The middle class are believers. They follow the rules placed before them questioning, if they question at all, only briefly why they choose what they do. They believe the myths of Americana, buying the sales pitch placed before them of what to buy, how to live, who to be. They are the herd, the mob, the beast, living and breathing as a single entity. Sure, they work their butts off in an effort to increase their stock. But it includes the expectation, a trust, a belief, that their efforts won’t be in vain. Yet they will be flushed by that capitalistic system, using capitalistic loosely since we’re morphing into a feudal system, in which they so strongly believe in, smiling while the looters take money out of their hands. They are naive. They don't want to know. They are the herd, the mob, the beast, living and breathing as a single entity wearing effective blinders.
A capitalistic society doesn’t create a middle class, a democracy does. Democracy allows for the masses to have a voice that can be heard in setting a course for society, governing; safeguards against the abuses of those in power who don’t give a shit about the people doing all the living and dying in this country. But it takes effort on the part of everyone to be aware of what is going on around them, and organization to effectively combat the money men who will gladly chisel away, bit by bit, at the wealth accumulation of the middle class. Hence the efforts to privatize social security that was met with a resounding NO, even from Republicans. Apparently U.S. citizens actually like their socialism, contrary to what right wing radicals might say.
A transformation has come about over the last half century and the middle class doesn’t even realize it. The children of the Great Depression and WWII built the strongest and most viable working class in world history. They knew of hardship. They knew of war. They knew of death. They understood that by working together they could achieve great things. Some people call this socialism. I could really care less what people call it. It worked. But they were easily frightened by ‘Communism’, hence Korea and Vietnam. Korea ended because Eisenhower made it so. He knew of death and war and knew it was no good. Vietnam ended because the public at large had a stake in ending it, there was a draft. I’ve said the best way to end our war of conquest in Iraq and Afghanistan would be to reinstate the draft. The middle class would perk up its collective ears and demand the war end if their ow children were dragged away from their lives of convenience to fight it because they don’t want to make a real sacrifice. They are cowards. They are fearful of losing their life and they will gladly continue giving away their money and soul as long as they can keep their middle class style. They find it comforting, having the feeling of a grand accomplishment. But how can it be so grand if it so easily collapses? It’s a house of cards that self combusts when the hidden hand strikes.
The baby boomers are the key to the transformation. A huge surge peace and love, two viable components of Christianity, was beat back by a shit storm of gunfire. A growing movement, people working together to create a better human condition for all, possibly another Christian ideal, died following the political assassinations of the 1960’s; a collective psychological trauma. I find it not the least bit interesting the political assassinations targeted liberal leaders of the day. If one party in a two party system has all its leaders killed, who did the killing? Random acts? Most certainly. Subconsciously, people got the message. Try this and here is your result. Cutting the head off the beast kills the beast. If a movement has no leaders, there is no movement. And the Boomers gave up. They quit. They sold out on those ideals. It became every man for himself. Gotta get mine.
Each successive generation might continue the struggle to reach the middle class, but what do they give up in exchange? Individuality. Personality. They think they are unique, and on a genetic level you could make that argument. They are each other. They fear each other and do battle with each other for gain, to hold something in their hand the next guy doesn’t have enabling them to reach even higher to hold something else in their hand that even fewer possess until they reach the pinnacle of having; power and control over people and things, where they can finally see the specter of their own individuality, not from within themselves, but by what they see around them and how they compare to the competition. A struggle to achieve, accumulate and control in order to create the notion they are their own God. But the irony is, they could actualize their godliness with less effort by realizing their own god has been within them from their own beginning. It is god and it is them. It is all and it is nothing. It speaks, it is heard, but so few listen.
