Corporations both embrace and thrive under the police-state apparatus. Democracy is seen as a barrier to unlimited profit and so, when democratic ideals can be shunted aside, corporations are able to flourish with far less impediments.
While many parts of the world have known this truth for some time now -- generally, from the barrel of a gun -- those of us in the US will soon come to understand it as well. If things keep going the way they are going -- there is no reason to think otherwise -- the American populace will be blessed with an object lesson in Taoist thought.
One of the Taoist themes that appears on this blog time and time again is that of cycles. So many posts highlight the notion of the various aspects of life flowing one into the other. We are soon to enter a new cycle in the American Dream, though this one will be far from positive.
As the federal government and state legislatures continue their lockstep push to eviscerate the social safety net and good-paying jobs continue to be difficult to come by, more and more families will become destitute. With unemployment, food stamp, welfare and health benefits placed on a short leash, the number of hungry, homeless and desperate people will rise.
When people don't have enough money to feed, clothe and shelter their families and the social services that exist are inadequate, what will they do? In many cases, they will steal and kill to survive.
As the crime rate goes up, the powers that be will ratchet up the mechanisms of the police-state. To pay for this, what's left of the social safety net will be squeezed ever tighter. This will lead even more people to become destitute and crime (of survival) will continue upward.
At some point -- it may occur in the present generation or the next -- the cause-effect cycle will start spinning madly and the state will be hard-pressed to keep pace. Somewhere along the line, the pressure will become too great and the circle will implode into chaos. At that point, all bets are off.
While many parts of the world have known this truth for some time now -- generally, from the barrel of a gun -- those of us in the US will soon come to understand it as well. If things keep going the way they are going -- there is no reason to think otherwise -- the American populace will be blessed with an object lesson in Taoist thought.
One of the Taoist themes that appears on this blog time and time again is that of cycles. So many posts highlight the notion of the various aspects of life flowing one into the other. We are soon to enter a new cycle in the American Dream, though this one will be far from positive.
As the federal government and state legislatures continue their lockstep push to eviscerate the social safety net and good-paying jobs continue to be difficult to come by, more and more families will become destitute. With unemployment, food stamp, welfare and health benefits placed on a short leash, the number of hungry, homeless and desperate people will rise.
When people don't have enough money to feed, clothe and shelter their families and the social services that exist are inadequate, what will they do? In many cases, they will steal and kill to survive.
As the crime rate goes up, the powers that be will ratchet up the mechanisms of the police-state. To pay for this, what's left of the social safety net will be squeezed ever tighter. This will lead even more people to become destitute and crime (of survival) will continue upward.
At some point -- it may occur in the present generation or the next -- the cause-effect cycle will start spinning madly and the state will be hard-pressed to keep pace. Somewhere along the line, the pressure will become too great and the circle will implode into chaos. At that point, all bets are off.
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