Endless War - Goodbye John - Democracy In Chains

Endless War is what we've had all along. When we weren't fighting someone else, we were fighting ourselves. Colonists fought Native Americans. Colonists fought colonists. Finally, we fought the Revolutionary War.

We enacted a Constitution and formed a government. Then we started to expand across the continent. We fought more Native Americans and took their land. In 1861, the Civil War broke out.

All along slavery was legal. So was indentured servitude.

There were all kinds of things that were legal. We began destroying the environment. We exploited small children. Women were not considered equal under the law and their rights were severely limited. For all practical purposes, women were property. Let's be honest. It was a white man's world.

In Europe there were aristocracies. There was a ruling class. People were not equal under the law. The aristocrats justified their excesses and abuses by asserting that they ruled by "Divine Right".

Our founders didn't want to pay taxes to a king. They wanted to keep their money. The Revolutionary War had a lot to do with taxes. We all learned about the Boston Tea Party in grammar school. It was a continuation of the tax rebellion that led to the Revolutionary War.

The wealthiest people lived in the South. Owning slaves is what made them mega-wealthy. They owned plantations. They wanted to be kings in their own right. After the Revolutionary War, they were.

The Civil War brought an end to slavery. The South was defeated militarily, but the resistance to the Union never stopped. It went on year after year for decades. Harsh methods were used to keep former slaves in line. Terrorist organizations were formed. People were tortured and killed

No matter what was going on, the Southern aristocrats were unrelenting in their desire to restore their personal independence. They didn't want to share anything with others. They did not believe all men were created equal. They worshiped money and power and they wanted it back.

History is replete with stories of men worshiping gold. While Moses was on the mountain getting the "law" directly from God, his people made a Golden Calf and began worshiping it.

Is it simple irony or is there more to Wall Street's Charging Bull?

Throughout our history there have always been those who would gladly put aside our Constitution in an effort to amass wealth and power. They fear our Constitution. They regard democracy and majority rule as threats to their having absolute control of their property.

Paying fair wages cuts into their profits. Being environmentally responsible cuts into their profits. Providing safe working conditions cuts into their profits.

Industry regulation cuts into their profits. Societal well being cuts into their profits. The people's access to affordable, quality healthcare and quality education cut's into their profits. People being able to retire with dignity cuts into their profits. They have more than most of us combined, but that's not enough. They want it all.

In the United States, feeding their greed is not what we are on this planet to do. We are here to enjoy our life and our liberty and pursue our own happiness. We are here to share in the burdens of protecting our country and our way of life. We have agreed to do so within the boundaries of our laws.

Throughout all our wars and turmoil, we have made steady progress toward equality and freedom for all. The Civil War saw an end to slavery. The World Wars saw an end to segregation. As a people, we have always pursued individual rights - universal suffrage - equal protection under the law - equal pay for equal work.

We have worked to eliminate inequities based on gender and sexual orientation. We have embraced diversity and welcomed people from other lands who worship differently.

The common denominator has always been a willingness to accept and abide by our Constitution. That's our social contract. That's the oath our politicians, our soldiers and our new citizens take. We are a nation of laws. Our Constitution guarantees each and every one of us the right to vote, petition the government and be heard.

Those who embraced slavery have never given up on their desire to have the power of life and death over others. They are fascists. They are threatened by democracy and they want to go back to a time when they were kings. The only thing standing in their way is some 320,000,000 of us spread out over 50 states and 3 territories.

Our vote is what threatens them the most and they want to take it away, restrict it and neutralize it. They believe their "property rights" should give them veto rights over our ability to enact laws and pass taxes. They hate taxes. They hate progressive taxation - graduated income taxes. Leona Helmsley said it ever so clearly.

Our current president seems to worship gold. Unlike his predecessors, he has hidden his tax returns from us. He does not want us to know the sources of his wealth and the potential conflicts of interest he has in conducting our business. 

The resistance to democracy has always been there. Those behind it have never given up. They have organized and spent decades and billions of dollars to attain their ends. They have literally bought our politicians.

After the 2004 election of our first African American President, they became desperate. They funded a vast movement to stop Obama's attempts to fix healthcare, immigration, environmental problems, sexism in the workplace and any number of other social ills. They called that movement the Tea Party.

For the next 8 years they did everything they could to prevent President Obama from succeeding. They wanted him to fail. They wanted our country to fail. They pinned their hopes on 2016.

In 2016, they almost got it all. Vladimir Putin spoiled it for them. He sabotaged our elections and helped get Donald Trump elected. Trump is up to his eyeballs in Russian organized crime. For all practical purposes, he is a Russian asset.

Despite this, the Republican Party reached an accord with Donald Trump. They would protect him from being held accountable for his crimes and he would sign their legislation. In 2017, a tax bill was passed and signed into law. It gave a massive tax break to the .1% of our wealthiest citizens and increased our national debt by over a trillion dollars.

On November 6th we have what might be our last chance to save ourselves from being eaten alive by the .1% of our wealthiest citizens. We either take back the House and hopefully the Senate or we can kiss democracy as we know it goodbye.

We can literally throw away the sacrifices of the millions of men and women in our armed services who have given their lives all over this planet to insure our democracy and protect our freedoms.

The nation is burying John McCain this week. This might be the perfect time to stop and think about what has been happening and where we are headed. Think about the disgraceful way Donald Trump has treated John in both life and death.

I am reading a book that is worth reading. It's a history book. "Democracy In Chains" by Nancy MacLean is well written and amply footnoted. It is a scholarly account of what has been going on to pervert our democracy since the end of World War II.

It is a perfect companion to "Dark Money" by Jane Mayer.

There are many reasons why we are in the mess we are in today. First and foremost is our own ignorance of what is actually going on. We have allowed ourselves to be manipulated by propaganda that is coming to us day and night - a non-stop barrage of lies and distortions.

Our strength as a country lies in our citizens. We must take responsibility for our own educations. We must share what we learn with others - family and friends. We must stand united against this onslaught.

Welcome to the Second Revolutionary War - the war of the vote. Taking Congress back on November 6th will not put an end to this war, it will just be the start of it. Failing to take back Congress will be the end of the United States as we know it and have known it since the day we were born. We have been betrayed.

Holy Moly!