Whining Winners

Our American nation as an ideal is imperiled in a rapid race to Suicide Curve, en route to global domination. The appeal to believe is suspected except by dwindling numbers of romantics pledged in unblushing worship of an ideal that existed only on paper and in the minds of earlier Americans; an idolatry exposed. Europe and most of the world hangs on to our coattails only because American military and economic power is pervasive, and not because they believe in our oft-stated ideals of freedom and democracy. America has squashed the democratic aspirations of too many nations. Democracy itself is a misnomer for what amounts to a system of wage-slavery postured as freedom. Communication and technology advances have aroused numerous to the hypocrisy of our version of capitalism.

America's military strength is stretched to the breaking-point, even to the dreamed resort to "robot wars" (because manpower can no longer be relied-upon), and other nations like China and India are pulling abreast as newer weapons become available and their economic power increases exponentially. America, the trumpeter of “free enterprise” and “healthy competition” now accuses other nations, which have learned the lessons of capitalism too well, of being “unfair.” But this has been the complaint of every nation that the United States has invaded since 1776.

Hypocrisy is the mode of our materialistic world. American religion has become political theater. Our “melting pot” has become a community of hardened ethnic and religious enclaves of people who comport their business with the aim of staying away from intimate or personal contact with one another. On the other hand, our “freedom of religion” has for many become the right to be freely irreligious and insulting to others, who have religion as an anchor in a tumultuous world. America suffers from an anti- social personality disorder. The Indians and Pakistanis, the Jews and Palestinians, the Russians and Poles, the Muslims and Christians, all have immigrated here, bringing their ancient quarrels along, and, just as the Irish did not leave their hostility to the English in Ireland or vice-versa, neither did other immigrants forget their divisions. The New World became the Old World as it expanded.

The “modern world” is a pain in the ass. People long for simpler times that they neither experienced nor understand. To arrive at a knowledge of history and understanding of events and forces that produced our present mess requires study and leisure that is reserved for the richer classes; it has always been so. Simpler times would be a dedicated effort to expand and improve public education; but public education is being converted to private, profit-oriented businesses. Coke machines in the halls, advertisements everywhere, expensive school books, and what next? Pay toilets?

But to me the bright light in this blinding darkness is the Internet. At least people are reading again. Those who cannot read well play games. Access to knowledge or at least debatable “facts” has never been greater. The “Information Age” is present and overtaking the world faster than the Industrial Revolution did. The changes are enormous and long-lasting—unless the electricity goes off.

The poor are still with us. But they don't have to be.