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A Prologue to Anarchy

History Repeats...

By Jonathan FieroPublished 3 years ago 4 min read
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What is there to even talk about? It’s autumn again. Soon I’ll have the world back, when the beaches are deserted and the mountains become blanketed in snow. I hope this year will be better than last, more like the year before. The cold started early last year; it was deep and bitter, and continued on far too long into the spring. What’s the difference though... we’re all stuck here anyway, in this county; the world has closed its borders to us.

And for good reason. American selfishness and greed has become highly contagious. It’s killing us by the tens of thousands. Sure, there were the President’s lies that exacerbated such a deadly situation, but it was the supposed pinnacle of democracy that provided the framework for such chaos to so easily take shape. It isn’t democracy that failed though, it’s the corrupt republic that hides the interest of the wealthy and powerful behind claims that our votes are for politicians that represent the will of the people. If these purported elites truly represented the will of the people, elections wouldn’t require millions of dollars in spending every year; even more so on the cycles of the presidential election.

But enough of that, this country is too far gone to dwell on the bourgeois’s hold on wealth and power. It’s easy to become ensnared in their rhetoric, that our democracy was in peril… like the leaves and flowers that vanish come the days of morning frost, they warned us that death is at America’s doorstep. Autumn isn’t a time of death though, it is a moment where life prepares itself for rebirth, a revolution slumbering, along with Persephone’s heart. However, we should never let the greater evil win; an ice age brings only dark winters, along with widespread poverty and disease. Still, we must not forget, it is the system they called us back to that allowed for a monster to take charge.

Unfortunately, the truth is that they are all monsters of varying degree. Or at the very least, they are allowing monsters to remain in control; whether directly in control or complicit through legalized bribery matters not. They are the parasites of our economic system, enriching themselves with backdoor deals and tax breaks for the most wealthy among us. And they, like the Roman emperors, aristocrats, and equites did, will cause the fall of the American Empire. Just as it was with Rome, a once great republic has over-extended itself on campaigns abroad while the home state has fallen into chaos and disarray.

The American Empire. I’m sure many will disagree, but that is what the United States has become. The only major difference between the contemporary and historical subjugation, is that with a capitalistic empire, there aren’t direct territorial claims made by an occupying military force. Land holdings of the United States are not increasing with the spread of its democracy and capitalism.

So, when exactly did the United States plunge from the shining beacon of a republic perched atop the hill of justice, into an empire determined to control the world? Quite clearly after the second world war. Those in charge became mad with power; the type of power that dropping two nuclear bombs on civilian populations will entice. Humanity had become, and still very much is, a hostage to the governmental arms race. This is not to say that the intent of every American leader was to lead the world down this path, as many simply saw this as a stand against the ruthless dictatorship of the communist USSR. But just as gun powder was invented for fireworks, those who seek power will always subvert the most genuine of ideas to push their own agenda and beliefs on others.

The problem we have is that the human condition, it is a scale, not a switch. Yet our bureaucratic leaders fool many into believing the hypnotic trope that “if you’re not with us, you’re against us.” Far left, far right, that’s all there is to the one side if you’re standing on the other. Oh the centrists... democrats are called socialist while they argue against social change, republicans labeled as caring while they seek to strip away assistance programs from the most vulnerable citizens. To call these supposed representatives of the people socialists or caring is done either out of ignorance or purposeful misguidance by the uniformed or intentionally deceptive. This centrist led two-party system creates a gridlock in democracy, as the vast majority of times the center oppositions, though nearly aligned in ideology, will act as if they side with the most extreme policy positions of their party. Placation of their base voters allows them to remain in power, and when those policies are cast aside, blame is placed on the opposition. We are quite simply dealing with two sides of the same Federalist coin.

Again though, I must digress… this county is too far gone. So now we’ll return to how things were, walking the same path that had us peering down the rabbit hole of fascism. They’re promising actual change this time though, progressive policies that will benefit the people. However, this seems unlikely, as the progressive wing of the Democratic Party has already been blamed for down-ballot election losses by the party’s centrist elites. My concern at this moment, with their normalcy once again taking hold, is that the fascism brought about by the status quo is already widespread; and it is proving more deadly for democracy than their objectivist philosophy that romanticize selfishness and greed.

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