But that's the wrong way to think about American today. Everything becomes clear if you think of it as a "System".
Why would we be surprised that there are millions of Americans who work full time and yet live in poverty, when the System exploits people in other countries for much, much lower wages? In the cost-savings Excel sheet of the System, a Walmart worker is still 10x more expensive than the worker from that 'other' country.
We cease to be surprised that Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase defraud American homeowners when we realize that the System brought down whole countries such as Greece, Spain, Italy, Ireland and Portugal using the same financial engineering schemes, lies and manipulations. Most of these countries are now being looted by the austerity programs demanded by the same System.
How can we be shocked by gun violence in America when the System is the #1 exporter of guns and weapons in the world? The System thrives on violence. The System loves perpetual wars - Iraq, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Niger ... just to name a few countries the System has bombed in the last decade. The System is also planning for bigger wars with North Korea, Russia and China.
If police brutality and militarization of police is disturbing, we have to realize how the System supports, and has supported, dictators all over the world when it is/was profitable to do so. Many ruthless dictators in Latin American countries, Africa, Middle East and Asia were handpicked and put in power by the System. Some were even trained in a special school in the U.S. The system gladly funds and arms terrorists in Afghanistan, Libya and Syria. All that valuable experience can't be wasted.
When it comes to child poverty, no one should be surprised that America ranks at the bottom among developed nations. From Apple to Calvin Klein to Hershey's, many corporations depend on child labor for their stocks to outperform the expectations of Wall Street analysts. When the System profits from ten-year-olds working in toxic mines in third-world countries, American kids on food stamps look quite spoiled. The 'poor' in America don't realize how good they have it.
For anyone who is enraged by our exploding national debt, don't be. Debt is the ultimate tool for the System to enslave nations. The economic hit men of the World Bank and the IMF have, over the last 75 years, mastered this art of drowning nations in debt in order to control them. Does anyone think it's a coincidence that Russia - the country the System loves to hate - has a debt-to-GDP ratio of 17%? Compare that to America's 105% or Japan's 250%. The System doesn't like countries with low debt, just like it doesn't appreciate people trying to go off-grid in America or people thinking for themselves. This is also the same reason that Americans save only 2.4% of their income while US households have a record debt of over $13 trillion. Credit cards, student loans, auto loans and mortgages are all different tools with the same purpose.
Once you understand the System, you can't feign surprise that wages are stagnant while the cost of living keeps going up. With all the advancement in science, one would think that healthcare cost would go down every year, but that would be naive. Healthcare ("sickcare") is the best extraction tool, since people will give up a kidney (sometimes literally) for medical care when they are sick. The only things that are cheap are processed food and mass entertainment that are toxic to your body and mind respectively. Does anyone ever wonder if that's just a coincidence?
This is why America's education ranks at the bottom of developed nations. As a Wikileaks email revealed, the elites "conspire to produce an unaware and compliant citizenry." Translation: Dumb and Subservient.
Do you wonder why fracking and GMOs are allowed to destroy America's environment? The System couldn't care less about the environment. It has destroyed an unimaginable amount of rain forest all over the world, and couldn't care less about the thousands of species that are going extinct every year. The System hates sustainability and freedom. Just like how the older version of the System wiped out the Native Americans, the current System despises tradition, culture, religion, spirituality, consciousness, holistic medicine, anything that involves people taking care of and responsibility for themselves.
By now, hopefully, you understand why lobbyists have taken over the American government and why we really don't have a functional democracy. The System is not a fan of democracy. You really don't think that the psychopathic elite would agree to run their lives and plan their grand strategies on the basis of the needs of millions of pesky little people, do you? Democracy and elections are just nice illusions so that we feel content, be passive, go to work, watch lots of TV, get into debt, spend our money on things we don't need and, most importantly, believe in the righteousness of the System.
Are you mad? You should be. The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off.
Reader Comments
We all want to drive.
Really fast.
Because we know fast driving is really cool.
General Motors makes fast cars, but General Motors is bad and their cars are totally inferior.
Fortunately, there is an alternative: FORD MOTOR COMPANY!
Whereas: General Motors works as a monopoly, Ford Motor Company works with Chrysler Corporation, as a legitimate democracy, or something similar and close enough.
Whereas: General Motors produces many malcontents, who grab guns and shoot other workers, causing panic; Ford Motor Company identifies all malcontents as soon as they go for a gun or even as soon as they think of a gun and they are killed by Ford Motor Company. Thus the malcontents are eliminated instantly, keeping the workplace calm and placid and most importantly highly productive (for Ford Motor Company).
Whereas: General Motors is in a clear state of decline, Ford Motor Company is in the ascension. Ford Motor Company is in command! Wouldn't you like to be in command?
If you want to drive really fast cars (and we all do!), support Ford Motor Company.
Ford Motor Company is not a part of any system.
Support democracy in action.
FORD MOTOR COMPANY.
Defile General Motors. Hate them.
But:
Do not defile Ford Motor Company.
Or you defile democracy (or something similar and close enough).
ned,
out
(sarcasm, in the interests of free speech here at Sott and everywhere else)
Obviously if you go ahead with this deal, another very rich man, Mr Musk will also have to be given a wallet full of citizens money
This should not be a problem, if you are really rich then you won't give a shit about those little people that are subsidizing you or what they have to give up so that you can have a shiny fast car
And a whole lot a dummies
Read "The Communist Manifesto" and it reflects America to the letter. Thus, we are a hard core Communistic society. Those who think freedom stems from any sort of democracy are blind to the fact that real freedom comes from a Republic, governed by Biblical law.
this video has very good introductions to the various types of "government" that we humans have tried. it is only 30 long, and "America, an overview".
[Link]
China is Communist in name only. in a republic, it all depends on what the "Rule of Law" is based upon.
that video helped me to define the words that I use. and after watching it.. many of the posts that I read seem quite childish.
I liked the article because it kept politics out of it. Political labels are just bandied about to hide the truth. Both sides have been compromised and are now consequently 'owned' by the elites.
the whole system is based upon "enumerated powers" and "checks and balances" on power.
this is why we have SO many layers of government.
I am confused by what you mean by "political labels" my guess is that you are talking about "ism" ism is a marvelous thing! you can add it to many words...
this 9 minute cartoon from like 1948 addresses this topic quite well.
I hope you enjoy.
[Link]
You are right, America is not a democracy, We live in a Representatives Constitutional Republic! That is very confusing to people who never bother to study civics. In a Republic, the only time a majority get to decide an issue is when they vote for people running for office. In a Democracy, the majority get to decide every issue, but we do not govern by polls, we elect representatives that agree with the way we wish the government to be run.
Yes, "you understand why lobbyists have taken over the American government" It come from the 1st Amendment to our Constitution, "Congress shall make no law … abridging … the right of the people …to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” We band together in groups, special interest groups if you will, to petition (lobby also know as advocacy groups) Congress to vote it a manner we would like for them to vote. Some examples of special interest groups are NAACP, NRA, ah hell...:
Types of Advocacy Groups501(c) Groups — Nonprofit, tax-exempt groups organized under section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code that can engage in varying amounts of political activity, depending on the type of group. For example, 501(c)(3) groups operate for religious, charitable, scientific or educational purposes. These groups are not supposed to engage in any political activities, though some voter registration activities are permitted. 501(c)(4) groups are commonly called "social welfare" organizations that may engage in political activities, as long as these activities do not become their primary purpose. Similar restrictions apply to Section 501(c)(5) labor and agricultural groups, and to Section 501(c)(6) business leagues, chambers of commerce, real estate boards and boards of trade.527 Group — A tax-exempt group organized under section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code to raise money for political activities. These groups are typically parties, candidates, committees or associations organized for the purpose of influencing an issue, policy, appointment or election, be it federal, state or local. Such organizations can raise unlimited funds from individuals, corporations or labor unions, but they must register with the IRS and disclose their contributions and expenditures.Hybrid PACs (Carey Committees) — A Carey committee is a hybrid political action committee that is not affiliated with a candidate and has the ability to operate both as a traditional PAC, contributing funds to a candidate's committee, and as a super PAC, which makes independent expenditures. To do so, Carey committees must have a separate bank account for each purpose. The committee can collect unlimited contributions from almost any source for its independent expenditure account, but may not use those funds for its traditional PAC contributions.Political Action Committee (PAC) — A political committee that raises and spends limited "hard" money contributions for the express purpose of electing or defeating candidates. Organizations that raise soft money for issue advocacy may also set up a PAC. Most PACs represent business, such as the Microsoft PAC; labor, such as the Teamsters PAC; or ideological interests, such as the EMILY's List PAC or the National Rifle Association PAC. An organization's PAC will collect money from the group's employees or members and make contributions in the name of the PAC to candidates and political parties. Individuals contributing to a PAC may also contribute directly to candidates and political parties, even those also supported by the PAC. A PAC can give $5,000 to a candidate per election (primary, general or special) and up to $15,000 annually to a national political party. PACs may receive up to $5,000 each from individuals, other PACs and party committees per year. A PAC must register with the Federal Election Commission within 10 days of its formation, providing the name and address of the PAC, its treasurer and any affiliated organizations.
I will stop with the fact that fracking has not harmed America, but has made us energy independent. And GMOs have not harmed us, but have allowed us to feed more people, activists, lobbists, often cite the alleged potential health risks of genetically modified foods. One recent example of this—"10 Scientific Studies Proving GMOs Can Be Harmful To Human Health", posted on Collective-Evolution.com—outlines many familiar concerns and points in each case to “credible scientific studies that clearly demonstrate why GMOs should not be consumed”.Are these concerns credible? What do the studies cited actually claim?
1) Multiple Toxins From GMOs Detected In Maternal and Fetal Blood. The blog post sites a 2010 study that alleges to show this danger. The authors identified the Bt protein Cry1Ab in maternal and fetal blood, a protein found in some GMOs, but also commonly used as a pesticide in organic farming. The paper is flawed. The researchers' measurements were based on an experiment/assay designed to detect Bt ’s Cry1Ab in plants, not in humans. As this post in Biofortified.org explains, the pregnant women in the study would have had to eat several kilos of corn in order to get the Bt measurements that were detected in their blood.Additionally, there’s the "so what" factor. Humans lack the receptors for the protein, so it has no impact on us. Did you know that chocolate is toxic to dogs? Are you concerned that it might be toxic to you? Probably not (if you are concerned, then you've missed out on the greatest source of joy known to human taste buds...). Some chemical compounds behave differently among species, and both Bt 's Cry1Ab and chocolate are examples of this.
2) DNA From Genetically Modified Crops Can Be Transferred Into Humans Who Eat Them That's not what the cited 2013 study concluded. The authors found that whole genes from our food can be detected in our plasma. That does not mean that they’ve integrated into our DNA; it means that they’ve been found floating in the space between cells. And that's any food, not just GMOs. DNA from GMOs behave no differently than DNA from organic or conventional foods... Read the rest at [Link]