January 6, 2003
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The game is rigged. We've been sold a bill of goods and most of us
are not aware of it. All those moral codes and values that we are taught,
the laws that guide us and that we live by are the means for the society
-- meaning government, or more appropriately, 'Big Brother' -- to control
us. Does it work? Hell, yes! We invariably buy all the crap that's being
fed to us from the time we first understand language until our dying
breath. We believe it all; from the tooth fairy to Santa Claus; from George Washington to the
Constitution, the flag and the president; from the sanitized news in the
papers and on television to whatever 'Big Brother' and his allies set before us.
Because of our gullible nature they have
been able to rig the game and leave us scraps for which we duly give thanks.
This game has been going on for centuries. It has varied somewhat over time
but although the cast of characters and the scenes change, the plot is
essentially the same: The boss men run the show. They don't like trouble. They want to keep
things running smoothly and they want to pick up all the marbles.
There has been a long line of boss men throughout history who have run things. Way back when, they were royalty -- kings and queens, and all their relatives, barons, earls, dukes, counts, etc. Every society has had boss men, whether Caesars, Kaisers, pharaohs, sultans, mikados, moguls, shoguns, etc. Some of these characters are still around with the power of life and death of their subjects at their whim. In time other groups challenged the existing boss men and frequently usurped some or all of their powers and/or possessions. One such challenge arose from what are commonly referred to as the founding fathers of the USA. These men for the most part were the privileged elite of their king, George III. With an ocean of three thousand miles separating them from their monarch it was quite possible that they might successfully get the whole ball of wax for themselves and take over the rule of this new country. But to accomplish this task they had to get support. In spite of their best efforts 60 percent were either loyal to their king or were neutral. The ungrateful 40 percent were actually disloyal traitors who were fortunate to be aided by the French, fierce opponents of the British. They won and took over the country. The good loyal patriots of the king, when they survived, lost all or most of what they formerly owned and escaped mostly to England or Canada. The victorious elite, like all other rulers before and since, had to keep the masses under control. Shay's Rebellion was already threatening the new Establishment. First on the agenda was setting the rules for the new country, designing a constitution that would maintain, protect and allow an expansion of their wealth and power. The document fit the bill. The new government would be composed of the right people. Checks and balances to maintain the status quo were inserted. Only one part of the three branches of the government would be directly elected but only by qualified property owners. All other branches were placed in office by elite legislatures of the states or other elite groups, or in the case of the judiciary were chosen by the new government itself -- the president with consent of the elite Senate. In order to get nine of the thirteen states to ratify their handiwork they had to promise those qualified property owners that a Bill of Rights, which they now were forced to enact, would be added. Of course, like all governments, the new elites did their best to indoctrinate their subjects to the beneficence of the new rulers and the wonderful system they had created. Over time they encountered difficulties. Many protesting groups arose to demand that some of the most blatant injustices be corrected. And although those protesting groups invariably struggled against fierce opposition from their supposedly beneficent government they eventually were able to force reforms. Some of the abominable conditions that existed were eliminated or restricted, including slavery, overlong working hours and unlivable wages, and restrictions on suffrage were eased. But the boss men were always in control, and today with the pendulum having swung back in their favor they are reversing many of the hard won victories. It is no secret who now controls the USA -- it would seem from everything we see and hear that the corporation (corp) is the cultural descendant of the founding fathers. Right? Close, but no cigar! A corp is nothing but a concept. It cannot think or talk. It cannot smile or frown. It cannot run, walk, hop, jump, or skip. It cannot do a damn thing. It's the ideal concept for the real boss men who hide behind the corporate veil while all the evil the corp does cannot be punished because it really is not human. Of course if the government wanted, it could abolish the transgressor corp. But the boss men don't want that to happen and the men in government are part of the boss men's inner circle so they won't do what the boss men don't like. Well, who then are today's boss men? Essentially men with the same characteristics as their cultural ancestors. The men who own those conceptual corps. The elite top one percent of the wealth of the country. Figures published for 1998 indicate that the top one percent of the US population owns 47.3 percent of the nation's total wealth, more than twice the amount of the bottom 90 percent with 20.3 percent of that wealth (on average that's over 209 times as much that each elite individual has over one of the lower 90 percent of his countrymen). With that wealth they not only can buy their necessities and luxuries but the government itself and more importantly the hearts and minds, and patriotism -- oh don't forget that patriotism -- of the other 99 percent. Buying the government is no problem. The millionaires and corporate executives who run it are part of that very elite and are willing to sell out on very favorable bribe-prices. To brainwash the other 99 percent is more expensive but the results are well worth it. How do they do it: • Insure that those who run their corps follow their guidelines. • Influence educational institutions from the elementary schools, by enacting governmental standards requiring that students be indoctrinated with patriotism and love of country, through the universities, by rewarding those who adhere and advance elite positions and policies. • Create think tanks and stock them with the brain-power of those who are willing to prostitute themselves to elite interests. • Disseminate in their self-owned major media news content that does not deviate from their acceptable dogma. To see how a little synergy of the corps, universities, think tanks and media might work, assume that disclosure of all the bribe-paying that greases the legislative wheels is spoiling the sterling reputations of big business. Could the bribe be made legal? The corps will fund a think tank -- the task: Devise a means to strengthen democracy at the grass roots. Professors from prestigious universities working assiduously at the think tank formulate a plan. The mainstream press continually promotes the plan with catchy phrases like "to make democracy much more accessible to the people," "to give them a better opportunity to promote the democratic process," "to strengthen our sterling institutions," and other stupid phrases to hoodwink the public. How can it miss? What a cunning way to turn underhanded and despicable bribes into pillars of democracy by calling them, get this, campaign contributions! The king of old, who ruled with absolute power over a relatively small geographic area, has evolved into the mega-corp of today that wields similar power over the world. But both king and corp invariably exercised that power irresponsibly. Today's more powerful rulers not only are abusing their subjects as did the ancient kings but are abusing the environment in which we all live. However, they do it with a smile and a little finesse. Just watch those think tanks, universities, etc. There is a renown economist and philosopher, Hobin Rood, who advocates increasing taxes on the poor to provide subsidies for the rich. He claims that following this yellow brick road leads to the ideal society (ideal for the rich of course.) He blabbers something about the trickle down theory (all boats and yachts trickling down.) It's probably a "tickle" down theory, as he laughs his way to the bank... "Don't be misled by the purveyors' gloom and doom," says the noted environmentalist Vlo-Bell Gorming. His amply-funded studies by "The Concerned Citizens for the Natural World," created and maintained by major industrial corporations, assert that later in the century everyone will enjoy good health and long life as a result of the physical and chemical interaction of ever increasing pollutants in the air, diminution of fresh water supplies, proliferation of radiation in the populated areas, and alteration of the quality and supply of food. The vigorous agitation of the air, water, radiation and food by storms, hot and cold spells that result from global warming and, wha' d'ya know, health and happiness will abound for all! These highly-touted prognosticators, like all well-regarded pundits, gain their glowing reputations from the elite who are enthralled by their pronouncements. That elite hopes and prays that you and everyone else are equally enthralled. A most intelligent assessment of all these brains can be summed up by George Carlin's excellent phrase, Bovine Feces. The world of kings mutated over time to a world of corps. Should the irresponsibility of the world of corps continue, the next mutation will be a world that is a corpse! · · · · · ·
Notes "A People's History of the United States 1492-Present;" Howard Zinn; Publisher: Harper Collins New York, 1980, 1995 "An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution;" Charles Beard; Publisher: Transaction Publishers 1998 "How Democratic Is the American Constitution?;" Robert A. Dahl; Publisher: Yale University Press, 2001 "Inventing Reality: Politics of the Mass Media;" Michael Parenti; Publisher: St. Martins Press, 1986 "Napalm & Silly Putty;" George Carlin; Publisher: Hyperion, New York, 2001 "Toward an American Revolution;" Jerry Fresia; Publisher: South End Press, Boston, 1988 "The American Revolution;" Frank E. Smitha; http://www.fsmitha.com/h3/h32-rv.htm "Recent Trends in Wealth Ownership, 1983-1998;" Edward N. Wolff, http://www.levy.org/docs/wrkpap/papers/300.html Philip Greenspan's bio is concise and right to the point: 76 years old, married 50 years, 2 children, 3 grandchildren. Veteran World War II Army of the U.S. Graduate Brooklyn Law School, member of the NY bar. Private law practice, followed by employments in the motion picture industry -- distribution and exhibition, and data processing industry -- retailing and stock market; retired 6 years. Do you wish to share your opinion? We invite your comments. E-mail the Editor. Please include your full name, address and phone number. If we publish your opinion we will only include your name, city, state, and country. Please, feel free to insert a link to this article on your Web site or to disseminate its URL on your favorite lists, quoting the first paragraph or providing a summary. However, please DO NOT steal, scavenge or repost this work on the Web without the expressed written authorization of Swans. This material is copyrighted, © Philip Greenspan 2003. All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. |
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