I was born in 1950 and I’ve come to realize that time was probably the zenith for our country. It lasted until the end of the 60’s and it’s actually all been downhill since then. And with the speed that we’re falling we’ll just become another wealthy power that feeds upon the weaker. Something like what we’ve often had harsh criticism of in past decades.
We were a great nation in 1950. We had enormous economic power which our nation harnessed for the good of the whole, building infrastructure and universities, championing civil rights for all, exercising civil liberties, building the middle class and dreaming so big that we built the world’s most awesome space program.
And now? What can we do well now? Really? Do I have to answer that? Okay, then.
We have systematically built the most wealthy upper class that has ever existed on the face of the Earth. That at the expense of our middle class and working poor, who now can barely subsist. Without healthcare, including preventative care and without education and training, those youth can never hope to escape poverty….white, black, red yellow or brown. Especially today and in the years to come. And more and more of the middle class are falling into that poverty. All this while the wealthiest continue to grow their wealth.
So we’ve become this nation of people distracted by consuming and thought-controlled by television, whether it’s news, entertainment, sports or whatever. All the while we’ve been losing our importance in the scheme of operating a nation. We’ve been reduced to some entity that is persuaded to vote against something rather than vote for something or someone. And we’ve been persuaded by some billionaire’s money that has bought our press. It’s not the people’s press anymore. Free speech still exists, well in most cases. But usually no, because you can’t afford the fee—think permits, commercial fees for TV, radio, attorney fees, etc., etc., etc., Without a public platform you have no power to persuade.
Today instead of businesses and individuals being protected by anti-monopoly laws, we are at the mercy of utilities, banks, transportation. And today, corporations are people. Do we set a place for them at the dinner table? Of course we do. It will be occupied by the lobbyist of the day.
And what has all of this got us besides the loss of the greatest middle class in the history of the world? Well, we’ve had to cut back on that expensive space program because we need more money in the war wagons. And why is that? Is everybody after us? Our John Wayne persona has worn thin, but we keep insisting that we can bomb and shoot and incarcerate people until they think like we expect them to but it just never works. Nevertheless we keep repeating the same mistakes, invading, training rebels, propping up dictators, selling arms, playing both sides in the never-ending Cain and Abel drama. And why do we do that? Because of the wishes of the few with an agenda of making fortunes from military spending. When are we going to choose another path?
And from the gallery to the right rear, we hear the declaration , “And we don’t like how everyone’s been crowding in on the white man’s table, so we’re gonna to be cuttin’ back on them there laws that are against god’s word.” Yeah, really, it’s a loud and boring and disgusting and ignorant voice that’s being given a platform on those expensive TV programs. And unfortunately we have enough gullible folks in our country for those billionaire-bought Madison Avenue firms to whip into a voting frenzy.
Bringing up the rear is the science committee members of Congress that still can’t grasp the rather simple math that shows that global warming is a fact—what we do about it is the only thing we can debate. And yet the fires burn on and they surely have burnt the eyes from the people so that they can no longer see the path to healing. Renewable energy is instead disguised as an economy buster. Really? No not by a long shot. The development of wind and solar and wave energy could be the single greatest asset in a plan to save the environment while it revives our economy and indeed brings the global economy into a monumental growth period. This could in turn, through fair and equitable tax reform, fund the research and development to provide solutions to overpopulation, food production, water supply and fair distribution of resources.
But to believe that is possible is to daydream of living that fulfilled, enriched life of being one with those that matter. Imagine a world made up of all the wonderful innovators and philosophers and scientists and artists and historians and healers. Imagine that you could be an equal in that world filled with those creatives. And the best part is that justice and truth, fairness and beauty were the foundations of this society. And these foundations were represented by the spiritual and governmental leaders. Utopia doesn’t exist you say? Not if we don’t make it so.
Heading For Andromeda 