We all should drink more tea

If the mindset of many Americans so prevalent today had been present in 1776 there would have been no American Revolution.

In 1776, many wished to avoid war and there were many who remained loyal to Britain, with the estimates of some historians ranging as high as 40 percent. That pre-Revolution loyalty to the British Crown reminds me of a similar type of loyalty that is pervasive today.

For decades, the machinations of the Congressional/Administrative Ruling Elite have successfully brainwashed large portions of the American population and we, in turn, believe what they say to believe.

Perhaps the most demonstrative expression of our national identity rests in the Pledge of Allegiance. But the political stance behind the pledge has become reflective of the unmistakable polarization present for decades and would make it sound something like this:

I pledge allegiance to the Republican flag of the United States of America ... or ... I pledge allegiance to the Democratic flag of the United States of America ...

If you think this notion misplaced, just try saying something to a Republican or a Democrat that goes against their candidate or party. You’ll often be castigated, politely or otherwise, and told why you are wrong.

(Heck, the Georgia Democratic Party even does this to its own. Two people I know, in Fulton and Fayette, ran as Democratic challengers last year and were refused a copy of the Democrats’ voter list. The reason was that list is only available to incumbents. So much for the party of the people.)

After all, it was Democrats that made “hating” Presidents fashionable a couple of years ago.

And as for the Republicans, they, like Esau who sold his birthright for a bowl of soup, sold theirs after making a promise in the mid-1990s, then selling out to the corporate/government interlock that had already subjugated their Democratic counterparts.

How does a magician perform his tricks? He does it in plain view with the audience looking on. With skill and sufficient distraction, the illusion is accomplished.

Yet the uninformed masses in the audience sit entranced and applauding the magician on stage without the cognitive probing needed to understand the illusion.

On the national stage, from the mouths of Jefferson, Jackson, Lincoln, Roosevelt, Eisenhower and others, we have been exposed to the workings of the corporate/government interlock but, to our shame, we have been so entranced that we see only the illusion it manifests: the two-party system, fueled fervently by the national media, that in turn manifests the polarization with which we willingly live.

At the end of the day, and regardless of the bailouts, bankruptcies and trillions of your dollars required to “fix” the system, some of the world’s most powerful financial, industrial, medical and telecommunications corporations will emerge with much more power, wealth and continued immunity.

Perhaps some remember John Kennedy’s admonition, “Ask not what your country can do for you ...” If he were alive today, Kennedy, like Reagan, Jefferson, Madison and a wealth of colonial revolutionaries, would be vilified and demonized by many in the very country that professes to hold these men so dear while spitting in the face of some of the very concepts and warnings they espoused.

The reality is that we have become the “hand-out” nation with Congress and Presidents leading the charge.

That having been said, it’s important to remember that there are good people in both parties. Yet those parties, as collectives, transformed long ago into systems of power and control. And within those systems, the good ideas and good work of individuals are often subjugated and suppressed by that power, as it evolves a worldview that leaves behind, whether ideologically or legislatively, some of its very members.

As they progress, systems of power tend to serve the system rather than the individuals (We the people) for whom those systems were created.

And as is happening much more rapidly today, and as has been the case for at least a century, the legislative systems of power combined with the financial systems of power are demonstrably altering the national ideological landscape and changing the tenure of the land. (October 2008 - March 2009 alone tells the tale.)

The pace is moving more rapidly today to a point where the ideology of the individual is being totally replaced with the ideology of the collective.

And it is this continuing transition that is being met with increasing suspicion and ire from a growing number of Americans. And the attempt is being made by some of the polarized partisans to mock and belittle them for daring to raise their voice and question their government.

(The thing that has amazed me most in more than 10 years in this field is that some citizens, fairly or unfairly, will rip the hearts out of their local politicians while making excuses for the national party/politicians. It is as if they have no clear understanding or concern that wrongdoing at the local level only multiplies exponentially at the federal level.)

For it is the unwitting, politically polarized Americans who provide the best fodder for the way Norman Thomas proclaimed years ago that America will become a socialist nation without realizing how it happened.

Human nature dictates that once in power, those who have ascended will rarely agree to relinquish it voluntarily.

But human nature also engenders something else: the greater the degree to which people believe they are being oppressed, the greater the degree to which they will react and resist that oppression.

Party politics aside, this is what we are seeing today in the movement to hold tea parties.

And, naturally, those who question the status quo of the power of the system, and attempt to speak or rise up against it, will be mocked by some of the party-system faithful for having done so.

For the party-system faithful, their eyes are already blinded, they are already entrained in the persuasion that their party, their candidate, can do no wrong.

We saw this without end during the administrations of Clinton and Bush. We are seeing it again today. But the Ruling Elite are not the only ones akin to Esau: the same collectivist worldview infects many of the faithful in both parties. This is why some, Democrat and Republican, nationally and locally, have recently left the two parties. Or rather, they left you.

I believe there is a need for tea parties as an expression of those outraged with years of incompetence on both sides of the aisle and the economic treason that transcends administrations.

Historically, like it or not, the expression of outrage is the American way. Perhaps some in our communities should remember that as they cast their stones.

But what else might be needed? How about continuous, nationwide, peaceful, message-specific, “in their face,” Internet-uploaded public expressions of dissatisfaction: the functional equivalent of the squeaky-wheel approach, similar to what bloggers use except these expressions will be greatly enhanced because those objecting would use their real names and real faces in public rather than utilizing the anonymity preferred by some.

Those in 1776 who were willing to hang together or hang separately did so quite publicly and in the open.

What else is needed? How about a national referendum, a Constitutional amendment, on term limits. Let the people have their say.

And we need a viable third or fourth party. As they exist, the two parties have, in some important areas, betrayed the people. I believe the genesis of any new parties will be on the local level.

And perhaps there will be states that want to take a stand for their citizens and for those that might want to migrate there.

I’m sure some of you have suggestions of your own.

What is the eventual outcome to the continued intensification of the Ruling Elite’s march toward neo-fascism or neo-socialism that will facilitate the merger with the disciples of transnationalism whose citizens will not stand in opposition?

Perhaps George Orwell, exposed to Britain’s Fabian (Socialist) Society said in his critique, “1984,” “There will be no loyalty, except loyalty towards the Party. There will be no love, except the love of Big Brother ... always there will be the intoxication of power, constantly increasing and constantly growing subtler ... If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face, forever.” Does any of this sound familiar?

The destiny we will leave our children is the destiny we are creating today. With the passing of each decade America strays farther from its original Constitutional course.

Unless we are intent on losing it, it is up to the people to take this country back. While both parties accuse the other’s adherents of “drinking the Kool-Aid,” maybe we should all be willing to drink some tea instead.

Treat the DISEASE not just SYMPTOMS

Submitted by Thomas Finnegan on Mon, 04/13/2009 - 1:22pm.

Hey Ben,
Only 2 comments - 1st - if you want to "throw the bums out" don't waste time on term limits - all that will do is replace one bum with another. Push for 100% publicly funded elections. From dog catcher to President with an airtight 100% prohibition on ANY private donations, money, air time, print, issue ads, etc... Republican pundit, Mike Murphy actually wrote a great article about how (of all people) the French run their elections - it appeared, after Sarkozy got elected, in TIME as I recall. 2nd - Push for "instant runoff" and "fusion" elections - that way getting a 3rd, 4th or even 5th party to the polls will get easier - along with the publicly funded part. As a PS - you're saying "President hating" started with "W"? Were you around for the Clinton years? Let's treat the DISEASES not the SYMPTOMS!

Best regards,
Tom

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We all should drink more tea

Submitted by GRACE CALDWELL on Wed, 04/08/2009 - 11:18am.

Ben, I agree with your analysis of both parties. I too believe that it is time for a third or fourth party. Last election time, we could only vote for the lesser of two evils. I would not only like to see a third or fourth party, I would also like to see Congressional term limits, anyone who has not paid their taxes be denied to right to run for office or to hold office. Maybe if Congressional leaders paid their taxes, we would not need bailouts and if the IRS collected taxes owed by individuals and corporations, we would not need a bailout. I would like to see each member of congress produce to the American people their tax returns, amount of lobbying monies they receive, retirement amount, how long they have to serve to receive full retirement, would like to see each member of congress produce their health care package. What about social security. I think they need to have to pay into the social security system. When congress talks about penalizing corporate executives for their buy out packages, I think the shoe should be on the other foot and we need to start putting limits on the congressional buyouts. Sure we have some corporate executives that take advantage of their packages, but I would bet we have more congressional leaders who have abused the system, and after all, who made these laws. CONGRESS. Who should bear the most blame---CONGRESS....
I am a participant in the TEA PARTY MOVEMENT and I look forward to attending Cindy Fallon's tea party in Peachtree City. I firmly believe that the American taxpayer must stand up for their rights granted to them by the founding fathers in our Constitution.

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