A Lesson in History.

[KlatooBNikto]

At the end of WWI, the Treaty of Versailles was convened and it imposed onerous and humiliating terms on Germany.The resentments and anger it left behind set the stage for Hitler's emergence in the 30's.The Weimar Republic,corrupted by venal politicians, created a vast swath of unemployed people who were prime targets of the Nazis in their rise to power.The sense of humiliation and the crisis in Germany laid the foundations for WWII.

I think our current condition is similar to the last days of the Weimar Republic and just as dangerous. This is one way to understand why Republicans seethe with anger even when they hold the reins of power in all three branches of government.What is more, they have come to believe that any actions taken by them whether it is the flouting of our laws, international agreements, launching wars with trumped up pretexts, stealing elections are all done to avenge some past humiliations.

In trying to dissect what humiliations they might be thinking about, several come to mind. First and foremost is the enfranchisement of blacks and the rise of women.These two have wreaked havoc with the white male psyche which had always assumed that that they will not merely control everything, but will be in a position to dictate the terms under which the others have to live. That illusion has been exploded, leaving behind a vast resentful population, especially in the South, but also in the North to some extent.Along with these two transformations in our society, the rapid changes in Technology that has put many blue collar jobs in the U.S. in danger from China and India has threatened the livelihood of the same segment of our population that has been reeling from the changes wrought by the Civil Rights Era. This is the population and its resentments that Bush, Rove and his gang have tapped into. In this crusade, the belief that they can do anything and it will be legitimate is a driving force.I do not see that changing any time soon.

Into this sense of resentment of blacks, Hispanics,women, Bush has thrown in the Arabs/Muslims as a way to advance his credentials as the savior of America and quite possibly Israel.That is a stroke of genius because his constituents are basically American/White Male
supremacists who are yearning to teach the "uppity" people around the world a lesson, whether they be American blacks or women or liberals at home or they are the people like the Chinese,Indians or Arabs abroad.Given their power, they will continue to launch preemptive wars and terror crises around the world.Their constituents will continue to support them, just like the dutiful Germans did from another era.

"There is nothing new under the sun"--- St.Augustine.

[H2O Man]

1. "nothing new..."

That quote was from Ecclesiastes 1-9 ("The Preacher"), "The thing that has been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done; and there is no new thing under the sun."

(edited to remove smiley face)

[KlatooBNikto]

2. Thanks.My mistake in attributing it to St.Augustine.

[H2O Man]

3. No, he used it frequently ....

....I was simply showing how right he was!

[KlatooBNikto]

4. Thanks again. I always associated this with St.Augustine and now I know

whereof it came.

[KlatooBNikto]

5. I think the sense of resentment among a previously entitled part of

the population can be a devastatingly potent force against the life and well being of a large majority of people. This is what we are seeing at work in Bush's America today. Short of another cataclysmic change, I do not see how effective change can be brought about.Especially because the Republicans see themselves as anointed for power.

[H2O Man]

6. Interesting.

I think that the Bush folks believe they are in power, but I do not think they understand what power is. This makes them, of course, as dangerous as a fool with no knowledge of electricity attempting to wire their house. History is replete with examples of such fools .... which reinforces the idea of there being no new thing under the sun.

[KlatooBNikto]

7. Barbara Tuchman called it the March of Folly.

[H2O Man]

8. Yes

Both Hosea (in chapter 10, verses 13-15) ans Isaiah (chapter 31, verses 1-3) speak specifically to the trust in military might and weapons as a sure sign an earthly kingdom will self-destruct. They were interpreting things in the context of their religion, of course, but they were also speaking from the context of the historical reality from that part of the earth. Nothing has changed.

[KlatooBNikto]

9. Almost every act or statement of this administration can be explained

by the resentment generated by the fall from grace of a large group of our population ( white males) and their loss of privileges that they had assumed. That is the fertile breeding ground into which Rove-Bush and others have plowed and sown the seeds of hatred.Where it is going to take us ,we will never know.