Thom has written many times about the 80-year cycles in American history, the great crises that have arisen and led to significant changes, and, one might argue, evolution of our society, however imperfectly and incompletely. 80 years after the founding of the Republic came the Civil War, and the near destruction of the country, saved on…
Thom has written many times about the 80-year cycles in American history, the great crises that have arisen and led to significant changes, and, one might argue, evolution of our society, however imperfectly and incompletely. 80 years after the founding of the Republic came the Civil War, and the near destruction of the country, saved only through the loss of 600,000 lives. Then came the Republican Great Depression and WWII. In that time the entire social and economic structure was transformed to prevent those who saw themselves as an evolutionary advancement over the rest of us throwbacks from letting their arrogance, wealth and power turn us all into slaves of their slavish and greedy objectives. It also brought about the demise of the former colonial holdings of European Empires. To me, it seems the only solution to our current dilemma is a collapse of similar magnitude to the Civil War and the Republican Great Depression - hopefully NOT a World War III - that will force a new re-establishment of our democratic - nay, our HUMAN values, and this time, learning from the shortcomings of the previous Great Transformations, we will put the systems in place that will keep it from being so corrupted and manipulated by the evil forces of great wealth and power ever again.
A (hopeful?) wild card in history may be giving FEMALES the vote. You are describing the perpetual status of women, surely, when you speak of those whose ...power turn us all into slaves.... That would be, men. And I'm not putting men down, per se. I'm talking about the legal and social utter subjugation of females, with men most definitely "seeing themselves as an evolutionary advancement..."(more advanced)... The upshot was, the grand old boys at the outset really, really meant it when they said all MEN are created equal. Black MEN got the vote by the 15th Amendment, 1870. FEMALES had to wait 'til 1920. Funny thing is, Constitution 1788 to 15th A. is 132 years. If you subtract the additional 50 years it took for FEMALES to be recognized as human enough to vote, you get the number: 82. But don't let my little fun with faux numerology distract you. 1920 may, indeed, have been the Great Transformation. PS Greatest history book ever, if your teenager hates history get this before They ban it: "Other Powers," Barbara Goldsmith. Just sayin'...
Once again, I hit a wrong key and the reply I was writing seems to have disappeared into cyber oblivion. You are dead right, of course. Among the greatest advancements in American history was to give women the vote. My Mom was born in the year prior to that right being granted. I am in full agreement with those who say Nancy Pelosi was among the most effective Speakers we've had in Congress, and I believe that is due, at least in part, to her being a woman. It's appalling that we have yet to fully ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, and that there was even as much opposition to it as there has been, even today. Nevertheless, the progress women have made in just my lifetime is phenomenal, and while there's still a long way to go, I believe that if we who are doing what we can to hold the line against the extreme reactionary forces attempting to take over the world, the rest of the distance will be crossed very quickly. I am even more concerned for the movement for women's rights on the global scale, because there are many, many societies where the situation, if one can even conceive it, is far worse for women than at any time in America. All of that said, in making comments, it's sometimes not possible to touch on every specific malady, and one has to speak in broader terms.
John Thompson, I agree with your statement; but is it possible? We keep trying and for a little while, we are united and then some crazy like a fox type speaks and all goes to pot.
It often seems hopeless, but the vision of all 212 Democratic members of Congress voting through every ballot, unanimously, for Hakeem Jeffries, was a sign that if we maintain our own unity as lovers of Democracy, freedom and human rights and value for all equally, the fractured right will eventually be overcome. It is a huge battle, and the Democrats still have far to go to liberate themselves from the influence of corporate bribery (Manchin and Sinema, to name but two), but many a righteous battle has seemed hopeless and to have all the odds stacked against it, yet the determination, will and faith of those on the side of truth and justice have ultimately prevailed.
Thom has written many times about the 80-year cycles in American history, the great crises that have arisen and led to significant changes, and, one might argue, evolution of our society, however imperfectly and incompletely. 80 years after the founding of the Republic came the Civil War, and the near destruction of the country, saved only through the loss of 600,000 lives. Then came the Republican Great Depression and WWII. In that time the entire social and economic structure was transformed to prevent those who saw themselves as an evolutionary advancement over the rest of us throwbacks from letting their arrogance, wealth and power turn us all into slaves of their slavish and greedy objectives. It also brought about the demise of the former colonial holdings of European Empires. To me, it seems the only solution to our current dilemma is a collapse of similar magnitude to the Civil War and the Republican Great Depression - hopefully NOT a World War III - that will force a new re-establishment of our democratic - nay, our HUMAN values, and this time, learning from the shortcomings of the previous Great Transformations, we will put the systems in place that will keep it from being so corrupted and manipulated by the evil forces of great wealth and power ever again.
A (hopeful?) wild card in history may be giving FEMALES the vote. You are describing the perpetual status of women, surely, when you speak of those whose ...power turn us all into slaves.... That would be, men. And I'm not putting men down, per se. I'm talking about the legal and social utter subjugation of females, with men most definitely "seeing themselves as an evolutionary advancement..."(more advanced)... The upshot was, the grand old boys at the outset really, really meant it when they said all MEN are created equal. Black MEN got the vote by the 15th Amendment, 1870. FEMALES had to wait 'til 1920. Funny thing is, Constitution 1788 to 15th A. is 132 years. If you subtract the additional 50 years it took for FEMALES to be recognized as human enough to vote, you get the number: 82. But don't let my little fun with faux numerology distract you. 1920 may, indeed, have been the Great Transformation. PS Greatest history book ever, if your teenager hates history get this before They ban it: "Other Powers," Barbara Goldsmith. Just sayin'...
Once again, I hit a wrong key and the reply I was writing seems to have disappeared into cyber oblivion. You are dead right, of course. Among the greatest advancements in American history was to give women the vote. My Mom was born in the year prior to that right being granted. I am in full agreement with those who say Nancy Pelosi was among the most effective Speakers we've had in Congress, and I believe that is due, at least in part, to her being a woman. It's appalling that we have yet to fully ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, and that there was even as much opposition to it as there has been, even today. Nevertheless, the progress women have made in just my lifetime is phenomenal, and while there's still a long way to go, I believe that if we who are doing what we can to hold the line against the extreme reactionary forces attempting to take over the world, the rest of the distance will be crossed very quickly. I am even more concerned for the movement for women's rights on the global scale, because there are many, many societies where the situation, if one can even conceive it, is far worse for women than at any time in America. All of that said, in making comments, it's sometimes not possible to touch on every specific malady, and one has to speak in broader terms.
John Thompson, I agree with your statement; but is it possible? We keep trying and for a little while, we are united and then some crazy like a fox type speaks and all goes to pot.
It often seems hopeless, but the vision of all 212 Democratic members of Congress voting through every ballot, unanimously, for Hakeem Jeffries, was a sign that if we maintain our own unity as lovers of Democracy, freedom and human rights and value for all equally, the fractured right will eventually be overcome. It is a huge battle, and the Democrats still have far to go to liberate themselves from the influence of corporate bribery (Manchin and Sinema, to name but two), but many a righteous battle has seemed hopeless and to have all the odds stacked against it, yet the determination, will and faith of those on the side of truth and justice have ultimately prevailed.