A SHORT HISTORY OF RIGHT WING DESTRUCTION PART 5
The years 1900-1920 saw a hodgepodge of disasters and a few accomplishments. The biggest event of the two decades was World War I. It was the first true world war and got called "the war to end all wars" by some. That proved illusory, of course. It was only the beginning of the bloodshed that would characterize the 20th century.
Technology continued to develop and it had its good and dark sides. For instance, the Wright Brothers built the first successful heavier-than-air aircraft. Airplanes would later be used in World War I to inflict death and destruction.
The "Titanic," considered a marvel of ship building technology, sank on its maiden voyage.
In the United States we had the Triangle Shirtwaist fire on March 25, 1911. The owners, like good conservatives, had locked the doors to the workplace and workers could not escape when a fire broke out. Victims of the fire included children, who worked at the company. We know the conservative history in decrying laws requiring workplace safety and we know that conservatives would love to allow child labor.
President Woodrow Wilson worked toward the establishment of the League of Nations, but the United States did not join the League because of opposition by Republicans in the Senate. You wonder now if the League had included the United States and if the League had possessed any real power if World War II might have been averted.
We had the Communist Revolution in Russia. It resulted in the deaths of Czar Nicholas II and his family and the installation of a totalitarian government that acted as a good foil for militarists in the United States for the next few decades.
More to follow
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
A SHORT HISTORY OF RIGHT WING DESTRUCTION PART 4
The parallels you see in history are fascinating. At the turn of the 19th century the United States found itself involved in a war in the Philippines. It was in many ways an early version of the Vietnam War.
The Philippines had previously been a Spanish colony. Spain gave up control of the Philippines as part of the Treaty of Paris that ended the Spanish-American War.
The Philippine war lasted three years. 4,200 Americans died in the war and an estimated 20,000 Filipino combatants were killed. An astonishing 200,000 civilians died as a result of the war, famine, and disease.
Just as in Vietnam a few decades later, the U. S. enjoyed a vast superiority in military technology. The Filipinos found conventional warfare ineffective. Just as the Viet Cong did later on, the Filipinos engaged in guerrilla warfare. Even the topography was similar to Vietnam.
Both sides committed atrocities. Both sides used torture. That is also a parallel with more modern history.
Aggressive foreign policy that involves the use of the military has been a hallmark of conservative politicians. The Philippine war was a result of the conservative McKinley administration's policies. The policies were carried out by President Theodore Roosevelt after McKinley's assassination.
Famed writer Mark Twain was a prominent opponent of the Philippine war. Twain wrote "A War Prayer" and blasted the hypocrisy of people who proclaim their virtue while carrying out atrocities in colonial wars.
More to come
The parallels you see in history are fascinating. At the turn of the 19th century the United States found itself involved in a war in the Philippines. It was in many ways an early version of the Vietnam War.
The Philippines had previously been a Spanish colony. Spain gave up control of the Philippines as part of the Treaty of Paris that ended the Spanish-American War.
The Philippine war lasted three years. 4,200 Americans died in the war and an estimated 20,000 Filipino combatants were killed. An astonishing 200,000 civilians died as a result of the war, famine, and disease.
Just as in Vietnam a few decades later, the U. S. enjoyed a vast superiority in military technology. The Filipinos found conventional warfare ineffective. Just as the Viet Cong did later on, the Filipinos engaged in guerrilla warfare. Even the topography was similar to Vietnam.
Both sides committed atrocities. Both sides used torture. That is also a parallel with more modern history.
Aggressive foreign policy that involves the use of the military has been a hallmark of conservative politicians. The Philippine war was a result of the conservative McKinley administration's policies. The policies were carried out by President Theodore Roosevelt after McKinley's assassination.
Famed writer Mark Twain was a prominent opponent of the Philippine war. Twain wrote "A War Prayer" and blasted the hypocrisy of people who proclaim their virtue while carrying out atrocities in colonial wars.
More to come
Monday, October 14, 2013
A SHORT HISTORY OF RIGHT WING DESTRUCTION PART 3
After the Civil War ended, the United States entered a period that has been called the Gilded Age.
The Gilded Age saw technical progress and expansion of U. S. territory and influence. It also saw the development of the some of the great fortunes that still exist today. Men like Andrew Carnegie and J. D. Rockefeller built financial empires. They were largely free from governmental restraint.
Things were not so pleasant for working class people. There was no social safety net in those days except for what could be provided by churches and private charities. It wasn't only African-Americans who suffered discrimination. Newly-arrived immigrants from Ireland, Italy, and other countries faced discrimination.
We saw completion of great railroads, largely with federal government help. It was the equivalent in some ways of government research that developed the Internet and other technologies in our day.
There was movement toward giving women the right to vote. It was resisted strenuously by the reactionary forces of the time.
As the century turned, we had a war with Spain. The war was justified because of an apparent attack on the United States battleship "Maine" in Havana Harbor. The Fox News of the day was probably William Randolph Hearst, a practitioner of "yellow journalism." Hearst pounded the drums for a war with Spain. The Spanish-American war may have been the equivalent of George W. Bush's trumped up reasons for attacking Iraq.
More to come
After the Civil War ended, the United States entered a period that has been called the Gilded Age.
The Gilded Age saw technical progress and expansion of U. S. territory and influence. It also saw the development of the some of the great fortunes that still exist today. Men like Andrew Carnegie and J. D. Rockefeller built financial empires. They were largely free from governmental restraint.
Things were not so pleasant for working class people. There was no social safety net in those days except for what could be provided by churches and private charities. It wasn't only African-Americans who suffered discrimination. Newly-arrived immigrants from Ireland, Italy, and other countries faced discrimination.
We saw completion of great railroads, largely with federal government help. It was the equivalent in some ways of government research that developed the Internet and other technologies in our day.
There was movement toward giving women the right to vote. It was resisted strenuously by the reactionary forces of the time.
As the century turned, we had a war with Spain. The war was justified because of an apparent attack on the United States battleship "Maine" in Havana Harbor. The Fox News of the day was probably William Randolph Hearst, a practitioner of "yellow journalism." Hearst pounded the drums for a war with Spain. The Spanish-American war may have been the equivalent of George W. Bush's trumped up reasons for attacking Iraq.
More to come
Sunday, October 13, 2013
A SHORT HISTORY OF RIGHT WING DESTRUCTION PART 2
After the Civil War ended, there was a transition period in which the defeated South was treated much as a defeated country would be treated. United States troops occupied parts of the South. There was a desire by some in the North to punish the South for the Civil War.
There was also positive movement toward giving African-Americans rights as free people. Passage of the 13th and 14th Amendments to the Constitution made African-Americans, in theory, equal citizens of the United States. But the right wing backlash was already developing.
Political forces in the South were determined to subvert the Constitution whenever and wherever they could when it came to rights for African-Americans. Extralegal groups such as the Ku Klux Klan, a group dedicated to white supremacy, were also created. The Ku Klux Klan was committed to intimidating African-Americans and subverting the voting process.
If African-Americans couldn't be scared away from the polls, there were other devices put in place to suppress their votes such as the poll tax. The poll tax was highly discriminatory against poor people and most African-Americans were obviously poor. Other obstacles such as "literacy tests" were implemented to make it almost impossible for African-Americans to qualify as voters.
More to follow
After the Civil War ended, there was a transition period in which the defeated South was treated much as a defeated country would be treated. United States troops occupied parts of the South. There was a desire by some in the North to punish the South for the Civil War.
There was also positive movement toward giving African-Americans rights as free people. Passage of the 13th and 14th Amendments to the Constitution made African-Americans, in theory, equal citizens of the United States. But the right wing backlash was already developing.
Political forces in the South were determined to subvert the Constitution whenever and wherever they could when it came to rights for African-Americans. Extralegal groups such as the Ku Klux Klan, a group dedicated to white supremacy, were also created. The Ku Klux Klan was committed to intimidating African-Americans and subverting the voting process.
If African-Americans couldn't be scared away from the polls, there were other devices put in place to suppress their votes such as the poll tax. The poll tax was highly discriminatory against poor people and most African-Americans were obviously poor. Other obstacles such as "literacy tests" were implemented to make it almost impossible for African-Americans to qualify as voters.
More to follow
Saturday, October 12, 2013
A SHORT HISTORY OF RIGHT WING DESTRUCTION PART 1
When you read American history you can see an undercurrent of right wing philosophy from the beginning of the United States as a sovereign nation.
Prior to ratification of the Constitution, the law of the land was the Articles of Confederation, which epitomized the idea of "states' rights." The federal government was weak and largely ineffectual. It was so bad it prompted political leaders to call for a constitutional convention to replace the Articles.
The members of the constitutional convention hammered out the Constitution, the document we see today. The Constitution is a document filled with compromises and fear of a federal government that would be too strong. We got the so-called "checks and balances" system that creates three co-equal branches of government: the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. Even the legislative branch is split into two houses as a form of compromise. The House of Representatives might be considered a democratic body because the number of members of based on the population of the individual states. The Senate has two members from each state, regardless of population, and makes it a decidedly undemocratic body.
Even the checks and balances system didn't satisfy the conservatives of the time. They demanded a Bill of Rights that would place even further restraints on federal government power.
Conservatives of the time got their way by making African-Americans 3/5's of a person because that increased the power of the southern slave-holding states.
Thomas Jefferson was one of the earliest and most prominent advocates of states' rights. Jefferson was a slave-holding southerner. The concept of states' rights is a direct assault on the idea of a strong federal government. It says, in effect, that each state has power equal to that of the federal government.
Slavery was the hot button issue in the early days of the United States. The southern states depended on the free labor provided by slaves to bolster their economies. The northern states began moving toward a more manufacturing based economy, not based on slave labor. Southerners were concerned that the federal government would move in a direction that would restrict or perhaps even eliminate slavery. We got compromises such as the Mason-Dixon line.
Conservative doctrines such as "manifest destiny" and the "only good Indian is a dead Indian" came into play. But the world was moving away from the use of slavery and conservatives worried that slavery would be banished.
The election of Abraham Lincoln is an interesting parallel to the election of Barack Obama. Lincoln's election was a landmark moment. Conservatives feared that Lincoln would finally abolish slavery and that led to the firing on the United States Fort Sumter by forces of the rebel Confederacy and the launch of the agonizing and brutal American Civil War. I think we can say the conservatives of the era were primarily responsible for the Civil War.
More to follow.
When you read American history you can see an undercurrent of right wing philosophy from the beginning of the United States as a sovereign nation.
Prior to ratification of the Constitution, the law of the land was the Articles of Confederation, which epitomized the idea of "states' rights." The federal government was weak and largely ineffectual. It was so bad it prompted political leaders to call for a constitutional convention to replace the Articles.
The members of the constitutional convention hammered out the Constitution, the document we see today. The Constitution is a document filled with compromises and fear of a federal government that would be too strong. We got the so-called "checks and balances" system that creates three co-equal branches of government: the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. Even the legislative branch is split into two houses as a form of compromise. The House of Representatives might be considered a democratic body because the number of members of based on the population of the individual states. The Senate has two members from each state, regardless of population, and makes it a decidedly undemocratic body.
Even the checks and balances system didn't satisfy the conservatives of the time. They demanded a Bill of Rights that would place even further restraints on federal government power.
Conservatives of the time got their way by making African-Americans 3/5's of a person because that increased the power of the southern slave-holding states.
Thomas Jefferson was one of the earliest and most prominent advocates of states' rights. Jefferson was a slave-holding southerner. The concept of states' rights is a direct assault on the idea of a strong federal government. It says, in effect, that each state has power equal to that of the federal government.
Slavery was the hot button issue in the early days of the United States. The southern states depended on the free labor provided by slaves to bolster their economies. The northern states began moving toward a more manufacturing based economy, not based on slave labor. Southerners were concerned that the federal government would move in a direction that would restrict or perhaps even eliminate slavery. We got compromises such as the Mason-Dixon line.
Conservative doctrines such as "manifest destiny" and the "only good Indian is a dead Indian" came into play. But the world was moving away from the use of slavery and conservatives worried that slavery would be banished.
The election of Abraham Lincoln is an interesting parallel to the election of Barack Obama. Lincoln's election was a landmark moment. Conservatives feared that Lincoln would finally abolish slavery and that led to the firing on the United States Fort Sumter by forces of the rebel Confederacy and the launch of the agonizing and brutal American Civil War. I think we can say the conservatives of the era were primarily responsible for the Civil War.
More to follow.
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
FIRE UP THE RAIL
The modern Republican party doesn't believe in governing. It believes in obstruction, lying, smearing, demonizing its opponents, distorting history and the Constitution, and outright hypocrisy.
We now have the spectacle of a government shutdown because the Republicans don't like the health care law that was passed by a previous Congress. Never mind that the new health care law is modeled on a law one of their own, Mitt Romney, implemented while he was governor of Massachusetts. Never mind that millions of Americans have done without health insurance. Never mind that other industrialized nations have left the United States in the dust when it comes to providing for the basic needs of their citizens. About the only area where the United States is Number One now is the size and scope of its military.
I think we need to fire up the proverbial rail and run Republicans out of power wherever and whenever they present themselves. They are clearly not interested in serving the needs of the American people except for their rich friends and corporate backers.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
WARM UP THE RAIL
We've gone through the latest tawdry display in Congress over the so-called "fiscal cliff." Republicans these days think governing requires putting the shaft deeply into the backs of workers and middle class Americans.
So we got this deal that is like sticking chewing gum to plug a leak and before long we'll be back to it again. The Congressional Republicans couldn't even find it in their craven little hearts to pass legislation to help victims of Hurricane Sandy. They're even getting blasted by other Republicans.
I think it's time to warm up the rail to provide a hasty exit from Washington and government for the Republican party. They don't represent the interests of most of us. They don't care about the country. They care about their fat cat donors and that's it.
We've gone through the latest tawdry display in Congress over the so-called "fiscal cliff." Republicans these days think governing requires putting the shaft deeply into the backs of workers and middle class Americans.
So we got this deal that is like sticking chewing gum to plug a leak and before long we'll be back to it again. The Congressional Republicans couldn't even find it in their craven little hearts to pass legislation to help victims of Hurricane Sandy. They're even getting blasted by other Republicans.
I think it's time to warm up the rail to provide a hasty exit from Washington and government for the Republican party. They don't represent the interests of most of us. They don't care about the country. They care about their fat cat donors and that's it.
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