Hat tip to Fred on Everything
We are doomed, saith the preacher, and should accommodate ourselves to it. In times of growing governmental power, protestation at some point becomes futile. Little is served by standing in front of a charging Mongol army and shouting, “No! You should reconsider! Perhaps some other course would be advisable. Let’s parley….”
Complaint is useless. It is too late. It booteth not. We are done. The Mongols ride. America comes apart at the seams. The country turns into something altogether new, new for America.
In high school, I read Shirer, first Berlin Diary and then The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. I had little idea what I was reading. A naval base in rural Virginia is not a hotbed of historical understanding, or any understanding. I knew nothing of Weimar or the Spartacists or the Treaty of Versailles. Still, I dimly grasped that a theretofore civilized country with great rapidity turned into something horrible. It was not an evolutionary change, like the Industrial Revolution. Brahms to Goebbels in a decade.
Something alike happens in America, and one wonders—I wonder, anyway—how can this be? In little more than a decade, the Constitution has died, the economy welters in irreversible decline, we have perpetual war, all power lies in the hands of the executive, the police are supreme, and a surveillance beyond Orwell’s imaginings falls into place.
These observations are now commonplace. It is almost boring to read of them—yet they proceed apace. Where we go, we go fast. Already against the authorities there is no recourse. Should you talk back to the police, you will spend the night in jail.
I sometimes wonder whether there is not some malign force in play, some diabolical miasma with a sense of humor that, having brought the Soviet Union down, amuses itself by turning the United States into the same thing. Or maybe it is just that if any state that can become totalitarian, it will.
Or maybe it was just a chance simultaneity of enabling events. Communism died in China and thus ceased to protect America from the withering competition of a populous, intelligent, and industrious race. The internet and easy transportation allowed American companies to abandon ship and head for cheaper climes. They did. Huge countries unexpectedly began a meteoric rise (if meteors rise), chiefly the BRICs. Big once-American corporations became free-floating transnational beings, loyal only to themselves. Open an apparently American laptop and you find that the screen and memory come from Korea, the hard drive from Malaya, the CPU from an Intel fab in Ireland, the whole thing assembled in Taiwan. America cannot stanch the bleeding. Corporations rule the country, and go whither they will.
Have you ever thrown a stick for a dog, which loves to chase it but, when he comes back with it, cannot bring himself to give it to you to throw again, although that is what he wants? The United States cannot let go of its empire. It fights war after war, constantly losing, bleeding money it doesn’t have, because—because it can’t let go. The military itself, an upgraded WWII force, badly unsuited to modern war, cannot let go of its glorious carriers and obsolescent combat aircraft. Governments too can suffer from arteriosclerosis.
And now the Pentagon growls fiercely at China, like an aging terrier at a Rottweiler pup. The world changes. Minds do not. Some minds do not.
Domestically, the storm likewise approaches. Desperation encourages desperate measures, a hard line, and invites the notorious Man on a Horse.
Economically, the country has trapped itself. It is bankrupt in all but admission, but it cannot spend more prudently. If it cuts welfare in the cities, riots will ensure and elections be lost. If it cuts the bloated federal bureaucracy, a form of welfare, the dismissed will add to an already dangerously high number of the unemployed. And elections will be lost.
Cut the military? It and its parasitic industries are so large, so deeply embedded in the fabric of the country, so rife with influential people with families to feed, that reductions are not possible. The suggestion of even minor and usually fraudulent cuts is greeted by predictions of dire but unspecified consequences. Minor cuts are not what are needed.
The dog cannot let go.
It is said that democracy depends on an informed public. This is to say that democracy is impossible. In the American case, blank ignorance of anything outside the borders leaves people easily manipulable. The genius of the American political system is that it is not necessary to suppress inconvenient information, but only to keep it off television. So few people will encounter it as not to matter.
Giving people the choice between Candidate A and Candidate A, neither of whom addresses the real problems of the nation, is to grant them the influence they would have had in the Habsburg Empire. But it keeps them quiet.
It would be interesting to ask the general public: “Which of the following Arab countries is suspected of trying to develop nuclear weapons? (1) Turkey (2) Pakistan (3) Iran (4) Afghanistan (5) None of the above.”
Nonsense is ever a firm basis for politics. The American public believes itself to be free, to have a spirit of rugged individualism, to live in a democracy admired by the world. In fact Americans are not particularly free and becoming less so by the minute, are not individualists but herd consumers formed by a controlled press, and do not live in a democracy.
And totalitarianism comes. This is no longer the assertion of those dropped on their heads as children. Daily we read of more weaponry for the police, more surveillance authorized by courts, more unlegislated powers for Homeland Security. Currency controls fall into place to prevent people from fleeing the country with their assets.
In this direction, I think, lies the future. It is perfectly possible to store every email sent, every purchase made except by cash, every withdrawal of cash; to institute airport-style “security” for trains and buses; to monitor any conversation by telephone; automatically to track cell phones and read license plates and store it all. We are close. We are very close.
Protesting is pointless. No governmental mechanism prevents the headlong progress of things that would have sickened Thomas Jefferson. In the presidential debates neither Candidate A nor Candidate A has said, so far as I know, a word about the tightening watchfulness.
The only reasonable approach is to lie down and enjoy it. Which I shall do.
I don’t know about most of you, but I am utterly amazed at the lack of engagement in conversation about what just happened to America. It seems that no one who formerly professed to being either a R or an I will even discuss what happened and how it happened. Most of them do not have a clue as to what happened or what is about to happen to them.
What I see are a bunch of Sheeple with their heads in the sand who about to get butt fucked by what is passing for our government because the refuse to accept reality or refuse to think about what is headed our way much less what to do about it. Simply buying more ammunition is not a solution folks!
At what point do we say enough is enough and start to resist and push back? At some point in the not too distant future it’s going to be too little too late because the powers that be will have the upper hand via technology and misguided young people like the recent FEMA graduates, formerly known as Brown Shirts in another time and another place.
We’re going to have to get prepared both mentally and physically to RESIST, RESIST, RESIST!
This just about perfectly mirrors my feelings. This summer I came to the conclusion that keeping ones head down, staying off the radar and continued preparing for a future of less is probably the best course. The juggernaut is in full motion a building speed.
Spend cash as often as possible, stop upgrading cell phones (mine is 7 years old and I have an exact same model spare), stop upgrading computers, cars and other electronics packed gadgets. I absolutely love “The Oracle” otherwise known as the internet. I’m addicted to looking up anything and everything that ever crossed my mind during my entire life. I absolutely love learning! That is about all I use it for. I rarely ever use email and internet purchases are largely limited to a few hard to find luxury items.
Unfortunately, I’ll probably give up The Oracle in the next few years along with my cell phone. I’ll stop using my credit card (paid off in full each month), debit card and cable TV as I simplify every aspect of my life.
I_S
It is already to late. The end game is playing out now. Americans are lazy and just do nt care anymore. The main concern for most, is leave me alone and leave me to my pleasures. That is just what the powers that be want and need to finish what they have started. We have been educated into dumassness. The ability to think criticaly to even know what is occuring is gone and has contributed to the end game. It was nice while it lasted but the banking, goverment, and private industry are all being over whelmed with money, laws, regulation to bring chaos and then collectivism. Good luck to all in the approaching demise of the USA as we know it. Most of all enjoy today who knows what disaster awaits tomorrow. Have a great day!
I/S . Fred is not keeping his head down….he just called a spade a spade and dared others to do so.
Thanks Muck. Time is close for me to abandon ship.
I love this country. Having said that the dread in my stomach has not gone away for 4 years now. The author does send his simple message of it being the militarie’s fault and I do disagree with that statement. It is everyone’s fault. We voted for it now we will get it. The USA is not a democracy but an elected republic. We the people are too fat. too greedy and want what our neighbor worked very hard to get. Envy is every where. The laws of our land were tossed out a long time ago and corruption is rampant.
Big time crooks no longer go to jail, politicians do not go to jail. We working stiffs and peons go to jail. Our rights are being taken away daily and nothing will be done until we the peole want an end to it. Violence is not the way. Voting all the smucks out starting a grassroots movement is a start.
Honestly we need to quit buying the two party rhetoric and start thinking critically. Both are screwing us big time. Both vote to spend and squeeze those that get up everyday and put in an honest days work. I hope we do go over the fiscal cliff then something may actually get done.
hey oleguy…well said! exactly my sentiment too.
@llpoh: Maybe you should sell out and go join Casey’s bunch in Argentina? What a giggle that group is. Talk about jumping from the pot into the fire…. Of course, Argentina’s gone broke a dozen times or so and I suspect the people there are more or less inured to it all.
That won’t keep the Government of Argentina from jumping on the backs of foreigners the next time TSHTF.
The ole’ USA’s gone broke too – it’s just out of memory for the current bunch of dummies.
As a result, we won’t know what idiocy the current group of dingbats will do when people stop taking dollars and want something else. Be advised, llpoh, my friend, you have a target on your back as a “small” businessman that’s still making money the old fashioned way – by working for it.
All they can do to me is kill me (and I’m old enough not to really give a shit). They can take you to the cleaners which is worse…
MA
ole guy,
I love our country too. I love most other countries except mostly China. We have surrendered to those red bastards already. We do business and financial trade with the most discussing sub human most Communistic fuckers on earth and very few even care. WTF? Now you can hardly buy anything you want or need that’s not infected with at least a Chinese part. There’s too many of them. They ruin every thing from the environment to small businesses around the globe and eat to much of the worlds food. Eventually the western world either wipes out the Chinese or gets over run and starved out by them. In the long run the world can’t support the Chinese and the rest of the planets people all together. Someone’s got to go.
In away its the peoples fault because the have voted for the scum offered up by the criminal republican and democratic organizations. Much of the public are worthless morons but they are our worthless morons. They have been lied too, cheated, molested, taken advantage of and deceived for so long that the blame needs to be put on the guilty who intentionally set out to commit fraud, profit by theft and the drug trade, make wars, manipulate information and law, abuse justice and create the deceptions. The guilty would be our politicians, elected officials as well as executive and management level bureaucrats.
But what we really need to do first if we want to solve many of our problems and the problems faced by the world is to kill the Bankers. And not just a few. All of them. Sure there may be a very few good men who are bankers but how do we really know who they are. Let their Gods sort out their souls and rid the earth of the vermin bloodlines that corrupt people, governments, business and trade. Without eliminating the bankers nothing can really be solved politically, socially or economically. Nothing.
You can link almost every problem of corruption, corporate theft, financial fraud, social degradation, economic decline and war back to the bankers and to a lesser extent the Chinese. These two powers hold more sway over mankind than all other earthly powers combined.. If something or some one has power over you and you don’t like it you can’t wish it away, you can’t organize it away, you can’t convince it to go away, you can’t reason it away, you can’t vote it away. It will never go away unless you kill it.
Will the Chinese get wiped off the face of the earth? No. Will every one get together and kill the Bankers? No. Then nothing we do at any other level will accomplish much at all. Well then……..we are doomed.
@oleguy: “The Fiscal Cliff” is total bullshit and I am getting virtually sick hearing it (over and over and over).
For this “Good Old U.S.A.” the shit is already baked in the cake, no matter what they do inside the beltway unless, maybe, all the poltroons and the poltroon’s employees all committed suicide – thereby giving all of some hope that their replacements might do the right thing!. Which they won’t…
First they steal all the available money (by printing it and using it FIRST!) then then rob anyone who has two nickels left to rub together of their last penny, then we all go to Hell as the currency fails, the debt is totally abrogated from National to your neighbor’s mortgage, then we all get to start over from a much lower level of civil organization.
Jim Kuntsler is preaching the right chapter and verse. The problem is in the timing. It will take a lot longer than anyone thinks to come-a-cropper and when we do, it will be much faster than anyone thinks possible.
It will be a long scream of pain and agony followed by a bang.
See “A Surrender of Sorts” on a different thread. Straight skinny there too.
I can stand living through a long scream of pain and agony but I sure hate those “Bangs”…..
MA
great article muck.
i agree alot with. In the way it is a hopeless situation. personally i think we are head toward what i would call the great “anti-Christ” state. Where the State and it leaders become God, and we become cringing supplicants begging for the small scraps.
Bruce, the Chinese are only doing what the Us did for most of the 20th century, become the power by taking the power (resources) from other, weaker countries. All they did was become more democratic and opened their country up to jobs from the West. Your US corporations were the ones who screwed you and still are. Thank GE and IBM and Caterpillar, and GM, etc for your unemployment.
China, and to some extent, Russia are the new whipping boys that the Empire is making look bad because they are standing between the Empire and Iran. They are telling the US that they have had enough and now it is their turn to have a say in how the world is run. And about time!
If you are one of the 300 million sheep in the us, too bad. You are betting just what you voted for.
But, if you need a scape goat, yes, it is the banking system that is killing your future. They have been hard at work since Roman times trying to control the world through money. Take down the banking system and you have stopped the world…like John Galt in “Atlas Shrugged”. Then and only then will the world have a chance at a better future.
Makati1 said:
“But, if you need a scape goat, yes, it is the banking system that is killing your future. They have been hard at work since Roman times trying to control the world through money. Take down the banking system and you have stopped the world…like John Galt in “Atlas Shrugged”. Then and only then will the world have a chance at a better future.”
You are absolutely correct there. Unfortunately, I sincerely doubt that the anyone will have taken down the current banking system by the end of our current crisis. Failing to do so will ensure another major 4th turning style crisis for our great grandchildren. The sheople will instead accept the first bullshit that gets shoved down our throats by TPTB (bankers) that makes our lives less miserable. Not only that but we will be grateful for it! Another 100 years of suffering is in the offing before enough sheople wake up to the curse of central banking. Even then, I doubt it will happen.
I_S