One of the few interesting things about America’s highly choreographed political conventions is the gathering of people outside these events. Supporters and protesters show up to yell at the top of their lungs for days. What kinds of taunts do these opposing groups scream at each other? Remarkably, they accuse each other of similar transgressions. Probably the most common insults being lobbed from each side of the political spectrum are accusations that the other side is full of “fascists,” “Nazis,” and “racists.”
It’s enough to make an observer wonder whether an awkward kumbaya truce could spontaneously break out, in which antagonistic foes raise a curious eyebrow and timidly ask, “You mean, you’re against fascism and racism, too?” before taking off their masks, throwing down their cardboard signs, and apprehensively shaking hands. Of course, that never happens, so very angry Americans continue to denounce one another in nearly identical terms.
The whole thing would be funny if it were not so serious. And it’s serious because the resulting confusion leaves Americans who might otherwise agree about an awful lot instead reaching for one another’s throats.
The more time they waste fighting, the easier it is for their real enemies to get away with all kinds of mischief without anyone noticing. Who are their “real enemies”? Well, regardless of any American’s particular ideological beliefs, those who most affect their lives (outside their families and friends) are almost certainly people with wealth and power — and not the vast majority of their working-class neighbors just trying to earn a living. Because wealth and power remain in the hands of a small collection of political and financial “elites,” they benefit when citizens with neither wealth nor power choose to attack one another.
Another way to think of this is to ask a simple question: what is the greatest threat to any political system? Is it the threat of foreign invasion? Economic depression? Disease? Of course not. It is the possibility that those controlled by the system will overthrow those doing the controlling.
Every government in the world — communist dictatorship, theocratic regime, or so-called constitutional republic — claims to be working for the people. But when the “elites” of those governments speak behind closed doors, their efforts are directed toward subduing the people. Governments invest in the illusion that their power is limitless and that the people have no other choice but to obey. Whenever common people recognize that they are the ones with inherent power, the government’s illusion of control is shattered, the system is upended, and a new era with novel organizing principles arrives.
Seen through this lens, it is easy to understand why governments have a vested interest in stirring up domestic conflict. A peaceful and well mannered society might engage in respectful debate and start asking serious questions, such as:
- Why should private central banks be allowed to print money and devalue personal savings?
- Why should America be financially squeezed by a bunch of multinational corporations that use cheap labor overseas and bully small businesses into bankruptcy here at home?
- Why should foreign investment houses own so much land and property in America when fewer Americans than ever before can afford to own a home?
When government authorities use outside companies to censor Americans’ speech and spy on their private activities, do such workarounds really trump the Bill of Rights? When corporations work hand in glove with government bureaucrats to track and police citizens, hasn’t our system of government transformed into something we would have once recognized as classically fascist?
These important questions and others might lead common citizens to think more clearly about their government’s priorities before arriving at another uncomfortable question: does the government really represent the people’s interests, or does it represent the interests of its corporate partners? Such discussions threaten to shatter any government’s well-guarded illusion of control.
The political system can’t have that, so the corporate news media blast out daily reminders that “racism” and “extremism” are the real threats to peace and prosperity. On television and on social media sites, the message is clear: trust the government but distrust your neighbors. If everybody is more worried about Donald Trump’s personality or Taylor Swift’s political endorsements, nobody has time to wonder how we’ve reached the point when the federal government’s fiscal burden consumes 93% of America’s total accumulated wealth since its founding or how global debt now exceeds $315 trillion. The wealthiest and most powerful people in the West take from everyone else and then set society on fire with engineered division and hate. They are civil arsonists committed to destroying the evidence of all the damage they’ve wrought.
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