World Wealth A False Illusion

By James Donahue

There is an implication via daily media reports that rising values on the world stock exchanges reflects a healthy and growing economy. The stock market numbers go up when world events suggest that the big corporations will be in a position to make more profit. When the opposite is true, the value of stock plunges.

Television anchors faithfully report to us every day just what the stock markets are doing . . . as if that is news that we need to know. In truth, the only people that have an interest in the fluctuations on the stock exchanges are the few wealthy individuals who invest their money in business. Most of us are struggling to earn enough money to feed our families with nothing left to think of investing in anything.

So why does the media devote so much time to reporting on the health of Wall Street? It is because there is a constant illusion of wealth that has been drilled into our heads for years. It is all designed to make us feel secure . . . that all is well among the big corporations that control our lives. And if all is well with the people who provide our jobs, then perhaps our jobs are secure.

It is all a lie. If we would stop for a moment and think about our position in the lop-sided business ventures occurring all around us, we could easily understand the complex game of manipulation that is occurring. In truth, we are all slaves to the few people that control the money.

Even the illusion of freedom that we in the United States claim to cherish is false. While we still are relatively free to express our opinions without too much chance of being arrested and charged with sedition, terrorism or treason, we are reading stories about investigative journalists that are being jailed for refusing to name their sources, or because they publicized some "classified" secret that high government or military officials did not want the public to know. Consequently, there are not many true investigative journalists operating for the contemporary media.

The serious patriots in this country are beginning to go underground. The group known as "Anonymous" is a perfect example of what is happening. They operate in secret and appear publically behind the masks of Guy Fawkes, a Seventh Century English renegade who attempted to kill King James in 1605. The mask was popularized by the Hollywood film V for Vendetta, and has grown as a universal symbol of protest.

What is troublesome is the rapid change that has occurred in the United States since the 9-11 attack. The Bush creation of the Department of Homeland Security, and the passage of the dreaded Patriot Act that gave police and federal authorities the freedom to spy on Americans at home and abroad without a court order has quickly created a police state right under our noses. The police departments were equipped with military equipment. Even the colors of their uniforms changed from friendly blues and browns to a sinister black.

Now we have a growing problem of police shooting unarmed civilians, which seems to be endorsed by the courts. These incidents have sparked mass public demonstrations from New York City to San Francisco. Should we be surprised that two New York police officers were unexpectedly shot to death while sitting in their patrol car?

The United States is no longer a Republic or even a Democracy. It has shifted to a plutocracy; a state ruled by the wealthy class.

It may not be too late to fix this mess. Vermont’s Independent Senator Bernie Sanders, one of the few political figures who is standing up in support of the needs of the people, recently told a group of supporters in Ames, Iowa that he is considering a run for the presidency in 2016. But he says he won’t run unless he is certain millions of Americans are willing to launch a political revolution.

Sanders said a grassroots political movement is needed to make things right. He called for a "radical increase and improvement in public consciousness in this country, in political consciousness."

Sanders supports a diversion of the nation’s wealth from the military and big corporations to caring for the sick, homeless and hungry. He supports action to fight climate change. He wants to see the nation’s infrastructure rebuilt.

To have these things, however, Sanders says there needs to be a mass mobilization by millions of people willing to engage in "a real struggle against the billionaire class."

If such a struggle evolves, it must be something that develops from the grassroots within the next few months. The year 2015 will be a critical year.