Our Class Society is Based on Money, But Birthright Can Help
One of our most persistent beliefs is that our government, of the people and by the people and for the people, somehow guarantees a standard of living far superior to any other country on Earth. While that is debatable, it helps us to push forward and upward toward higher pinnacles. What reality has taught us is that the measurement of success and higher standards does not mean the same to all of us. Although we have been diligent in our efforts to break away from the old European roots of “born to class” ideology, we still retain vestiges of that attitude both in financial status and societal nuances. The old cliques like “Those that have the gold, rule” and “The rich get richer while the poor get poorer” continue to pull down society as a whole. Although there has been remarked progress in traversing “class”, those cited cliques continue to manifest their results, so much so that great percentages of the “lower class” simply give up that they will ever move beyond their “station in life” and seek to “fortify” their territory or opt out of the “race to win” in favor of finding comfort in attainment levels. We view stories about old European kingdoms with a disdain and wonder why people would live under such dominance; then we allow our own form of aristocracy in institutional controls and political hacks. We willing allow corporate thievery in the form of undeserved executive compensation, government thievery in the form of lifetime pensions for minimal elected service, and cronyism and governmental payola in pork barrel spending.
What is amazing, to the logical observer, is how we have allowed the political structure to metastasize itself into a “class” unto itself. We allow what was theoretically a servant of “the people” to become a “ruling class” being separated from the old European ruling class aristocracy only by the difference between physical birth as opposed to ideological birth! Why we allow “professional politicians” to permeate our society today is totally illogical and is simply predicated on our two-headed monster of striving to move up and our laziness generated by the level we have attained. Why we would ever move away from Statesman who voluntarily limited their service, to incumbents whose number one priority is to be re-elected is a testament to our own mental laziness and corruption. We succumb to the advertising world, the Carney barkers, the wizards of Wall Street, that whip us into a frenzy of shouts and ridiculous behavior in our political meetings much like the Romans’ reaction to feeding the lions, or more subtly by the sheer volume of constant bombardment of a story or line that is absorbed into the brain leaving little room for a logical thought.
I am reminded of a popular country music lyric that goes “I’m not a political man, don’t know the difference between Iraq and Iran”. Although that is a catchy phrase full of tuneful criticism and wit, it is indicative of a large segment of society that would rather find a way to “morn the blues” than deal with the complexities of the world. Yes, “a simple man” as if that is “a consummation devoutly to be wished!” Now, I am a fan of Alan’s music, but the underlying message of that song becomes a resounding indictment as to the lack of responsibility we perform as citizens. You know, if we can’t have patriotic thoughts and be responsible citizens that strive to better our Democracy and exploit our advantage as an industrious society, then why do we try to exist? If we shut down our security efforts, lock our courtrooms, and fire our government, how long before we start speaking in unknown tongues? Are we a modern day tower of babel? Are we stretched beyond our elasticity and are in danger of breaking?
If we can back away from those suppositions, then why is there such a presence of doom and gloom? Why does “one side” predict catastrophe while the other bulldozes through? Then when enough are convinced that the side in power really did invent the boogey-man, we kick those out, elect the other side who then proceeds to bulldoze their agenda through and the pendulum continues to swing. Why is the media complicit with our enemies in its effort to cast our actions and intentions in the worst possible light? Why do we even have enemies if we only wish to be free and for others to be free also? Why does our “representative government” seem to always make winners and losers? Why does the government tax the well-to-do, give to the not so well-to-do in a “Robin Hood” like matter and still produce resentment of both groups?
Could it be that for all our lofty ideals, we are really just being manipulated by the rich aristocracy? Ever study the Federal Reserve System? I’ll bet that few know that it is a private corporation, not a government owned entity! Far from the popular concept taught in schools and portrayed by Hollywood, our founding fathers were no Saints. Yes, they were visionaries of exceptional intelligence. Yes, they were brave revolutionaries. Many were also rich by common standards. They are to be commended for risking their fortunes in a cause to overthrow dictatorship and establish self-governing. They setup a system whereby individual commoners could somehow raise themselves upward in societal class, but in the process established a pseudo financial class. Through almost two and one half centuries, Americans have striven to move up. Some have succeeded, but the masses still live mostly paycheck-to-paycheck and are at the mercy of the “gold rulers”. We’ve even been led to believe that individual ownership and investment are the foundational blocks that disprove class society. Tell that to the Southwestern Indians, the poor Southerners, and the Appalachian destitute. It’s not that anyone is legally prevented from moving up in class like they were in Europe, but that the unwritten laws of reality are filled with pitfalls coupled with government regulations and institutional rules that work against the common man.
It has always been about financial class everywhere in the world. We just so wishfully desire America to be different. Yes, we have had our shameful periods on ethnic ignorance. The taking of Native American lands and internment on Reservations, the taking of Mexican lands in expansionist processes, the slave status, European, African, and Oriental, practiced in all the country and recognized in governmental documents and procedures, the internment of Orientals in WWII are some of our dimmest spots of history. The world history fares no better in the examples of strive, turmoil, lack of equality, and tyrannical servitude. That is no excuse for us, except to say that we strive toward loftier goals as we become more enlightened and embrace the ideals of our formation as a country. But we should really begin to understand here, in the 21st Century, that financial class is very real and is a lowered anchor to our ship of state, holding us back from attaining our stated goals.
Will we correct the imbalance? Probably not, there is little incentive to do so, and little proof that it would change the number enough to make a difference. It is said that those that have the gold, could have it taken away and within a short time would have gotten it back. This idea underscores the argument that disadvantaged classes like Native Americans, African Americans, and Spanish Americans had to start the race too far behind and don’t have a chance to compete. The masses of those groups have learned their “station in life” so well that it has been internalized by their groups. While there is justification for the premise, the solution of reparation, set-asides, and quotas punish those who had no part in the discriminatory practices of the past and those that were guilty have long since passed from judgment in this world. How would one resolve the gains of some group members or the lack of progress of some “advantaged” group members. Would we take away from European generations that immigrated here and give to other immigration groups that now consider themselves disadvantaged? It is not a zero sum game. Most of the gain of the guilty has been absorbed into the economy of today that supports today’s way of life and the country’s stability. Isn’t it totally ridiculous to raise the tuition of some $10 an hour factory worker’s child who gets to go to college from his parent’s hard work and sacrifice, because it was found that a slave was used to serve dinner to the University Board members back in 1840 and now the University President has decided to pay reparation from the school operational funds? No, this is not a belittlement of the slave’s plight, but rather recognition that the factory worker is little more than a slave to his creditors now. Although it was not envious, some slaves were cared for better than some other poor people can care for themselves today. Many are just one paycheck away from being thrown out of their living quarters with other homeless, and made to pay penalty fees and unethical make up charges for foreclosure practices that the “representative government” wrote into the laws favoring the “golden rulers.” Then there are those who won life’s lottery through birth or happenstance that look unfavorably at homeless and disadvantaged as being slothful and undesirables.
It is beyond man’s capability to right all wrongs. It is in America’s capability to correct foundational flaws, draw up the anchor, and set sail for new ports. We will tinker with different aspects of the fundamental problems, but the historical proof is that politicians never solve problems, just create new ones. The fundamental flaw of our system is that there are no term limits for Congress or the Supreme Court, there is no citizen initiatives for Federal law, and there is no ethical standards for the media save enlightened citizens refusing to listen to dribble, and economic boycott.
The financial class structure only rises to a problem in bolstering institutional inequities. It is not a deterrent to individual success that a few wealthy families make undue profits from our economy, but it is a deterrent to success that the institutions endowed by them exert undue influence on progress of the masses. A truly free and open society threatens their existence.
There once was a king of yesterday, so proud and full of himself. Although he ruled his kingdom from a lofty palace perch, he desired to receive adoration, praise, and respect from the people, who were mostly of agrarian class. As most people equate, he assumed that financial superiority commanded respect and so he decided to make them respect him by raising taxes to the point that he owned all the money in the kingdom. Surely that would gain him the respect of the masses. After several months of tax collecting where the people suffered greatly for want of the money needed to purchase life’s necessities, the king had amassed the entire collection of money in the kingdom into the royal treasury. Wanting the respect he now must have, the king went out into the market to bask in his newfound glory. Viewing a smartly colored weskit, he asked the vendor how many rubles he was asking for the merchandise. The vendor said, “Rubles, what is that?”. “Well my good man, Rubles, the coin of the realm!” The wily vendor, recognizing the king even in disguise, but being very irritated at his audacity, said, “Oh Rubles, we quit using them. Some fool collected all the rubles. We use rutabagas!”
Since we are not on the gold standard anymore, the value of our money is only in its acceptance as a medium of exchange. The value is dependent on the goods and services that it can purchase. The strength of our economy, the ability to produce goods and services, dictates the value of our money. Since we have moved from an industrial economy to a service economy, our ultimate strength has been weakening. Our resources underpin the dollar value today. Why do you think that more and more of our assets are being bought by foreign entities now? China now owns the largest cache of our Treasury Bills. Treasury Bills, (our Rubles), is our promissory notes, our promise to pay in value. If China were to “cash in”, our economy, our government would be in peril of failure. To satisfy the promissory notes, Fed would have to tax the citizens enough to cover the demand or default. China would have the right to claim all our gold hordes at world market price, then purchase at auction all business and personal property that tax was levied on and could not be paid. We could refuse to honor, in effect default, in which case our dollars would cease to be accepted worldwide and therefore prevent global trade with us. We would have a choice to either pay up or go to war when China chose to take what would be rightfully theirs. What a mess! Will China do that? I hope not; it would seem to not be in their best interest, but not all cultures think as Westerners think.
A wise old man once said, “Listen to me now; hear me later!”
