I sit on this election night, overcome with sadness, pondering my future. Lacking imagination, I once again headed to the beach, with my lawn chair, the stars and surf, and cinnamon tequila. I am thinking the day is coming that I will leave my country, and by that I mean my country has left me.
I have the gift of foresight, and like King Midas it is a terrible curse. At a young age I learned, and follow, Santayana’s warning: Those that cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
I do remember. I remember the guilded age of fat cat corruption. The consolidation of wealth in the hands of the great idustrialists, free of unimagined anti-trust regulation. The jeckyl island club and it private run borrow based banking system saddling our nation with trillions of imaginary dollars of imaginary debt. But those guys were rank amateurs.
Now our titans of industry understand base human instict, and mob dynamics. What started with galvanomic skin readings to tune”ring around the collar” ads, and one way mirror studies of maternal & paternal insticts, is now an industry that keeps nearly half of Americans on red alert fear. And there is money in keeping them right on the line of scared to death, but not called to action.
Donald Trump was the unexpected result of eight years of getting lazy; banking on fanning race, intellect, and cultural biases. The angry lion escaped his pen and nominated Trump. Dont worry, the puppeteers will retool, turn the volume down to 9, and continue.
Nearly half…..
Think back to history, what it took to right America’s lopsided ship last time. The creation of new institutions; labor unions, work safety, infrastucture, a minimum standard of living, a reliable financial system focused on job producing industries.
It took everybody pulling together.
Today each of those institutions is rotted out, a shell with a name hung over the door but nothing else. The filibuster, and 5-4 John Roberts kept the NLRB from ever replenishing it’s empty seat. The same for the FEC, ambassadorships, key intelligence posts, the courts.
No wonder the GOP fears seating a dem replacement to Scalia. Roberts showed no voice, no calling, no 8-1 or 7-2 decisions. John Roberts, the dickless wonder. Dozens or hundreds of politicized “Dred Scott” decisions, waiting to be overturned like dominoes on a rowboat at the first change of breeze. The dickless wonder, with no leadership or vision. History will be harsh to Roberts, and W, and Cheney, even if Obama and the democrats wont.
So we may now see years of starving the very Supreme Court of its full panel. The people that tell their followers they “love the constitution” pull down their pants and deficate again and again and again. Yet their followers believe the message, not reality, and on cue shout and stamp and pop their veins. Until the next day when the cue is about hating muslims, or too much taxes, or the government coming to take your guns. Lots of screaming and stomping, keeping the masses angry and confused and distracted. You ask one to expose an issue and they will say “with so many issues, one must surely be right”. The powers of the uber wealthy to manipulate the shells of former institutions is complete. Accusation equals guilt, and they own the accusation machine. This time they will keep the volume at 9. No riots, no bloodshed, no fixing what’s wrong.
I do remember history, what it took to fix those prior year titans. Columbine mine, the battle of the overpass, the fluke of TR’s ticket balancing actually occupying the White House, (dumped by his own party). It took protests and killings, Arthur MacArthur forcibly clearing the bonus army. Just 80 years later, on cue, half of America cheered instead when the same was done to OWS: “they’re the other, not you”.
Those billionaires will rule until their right wing fear driven masses revolt, not a likely thing. It does no good to elect a democrat, we will have 8, or 16, or 99 more years of zero; hate, and shutdown, and propaganda and lies. Electing a republican will destroy our country, by giving the insatiable pig the key to the storehouse. The uber rich have already feasted beyond insanity, devouring the middle and working classes. Yet they cannot say “enough, we have enough”.
No more than Joe McCarthy, hero of another fear driven time, could count his victory and take his foot off the accelerator. From time to time, the powerful trot out nonsense that McCarthy was a good guy and we need more like him. One of these times that call will stick with the masses. The elite will get a shock that day. Like telling us Trump was a successful businessman, a decent family man, and will be a level headed leader.
It will not be an uprising from the left that will reset america, for the powerful have manipulated their fear driven followers to hate those that are doing the very work to protect their interests and for their children . Those fearful masses mocked OWS, mocked flyers rights, and union jobs, and living wages. Supported for profit privatization despite failure after failure. We see right wing looney toon revolts; weekend warrior freemen militias, the BLM standoff, but the rank and file dance to the piper.
America will throw off its uber wealthy class when those fear driven targets wake up. When they figure out that inheritance taxes, and Robin hood taxes, and progressive tax rates against short term capital gains are a benefit for them, and their children. When they figure out labor law and election law and food and work safety laws help them, and their families. Then and only then will the proper people revolt, the ones that must break the spell.
There was a time in America we looked up to people that loved the country, served in the military, worked hard at a job. Now the sing song is “don’t let “that other guy” (black, mexican, now Syrian war immigrant) get something, cause that means you lost it. Be afraid, be greedy, be angry, be stupid (don’t question).
That’s not likely to change. If it does, the process will not be pretty, and a lot of us will not be here to see the other side.
Scooterman Summer 2016 