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What Happened to the Love and Hope?I've recently posted a short essay on OpEdNews titled "Untying the Gordian Knot." It basically described how some of the planks from the "New Agenda for America" might improve the futures of Illegal Aliens once they are returned home. The improvements were predicated on the Re-Legalization of Marijuana, the cessation of both Legal/Illegal Immigration and the renegotiation of the various free trade agreements.
You can read "Untying the Gordian Knot"- at the link below:
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"Untying the Gordian Knot"
http://www.opednews.com/articles/2/Untying-the-Gordian-Knot-by-Bruce-Cain-080916-343.html
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You can read more about the "New Agenda for America"- at the link below:
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"New Agenda for America"-
http://www.newagecitizen.com/NAA.htm
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At any rate I was absolutely taken aback when I read the following response from someone who had recently read the essay. She said the following:
"We are desperate for the educated people that immigration provides."
She was reacting to the heretical second plank from the "New Agenda for America:
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(2) A 20-year moratorium on all immigration into the United States
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Of course I should have been angry with her because she obviously didn't comprehend the material or view the supplemental videos that I had provided. The main reason that these Corporations want to bring in more Legal immigrants is because they are cheaper and tend to further drive down American wages and benefits.
Of course if she visited my website regularly she would understand that there even more complex agendas at play. It really has little to do with this fiction that they are smarter. And even if that was the case I guarantee that, once they are gone, we will rise to the occasion and master whatever tasks are required to be mastered.
But that is not what bothered me about the response. What bothered me was the fact that she really doesn't believe that her American brothers and sisters are up to the task. How sad I thought.
I don't mind stating that I've reached 54 years of age in 2008: probably more than halfway through that long strange trip we know as "this life." I was born in 1954, which means I was nearly 13 (entering 8th grade) when "All You Need is Love" was broadcast to 26 countries and watched by 400 million, on June 25, 1967.
Now I know you have to be saying, what does your age have to do with it? Why are you talking about an old Beatles song?
Well, first of all let's consider my age. Reaching 54 "years of age"- means that I have seen the phenomenon known as age discrimination in recent decades. And I'm sure many Americans over 40 have seen it, or are going to see it soon if they fall within the "majority experience"- of aging American workers. I'm not going to expand on that topic presently.
And what is my purpose in bringing up the Beatles song, "All You Need Is Love?" Well, I think that song kind of epitomizes the short-lived era of the "hippie" and the "love generation."
I was definitely of the "hippie generation" and her statement made me think about something important that I believe we have lost--and that is hope. And I believe it has been lost to a corporately controlled and manufactured mono-culture. And, as her statement attests, it appears to be this mono-culture that seems to breed both apathy, indifference and hopelessness.
We did not think that way 41 years ago when the Beatles sang "All You Need is Love." In fact despite, or perhaps because of, the LSD and other non-alcoholic drugs, we were "super hopeful" about the future. Kennedy's vision survived his assassination and we were on our way to the moon. The pursuit of science and knowledge was seen as the key to a better future for everyone. Technology would deliver us from a life of drudgery. I'm really just trying to paint a "thumbnail" sketch of the gestalt that was materializing in the late 1960's.
John Lennon was attempting to send a message in the song "All You Need Is Love." And it is well summarized in the following Wikipedia entry:
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Asked to come up with a song containing a simple message to be understood by all nationalities, Lennon's "All You Need Is Love" extended the message he first tried in "The Word", from The Beatles' 1965 album Rubber Soul. "It was an inspired song and they really wanted to give the world a message," said Brian Epstein.[1] "The nice thing about it is that it cannot be misinterpreted. It is a clear message saying that love is everything." Lennon was fascinated by the power of slogans to unite people and never afraid to create art out of propaganda. When asked in 1971 whether songs like "Give Peace a Chance" and "Power to the People" were propaganda songs, he answered, "Sure. So was 'All You Need Is Love'. I'm a revolutionary artist. My art is dedicated to change."
Beatles "All You Need Is Love" [Wikipedia]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_You_Need_Is_Love
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But I believe it went way beyond saying the "love is everything." I think it broadcast a message to the masses that any obstacle could be overcome and that a better world was possibly for everyone. It was a message of hope. Just consider a single verse from the song:
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Love, Love, Love.
Love, Love, Love.
Love, Love, Love.
There's nothing you can do that can't be done.
Nothing you can sing that can't be sung.
Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game.
It's easy.
Nothing you can make that can't be made.
No one you can save that can't be saved.
Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you in time.
It's easy.
All you need is love.
All you need is love.
All you need is love, love.
Love is all you need."
Beatles "All You Need Is Love" [Lyrics]
http://www.lyricsfreak.com/b/beatles/all+you+need+is+love_10026698.html
Beatles "All You Need Is Love" [Video]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzJ2NKp23WU
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So what has transpired over the last 40 years that leaves us so hopeless that we think we have to rely on foreign workers? What has caused us to no longer believe we can do these jobs ourselves? We have simply lost hope.
Well I'm sure these diminished expectations were somewhat engineered through what is sometimes referred to as the "manufacture of consent." The following article sheds more light on this subject:
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Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manufacturing_Consent:_The_Political_Economy_of_the_Mass_Media
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But that does not mean that we can't overcome it. And whatever it is that is "screwing with our heads,"- I think it is about time we got over it. Our future depends on it. And unless we want to see our children treated like doormats, for invading foreign hordes of Legal and Illegal Aliens, I think it is important that we get over it immediately. There is much to be done if we are to preserve our liberties and our way of life.
And I also hope that we can improve the lot of all of these Legal and Illegal Immigrants. But I want to see them enjoy those improvements back where they came from. To quote another Beatle song, it's time you "get back to where you once belonged."-
