Morality Lost in the Age of Decadence

We have seen it on our TV screens, we hear it on the radio, we continue to witness it in the movies and we have experienced it in person. The age of decadent, amoral behavior has redefined our nation. This transformation has rendered the United States incapable of healing the wounds that have divided this nation.

When we look from the outside in, we see a seismic shift in the morality that defined the country for over 200 years. That moral culture, instilled in our society by our founding fathers, produced a country that grew in stature to become that shining light, that beacon of hope in an otherwise darkened world. But within the short span of just 45 years the government of the people and by the people morphed into a government by the government and for the government, and the 1%. In the process of this shift the decay of the nation's morals accelerated. A new norm, a lower common denominator of acceptable behavior has seeped into the very fabric of our society. And, yes, the overwhelming worship of money has taken precedence over even the most basic moral tenets in many pockets of our society.

As it has come to pass, the age of decadence is now upon us. Yet, the multitudes remain largely oblivious to the monumental hardships that lie in wait. Unbelievable hardships hidden under the cloak of deception where willful perpetrators of injustice wield their influence. The days of joyous reflection will soon be just distant memories. It is always said that the best way to deal with the future is to look to the past. It is the past, after all, that provides the most accurate barometer of the future. There is more truth to this than we know. Yet, too many times the people in charge, especially those in government, have failed to exert the proper protocols to keep from repeating mistakes that were already made. Many of today's most pressing problems have characteristics eerily identical to the pressing problems of yesterday; unfortunately, many of these preventable mistakes will ultimately be repeated for the sheer benefit of the all-powerful elite.

The tale of the gravest travesty in US history really begins over 100 years ago, when the first 20th century bank run occurred and set off the recession known as The Panic of 1907. It all started when the Knickerbocker Trust Company of New York, collapsed. That year, its funds were being used by then-president Charles T. Barney in a plan to drive up the cost of copper by cornering the market. This gamble came undone due to the dumping of millions of dollars in copper into the market, a ploy that had been intended to stop a hostile takeover. When this became public on October 21, 1907, the National Bank of Commerce announced that it would no longer accept checks for the Knickerbocker Trust Company; in so doing, it triggered a mad dash of depositors demanding their money back. What happened next resulted in the notorious Panic. This financial crisis set off a chain of events leading the financial leaders of the day, J.P. Morgan, Jekyll Club members George F. Baker and James Stillman (the latter two being presidents of NY's premier and still-solvent banks) to realize that there is a need for a financial system or bank to act as a last resort to issue loans and other forms of collateral to stave off other financial institutions' insolvency. J.P. Morgan had already been in close contact with European bankers – namely, the Rothschilds – who were eager to exert their influence on the United States financial markets. It was J.P. Morgan who instigated several financial maneuvers and organized rescues of several NY banks. Through his shrewd manipulation of financial moves he engineered the financial bailout of New York. You know that old saying "while the cats away, the mice will play?" Well, that is exactly what happened when President Roosevelt was on a hunting trip in Louisiana; the financial gurus in New York and then-treasury secretary George B. Cortelyou took matters in their own hands and, with Rothschild's backing, decided to form the Federal Reserve.

The Federal Reserve Act of 1913 was the result of that clandestine meeting in November of 1910 on Jekyll island. A private bank designed for the specific purpose of printing money to be loaned it (with interest) to the Government of the US and all other financial institutions across the country. Today, the interest on all the money printed and loaned to the government and our financial institutions has steered this country right into the most severe debt crises in history. Think of all the QE bailouts from Enron, the failed savings and loans financial disaster and the economic crisis of 2008, not to mention all the wars in between and the resultant trillions of dollars of debt. Throw in the fact that since the mid 1930's, all of our money and financial transactions are no longer backed by gold or silver. The destructive power of fiat currency is the crux of the battle in which the United States has been enmeshed for close to a century. In 1913, Congress and even President Wilson were swayed by the enormous influence of the Money Changes of the times, just like J.P. Morgan and Europe's Rothschilds had been. This is when Congress unconstitutionally ceded the power of this nation’s money to a privately owned and held corporation of international bankers.

The Federal Reserve quietly took over the nation's financial matters and in doing so has deceived the public as to the manipulation that stretches central bankers' influences over every aspect of our lives. There are seven signals that have shown that the Federal Reserve really has put the United States on a path toward self destruction. History is about to repeat itself yet again. This time it is the United States whose imminent implosion is evident by these seven stages that have proven empires really don't last forever. It is proven that when quality money moves to quantity currency, it signals the inevitable downfall of an empire. This time that empire is the United States.

A country may start out with "Good Money" (i.e. that which is backed by gold or silver) but as it develops and its economy grows, it inevitably begins to take on more financial burdens. As the country begins to add layer upon layer of public works to its infrastructure, it also provides for further development of their economy and social standing. When a country's economic affluence grows, so does its political influence. It always increases expenditures not only to fund more public works – this in itself would be ok – but, and here lies the most damaging trend, it also provides the increasing funding for military expenditures. Now, once a country has a massive military buildup they usually make sure to put it to use. In the end, expenditures explode. To fund wars and military endeavors, countries begin to steal the wealth of its people by replacing their money with currency that can be created in unlimited quantities. This always results in the loss of purchasing power of the expanded currency supply which triggers a loss of faith in that currency. What often follows is a mass movement out of the fiat currency into precious metals and other tangible assets. The currency then collapses and gold and silver rise in price. In the end, the transfer of this massive wealth always flows to the ones who had enough resources to acquire the now real money beforehand.

Today, the massive wealth gap continues to widen and pushes more and more of the population down the economic ladder. The United States is right in sync with all the stages of an economic catastrophe unfolding right before our eyes. This is only the beginning of the end of the United States as we now know it. We are facing a dystopian future in which progress has gone into reverse. In 2043, the damage from fossil fuel has already been done, nuclear power stations are melting down, there is no access to the electricity grid and solar panels are so prized that they are looted. Catastrophic climate change has become a reality. Rising sea levels have caused floods on a global scale and cities like New York are underwater. Internet coverage is patchy, food and consumer goods are scarce, and lifesaving drugs such as insulin are harder and harder to come by. We're facing a brutal, dangerous version of the past. One not at all like the future that we had following World War II. If this version of the future comes to pass, it will be because, despite all the warnings, climate change was not taken seriously enough. The greed of the Oil conglomerates, in their refusal to substitute fossil fuel for alternate sources, has put the whole world on the very brink of falling back into the caves.

For generations, we have assumed that the efforts of mankind would leave the fundamental equilibrium of the world’s systems and atmosphere stable. Yet, mankind has unleashed their greed and lust for more profit at all costs. Too many of today's leaders still deny the legitimacy of the severe damage that fossil fuels inflict on our environment and planet. Still, it is possible, even with all of these enormous changes in our world today, to have sustainable economic development–provided that the environment is nurtured and safeguarded, that is. Protecting the balance of nature has to be one of if not the most essential priorities of all humanity.

The reality facing not only the United States but every country around the globe is that, if the global economy expands at its current and projected rate while continuing to rely on fossil fuel, the planet will essentially cook. Many counterarguments to this state that capitalism today has defused global poverty levels. To this point, we must remember that the effects of capitalism are twofold, a double edged sword; on one hand, it has had a great impact on reducing global poverty. At the same time, capitalist systems continue to keep too many people impoverished and incapable of climbing up the ladder of economic mobility. In terms of reducing global poverty on the whole, capitalism has been somewhat successful, but that this growth relies upon the fuel sources of the first and second industrial revolutions has produced the greatest environmental disaster in over 10,000 years. It is time to take global warming seriously before a climate Armageddon actually happens.

One of the biggest problems the United States is facing is that there remains no political consensus on tackling the Oil conglomerates and all of those climate change deniers. The Republican base, by majority, are still in a perpetual state of apathy and denial. The money from fossil fuel sources still remains the prime deterrent to any efforts to move outside their comfort zone when it comes to alternative green energy sources. The 'business as usual' set keep saying the scientific findings are just not conclusive in their assessment that fossil fuel consumption – be it in the manufacturing of almost everything we buy or the gas we put in our cars or the power to run our homes and businesses – is responsible for the earth's temperature increase. The mindset of many remains that the scientific community has exaggerated the risks that are poised to be unleashed on our environment.

With the world barely recovering from the most recent global recession, many are now concerned about one another. The main talking points in meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the G20 surround whether the next financial crash will be caused by the realization that the stock market valuation of fossil fuel companies have been inflated due to the overestimation of the worth of reserves of oil, coal, and gas. The idea that investors will pull out of fossil fuel stocks if climate change is thought to be the 'real deal' that it really is, is one that could cause one of if not the worst financial disasters in history. This is probably why the Republican base as a whole refutes the notion that climate change and carbon emissions are interconnected issues. There is more money to be made, the more inflated the worth of fossil fuel stocks. The greed to keep the gravy train rolling by denying that global warming exists is a disaster in the making.

The realization today is that we may have done too little and started doing it too late to avoid the risks that are now poised to strike our environment, our economy and our way of life. The United States, like China, are sill burning coal, oil and gas and will probably continue to do so for years to come. This at a time when we should have been putting the infrastructure in place for a green economy but the United States, like other countries, have continued to go in the opposite direction. Government officials have only now started to touch on the fact that climate change is an issue. So far central banks and others are pre-set to deal with other pressing issues and continue to invest in fossil fuel-burning power plants, continue to build energy inefficient homes and buildings in cities still designed for more fossil fuel-running cars.

The dilemma facing the United States has a potential three-part solution, and we had better act before it really is too late. One such measure would be to restore the Constitutionality of the Treasury and the gold standard, and abolish the Federal Reserve. Two: to develop our infrastructure designed for the sole purpose of utilizing energy sources that will power the third and final industrial revolution. Three: to finally recognize that the moral decay of this nation has followed the greed and corruption of its government. A government which has allowed the acceleration of the greatest wealth disparity in history to widen even further.

Time is not on our side and with the Trump Administration's Neanderthal thinking, time may just run out before we can prevent this nation from self-imploding. We have the technology and the resources to fully jumpstart our society into weaning off the current dependency on fossil fuels. But, with this latest executive order by our President, it is as though our future is in grave jeopardy. The fate of all of us is at hand. Do we dare sit idle and let a government and a President turn back the clock, or do we unite behind a common cause and rally a nation to usher in a new agenda that would restore the basic moral fiber that we had just 50 years ago?

Do we unite behind a common cause and rally this nation behind a new agenda that ensures prosperity, stability and security for all? An agenda that restores the credibility of government? A governmental agenda that has the faith and backing of the majority of Americans is already at hand. And yet, our elected officials seem oblivious to it, for they are endlessly beholden to corporate interests that continually feed our legislative bodies with a never-ending supply of campaign funds just to maintain the status-quo.

It is time we as a nation start looking from the outside in to actually see what we are doing to this country and to the world. It is not a rosy picture by any means. If we let this present administration succeed in ignoring the will of the people not only will the moral values that still remain but the vibrant way of life we cherished after World War II will be forever lost. A country without the moral fiber that made us great and vibrant cannot endure.