sticker on his lapel. He's getting revenge.
Ruminations on life and politics. As a Taurus, I figure it's appropriate to chew my cud and why not do it publicly? Sometimes I think there's some good stuff. Maybe you'll think so, too.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Friday, March 11, 2011
Tea Parties and King George III
This is what generated the start of a blog - I was thinking last night about the state of affairs and I don't mean marrieds doing it with others to whom they are not married. This gets more press and media attention than it's worth already. No I mean the strange thought stream we Americans, oh, sorry, I apologize to the rest of the American continents, that is we US Citizens seem to be in that blames everyone else for the trouble we've seen. well I can see I'm starting another rant. So here's the thoughts I had regarding Tea Parties and King George:
If I had a picture of George III, against whom some British-American Colonist citizens rebelled in 1773 by staging a raid on a ship throwing bales of tea into the Boston Harbor, I would post it with a title of the “New” Tea Party. For, you see, while the current tea party favorites fashion themselves as contrary to big government and taxation they ally themselves with the very image of King George III – the major Corporate entities. It is they who now determine: the price of goods; who gets put into today's version of debtors prison; who represent “you” in this government.
You see, King George was only one of a line of kings that had come into power over the years as a result of the feudal system. All the dukes and other “nobles” were constantly bickering, OK, raiding, raping, pillaging, and killing each other, vying to become the most rich and powerful in the land. As years passed the vigorous prosecution of rape, plunder and pillage began to threaten the whole fabric of society as they knew it. Therefore the lords of the feuds came together and agreed that they would all give allegiance to one king who would adjudicate disputes among them and presumably keep the status quo retaining stability and enhancing the ability to ward off threats from other cultures (like those nasty French and Germans).
The analogy to these competitions over the last two centuries is the shift from independent farmers and businessmen to collectives and trades and large scale industries which are now in the process of congealing into the new kingdoms that span the globe, no longer limited to a geographical region. Against these, Governments become mere regional inhibitors to their behaviors and that only to the extent that they cannot be convinced that what's good for business is good for the people, i.e., those having political influence or the ruling party.
Yes, the Tea Party and allies in the Grand Old Party (Good Old Pals), have become the Lords guarding the banks and merchants of England who in 1773 advised King George to hide the tax on tea to teach the irresponsible colonists their proper place. The current Tea Party has no respect for the millions whose farms have been replaced by factories no longer making anything, whose self reliance on their ability to provide for themselves has been replaced by allegiance to businesses that no longer exist and whose Government is likely to remove their rights to collective bargaining for the wages and benefits necessary to life in a complex society. The tax on tea was deliberately reduced by the Parliament for the colonists as an attempt to subvert the colonists' claim they were not obliged to pay taxes enacted by a Parliament in which they had no representation. Ultimately their intent was for the colonists to pay the bill for the seven years war so the Lords in London who import the tea wouldn't have to.
Today's Tea Party movement is more about having the common citizens pay for the wars and reprehensible financing of America. I say common citizens because it's no longer the middle class. That is a label misapplied to those above poverty and below wealthy which account for maybe 30% of the US population instead of the 60-80% it used to be. According to the Business Insider on Yahoo Finance posted July 15, 2010, “the bottom 50 percent of income earners in the United States now collectively own less than 1 percent of the nation’s wealth.” If the top 1% or 2% own 80% of the wealth that doesn't leave much of a middle class. In my book the middle class no longer exists and it is only the political intent to avoid the truth that keeps us from saying so. We have steadily transferred the wealth of the middle class to the hands of “Wall Street” in our mortgages and credit cards. Now, many of us are facing the loss of our homes, many have already lost them. The only ones left to buy them are those who don't need them. Many of the new residents of our political houses now promote and press for policies that further enhance the economic station of those that have it, not those that have lost it. I find that sad and self serving. (more tomorrow)
If I had a picture of George III, against whom some British-American Colonist citizens rebelled in 1773 by staging a raid on a ship throwing bales of tea into the Boston Harbor, I would post it with a title of the “New” Tea Party. For, you see, while the current tea party favorites fashion themselves as contrary to big government and taxation they ally themselves with the very image of King George III – the major Corporate entities. It is they who now determine: the price of goods; who gets put into today's version of debtors prison; who represent “you” in this government.
You see, King George was only one of a line of kings that had come into power over the years as a result of the feudal system. All the dukes and other “nobles” were constantly bickering, OK, raiding, raping, pillaging, and killing each other, vying to become the most rich and powerful in the land. As years passed the vigorous prosecution of rape, plunder and pillage began to threaten the whole fabric of society as they knew it. Therefore the lords of the feuds came together and agreed that they would all give allegiance to one king who would adjudicate disputes among them and presumably keep the status quo retaining stability and enhancing the ability to ward off threats from other cultures (like those nasty French and Germans).
The analogy to these competitions over the last two centuries is the shift from independent farmers and businessmen to collectives and trades and large scale industries which are now in the process of congealing into the new kingdoms that span the globe, no longer limited to a geographical region. Against these, Governments become mere regional inhibitors to their behaviors and that only to the extent that they cannot be convinced that what's good for business is good for the people, i.e., those having political influence or the ruling party.
Yes, the Tea Party and allies in the Grand Old Party (Good Old Pals), have become the Lords guarding the banks and merchants of England who in 1773 advised King George to hide the tax on tea to teach the irresponsible colonists their proper place. The current Tea Party has no respect for the millions whose farms have been replaced by factories no longer making anything, whose self reliance on their ability to provide for themselves has been replaced by allegiance to businesses that no longer exist and whose Government is likely to remove their rights to collective bargaining for the wages and benefits necessary to life in a complex society. The tax on tea was deliberately reduced by the Parliament for the colonists as an attempt to subvert the colonists' claim they were not obliged to pay taxes enacted by a Parliament in which they had no representation. Ultimately their intent was for the colonists to pay the bill for the seven years war so the Lords in London who import the tea wouldn't have to.
Today's Tea Party movement is more about having the common citizens pay for the wars and reprehensible financing of America. I say common citizens because it's no longer the middle class. That is a label misapplied to those above poverty and below wealthy which account for maybe 30% of the US population instead of the 60-80% it used to be. According to the Business Insider on Yahoo Finance posted July 15, 2010, “the bottom 50 percent of income earners in the United States now collectively own less than 1 percent of the nation’s wealth.” If the top 1% or 2% own 80% of the wealth that doesn't leave much of a middle class. In my book the middle class no longer exists and it is only the political intent to avoid the truth that keeps us from saying so. We have steadily transferred the wealth of the middle class to the hands of “Wall Street” in our mortgages and credit cards. Now, many of us are facing the loss of our homes, many have already lost them. The only ones left to buy them are those who don't need them. Many of the new residents of our political houses now promote and press for policies that further enhance the economic station of those that have it, not those that have lost it. I find that sad and self serving. (more tomorrow)
Introductions
I am an older male, one of the first official baby boomers and like all of us a Chip off the old Cosmic block. I grew up in a time when everything was getting better. Looks to me as though that's no longer true from a comfort and consumer point of view. If you think of getting better as resulting not from creature comforts but from authenticity, honesty and self-awareness of our connection, then perhaps we are still progressing. Many in my circle believe there is a new consciousness dawning. This is what we like to hope. It still comes down to this - "We come into the world alone and we leave the same way. What we do in between is up to us." We can call it what we want - getting better, suffering, lonely, crowded, a mess, beauty unparalleled.
Once in a while I get upset, or grateful concerning what I see in the world. Some of the stuff I come up with is deeply reflective and worthwhile, some of it is superficial and facetious. Whatever you find it, I hope you'll find it helpful or disturbing. Most of all I hope it will stir you to think about who you are and what you want to create in your life and even to take action to become or shall I say express, as in pressing out, more of your self.
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