A Runaway Government

As I’ve watched the news today and reflected on the past actions of our Congress, Senate and our President, I realize that on more occasions than not, I find myself analyzing their actions not necessarily in terms as to how they will affect their party, their potential run for re-election or even with regard to the temporal outcome for our country as a whole.  When I read about President Obama hoping to acquire additional powers to shrink government and merge federal agencies to make our government more efficient, my first response should be:  That’s a great idea!  Shouldn’t it?  And what about the ability of the American government to shut down any website that is reportedly conducting criminal activities?  That’s a no-brainer, isn’t it?

When I read about how Congress wants to cut the national debt by depleting social programs and giving tax cuts to the wealthiest members of our society, I should be ecstatic, shouldn’t I?  And when I hear of a position being added to the government of a certain state, an unelected official who will go into towns that are failing financially and fire everyone they think is standing in the way—regardless of their elected or unelected status—in order to create a more efficiently run town, there should be a sense of relief, shouldn’t there?  So why do I get a knot in the pit of my stomach?

And, why do I see the push to make our wartime commanding generals a more faceless entity—rather than a personable human being—as more of an opportunity to abuse a position of power by broken government officials?  I guess it’s because I’ve come to a point in my life where I don’t trust the integrity of our elected leadership.  Surprising?

As we sit in our homes, day after day, and watch the atrocities that are happening around the world unfolding on the face of our flat screen TVs, I can’t help but wonder why it hasn’t happened to us.  And then I begin to wonder if it isn’t already happening but we’re too absorbed in our iPads and XBoxs to see beyond the 3-dimensional characters or life-like war game distractions to bother examining what our elected officials are really up to.

If you think that it can’t happen in this country then you should think again because it already has.  And it’s not conspiratorial paranoia that I’m talking about here.  It’s not well documented that is true, there was more of a cover-up surrounding the circumstances as they were, but the evidence is still available.

You see, in 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt was trying everything he could to curtail the depression he had inherited when he was elected president.  He had the New Deal being held up in Congress by interested members of the Wall Street elite.  There was contention between the white house and certain major corporations, who were upset over how the attempt to depress the US dollar—a move intended to encourage foreign trade—was deteriorating the balance of trade between the US and other countries.   Major corporations such as the DuPonts, JP Morgan, as well as Standard Oil, were frustrated and losing profits. 

The war was waging in Europe, Hitler was seducing wealthy Americans and members of the press with free cruises to Germany to see how kindly and loved he truly was.  There was a sort of romance that was developing between certain members of the American elite and Nazi Germany.  And there was a coinciding concern that communism might gain a strong-hold in either country.  It was then that the American Nazi Party was formed.

Now, the details are unclear and some of the available information is sketchy at best, but reading into all of the circumstances surrounding this time period is important to have a better foundation of understanding for what transpired.  What we do know is that well-known retired US Army Major General, Smedley Butler was enlisted by one of these organizations to assist in a devious plot.  They planned a coups d’etat to overthrow FDR and replace him with another leader and asked for Butler’s assistance.  He agreed to meet with them and hear what they had to say, then invited a former personal assistant—who was at the time working as a reporter, unbeknownst to those involved—to attend with him. 

What unfolded was a story of intrigue, an attempt to encourage the president to step down or risk being assassinated and replaced.  Instead of joining the coup, Butler chose to report his encounters directly to the president.  Early reports I have read on this event, have stated that Congressional hearings had transpired and that some of these conspirators were found guilty.  It was then realized that such a ruling meant the heads of these powerful corporations were guilty of Treason and that the penalty was death. 

Standard Oil threatened to cap its oil and sell none to the US, which was a detriment, since, at the time there were discussions of whether or not our country should join the war efforts in Europe.  There was equal pressure from the British and other members of the Alliance to encourage American participation.  Without access to oil it would have been impossible.

Equally disturbing to the members of our Congress who were hearing these allegations; if our country began giving death sentences to treasonous corporate officers for being complicit in attempts to topple our government, then our stock market would crash again and there was no chance of an economic recovery any time soon after.  Roosevelt and the presiding members of Congress chose to cover up most of the testimony and the proceedings that the commission heard from Butler and the accused conspirators. 

And when you know the facts you can’t help but realize, it was the integrity of a man who had sworn to defend our country at all odds that made the difference in American history of that section in time.  It decided the outcome of which side of the war we would have been on and who would have been the victors.

And so I look around today at those members of Congress, the Senate and our President of the United States and I wonder how many of these elected officials would have made the same choices Smedley Butler, retired Army General, had made.  As I see the articles about our evolving country and I hear the rhetoric and propaganda being disseminated to unwary citizens, I grow concerned as to the origin of that rhetoric.  Isn’t that what was happening in pre-World War II Germany?  Doesn’t the enactment of a law that allows an unelected official to seize control of the political processes in certain mid-western cities in America make you think of fascism at its best?  Doesn’t most of the other onerous laws that are currently being enacted, concern you as it does me?

Proposals that would have no better effect than to appease the wealthy with tax breaks while increasing taxes on the middle to lower classes and diminish social programs that help to strengthen our middle-class, are already being suggested.  Does this cause me to believe that the wealthy have too much control over our candidates and elected officials?  You bet it does.

When George W. Bush introduced the Homeland Security Act, which is nearly identical to Hitler’s Fatherland Security Act, to run in conjunction with the Patriot Act was I concerned at the direction our country was going?  You’d better believe it.  I voted for President Barack Obama because I thought he was the only one who would abolish such an abomination to our Constitutional freedoms that we treasure the most.  And since his inauguration I’ve seen only one of those disturbing laws being tossed into the waste barrel or changed to make us accept them more—Military Commissions Act—as others—Indefinite Detention—are being enacted.

I think that before we begin to chant the same rhetoric and weekly talking points as those who portend to have our best interests at heart, maybe we should stop for a minute and take a deep breath.  Although some of this may seem like commonsense on its face, we should look at the lasting implications of such a disastrous turn in our course of sail.  Perhaps there’s a deeper intention or outcome that will adversely affect which side of the war we will be on in the next major altercation.  Perhaps we won’t end up being the good guys riding into the sunset after all.