“It would appear to me that modern society has two alternatives at this point. ...The contest of the future is between a return to the castle or the tipi. ...The massive corporate organizations have driven us well into the era of neofeudalism. ….Tribalism can only be presented in a mosaic form.”
--Vine Deloria, Jr.; We Talk, You Listen (New Tribes, New Turf); Dell; 1970; pages 14-15.
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Class warfare is as American as Apple Pie. This nation's history is seeped in warfare – open and otherwise – from it's very beginnings. What was that Boston Tea Party, if not a bold statement on class warfare?
Just as that serves as a positive example, this country has had some ugly chapters. The wars against the Native People of the land, and slavery, are among the most negative examples. The fight for the Union, and the fights for unions, contain both the positive and the negative.
Some of the most important issues that we have struggled with involve class warfare. The Civil Rights and the Women's Rights movements were, and are, being fought on territory that definitely includes economic exploitation. The issues involved in “illegal” immigrants from Mexico are an ugly blend of racism and economics. Odd that many of the same republicans shaking with outrage about taxing the obscenely wealthy have called for a wall to be built between the United States and Mexico.
In 1980, class warfare in America reached a new level: the Reagan-Bush administration began to attack the middle class in a manner that surprised many. Those who had been a part of the struggle to create a true middle class, by ways including quality public education and unions, had thought that they had already fought and won these battles. But far more than any other US President since the Civil War, including the criminal Richard Nixon, President Reagan fronted for those corporate interests that targeted middle class jobs and savings accounts.
That Reagan was a dithering shell of a man is beyond debate. But more, he was a criminal, who was for all intent and purposes caught in “high crimes and misdemeanors” known as the Iran-Contra Scandal. According to the US Constitution, the House was supposed to impeach him, and the Senate was supposed to try and convict him. Many in his administration were convicted of criminal charges. But Bush the Elder pardoned people, sparing them from the consequences.
Bush the Elder, among his many repulsive qualities, had an interest in tracing his “family tree” to find ties to European “royalty.” The entirety of his being was illustrated by his granting those pardons: some animals being more equal than others, he believes, and thus should not be bound by the law of the land. What is that, if not class warfare?
Feudalism requires hereditary control over the social/class pyramid. For this reason, in 2000, the US Supreme Court over-ruled the American people in the national election, and selected Bush the Elder's drippings for President. George W. Bush and Dick Cheney oversaw the greatest attack on the middle class possible. That can be measured by their willingness not only to purposely lie to the public about “yellow cake” and “mushroom clouds,” but to send the dwindling middle class and lower economic class's sons and daughters to kill and die for their lie. Who profits?
Deloria noted that there were many people who “will support the return of the castle.” The election of Barack Obama in 2008 resulted in a phenomenon known as “the Tea Party.” Without question, this group is run by those at the two levels of the economic pyramid. But it has appealed to a group that is among the pyramid's base levels. The majority of these are of a tribe that fears non-white skin. Others are individuals who are sincere in their concerns about the direction our nation is headed in, but ignorant about the causes. The synergism of being uninformed victims of misinformation and disinformation fuels their efforts to seek the “safety” of the castle.
During times of social decay, it is common for tribes outside of a castle to experience tensions. We witness this today, when individuals such as Andrew Breitbart call for violence against other tribes. He made clear that he believes “the military” will assist his tribe. He attempts to incite the right-wing militia groups. His confidence is rooted in his belief that para-military groups of mercenaries (think “Blackwater”), employed by those at the top of the pyramid, will assist him in protecting that castle. Although this fellow is full of himself, it is interesting to consider the thinking associated with his ilk.
Our ability to lessen the influence of groups like the Tea Party and the “religious right,” we have to focus on that mosaic that Deloria spoke of. This requires strengthening our positions at the grass roots level, and building linkages with other like-minded groups and individuals. We need to be aware of all of those who have common interests with us – environmentalists, anti-war groups, those advocating for equality in marriage, women's rights and civil rights organizations, unions, students, and more. We must come together on common ground, and expand our base. The number one area for doing this must be among the poor, and those who inhabit the margins of society.
As we do this, we will begin to be able to “replace” those state and national elected representatives who are more intent upon serving corporate interests than in serving the middle- and lower economic classes. That is how we win in this brutal class warfare that was declared on us in 1980, and which has damaged the fabric of American society ever since.
Peace,
H2O Man
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