Highwater Mark?

The Native Americans living on the coasts of these shores were assiduous watchers of the tides. From the tides they could tell the time of day, and even the seasons of the year, as I understand it. High tide to us today can mean plenty. It can also mean inundation.

In any event, high tide is always followed by a gracious retreat and then low tide. And so it is in American politics under the "two-party" system. We seem to have passed high tide with the current Republican-led federal government.

Over the past several years, and before the starting of this "blog", I had the opportunity to do a certain amount of historical research. This is not the time to get into that, but I can say perhaps some things now.

Indeed we have had the high tide of profit economics recently. At least we have had the high tide of trying to maintain the profit system. By around 1980-90 or so, we had come to the point in history where, in order for the profit system to survive, drastic measures were going to have to be taken. We then had "The Battle for Seattle" and other huge protests against the world financial system. (This is the true meaning of the protests against the G-8 meetings and other similar meetings.) The oligarchs of the world knew this level of protest could not continue at the same time as their profit flow.

These oligarchs are the same financial interests who, for example, led the British Empire by the nose in conquest after conquest all over the world, including in North America. In the case of Britain, these were the same interests who supported the Confederacy over the Union in the American Civil War. It is no accident that the Southern viewpoint has become dominant in the Federal government of now.

In order to stem the tide of protest, a certain type of "Reichstag fire event" was needed. It is my belief and that of increasing numbers of people that the events of September 11 served that purpose.

The supporting evidence for these statements must await another time, and perhaps a book. But for now, it is helpful to know something of the cause of the fascist tilt in America now. It comes from evil -- the desire to dominate, control, and own others. It is a force at least as old as society itself. The question for us, then, is to decide which side we are on. Do you know the old labor song "Which Side Are You On?" It is a great song, and one with a current meaning.

Choosing a side also means choosing certain actions. It has been one of the purposes of this web log to encourage clear, informed thinking, followed by right actions. As the days go by I hope to demonstrate this purpose itself more clearly. In the meantime, dear reader, I will ask you: "Which side are you on?"