Take a look at this passage from an 1864 letter written by Lincoln to Col. William F. Elkins, Nov. 21, 1864:
“We may congratulate ourselves that this cruel war is nearing its end.
It has cost a vast amount of treasure and blood. . . .
It has indeed been a trying hour for the Republic; but
I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes
me to tremble for the safety of my country. As a result of the war,
corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places
will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong
its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth
is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed.
I feel at this moment more anxiety for the safety
of my country than ever before, even in the midst of war.
God grant that my suspicions may prove groundless.”(The italics are mine)
Interesting isn’t it? You won’t see that quote in any mainstream history book.
Nor will you see the following quotes from Thomas Jefferson:
“I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. Already they have raised up a monied aristocracy that has set the government at defiance. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people to whom it properly belongs.”
–Thomas Jefferson“I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations which dare already to challenge our government to a trial by strength, and bid defiance to the laws of our country.”
–Thomas Jefferson“I sincerely believe that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies, and that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale.”
–Thomas Jefferson“It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world.”
–Thomas Jefferson
Lincoln and Jefferson were right. They saw the danger even then. Today, we have precisely the situation they foresaw and the result is the world that we have today where corporate greed and money interests have co-opted and bought the government, bought the courts, and are using U.S. power, reputation, and military might to further their profit interests. Today, they have their way with us, the people. The United States is no longer “Of the People, By the People, and For the People. The biggest corporations and special interests, pharma, Cargill, Exxon, and their 30,000 lobbyists call the shots in Washington and the “People” are led to believe that they still have a choice in their affairs. You don’t. As George Carlin says, “It’s a big club, and you ain’t in it.”
shuttersparks
abraham and thomas carry a little more weight with their words than george carlin… maybe because they’re dead and they weren’t comedians. but george gives the more realistic contemporary view of the money/power club that rules the world today.
interesting that you mention the mainstream history books… traditional education must be completely redesigned for the new information age. there’s a huge difference between educating with an approved agenda designed with nationalistic needs in mind, and educating with an open agenda and the tools to provide access to all the information known to mankind.
any country that doesn’t realize that their future success and existence depends on the success and health of the global community is destined to fail miserably… join the human race or perish.
the consolidation of wealth into a very few hands is actually a natural progression in this game of monopoly. eventually, it will all be in the hands of one person. at that time it becomes worthless… the 7-10 billion remaining individuals merely call for a reallocation of the wealth and the beginning of a new game. 7-10 billion to 1 says i’m right.
in lincoln’s and jefferson’s time there was little access to information for the average citizen and communication between humans on the planet was extremely limited.
plug those facts into your prognosticator and what changes do you see coming for the human race on planet earth in the next 100 years?
-elpolvo
I agree with you, I think. Actually you bring up a fascinating area of study that I would not at all mind pursuing in great depth. Such pursuits are best done by two or more persons. Perhaps we could collaborate on a work of such prognostications.
SEE? collaborative efforts by two who live 2,000 miles apart and have never met.
the first step is to google this proposed pursuit and see if it’s already been started by other collaborators.
-ep
ps- are you talking about the prognosticating or the redesign of the individual educational curriculum?
I was thinking of the prognosticating part. When I read your post, what flitted through my mind was something like the books written by John Naisbitt. Today’s “wired” youth are quite different, almost alien creatures, compared to the pre-wired generations. People from my generation have milked the U.S. economy dry and the baby-boomers are about to start retiring. Collapse of the world’s present dollar-based economic system is a real possibility and it will be replaced by something else. The U.S. will cease to be as big a world player. The equipment belonging to the Army and Air Force is worn out and falling apart after years of war and we cannot afford the hundreds of billions needed to replace it. Unification of Canada, the U.S., and Mexico is a possibility in the aftermath of a collapse. The socio-political ramifications of such things are enormous and bear some study.
So, I dunno. LOL.
Oh, and yes, collaboration is incredibly easy these days. I collaborate on things with my daughter using Google docs and spreadsheets and it is super cool and very effective.
If you have a gmail account I’ll be happy to show you just how cool it is. Between Skype and its collaboration features and Google docs, it’s as easy as if we were in adjacent cubicles in an office. In fact, even if we were in adjacent cubes we might still use these same tools and rarely get up to talk to the other person face to face.