The paranoia is in bloom, the PR
The transmissions will resume
They'll try to push drugs
Keep us all dumbed down and hope that
We will never see the truth around
(So come on!)
Another promise, another scene, another
A package not to keep us trapped in greed
With all the green belts wrapped around our minds
And endless red tape to keep the truth confined
(So come on!)
They will not force us
They will stop degrading us
They will not control us
We will be victorious
Interchanging mind control
Come let the revolution take its toll if you could
Flick the switch and open your third eye, you'd see that
We should never be afraid to die
(So come on!)
Rise up and take the power back, it's time that
The fat cats had a heart attack, you know that
Their time is coming to an end
We have to unify and watch our flag ascend
Muse - Uprising
The song captures the fundamental nature of what has occurred in this country. The ruling class, through the public education system; by allowing cheap drugs in the poor communities; by public relations misinformation; and the entertainment media, have been able to withhold the truth from the ignorant masses. The society is consumed by personal wealth and attaining that wealth. Those who attain wealth through any means are admired. "Greed is good" still thrives today. Goldman Sachs is the poster child of greed gone wild. The non-wealthy are left to deal with the endless red tape of getting anything done, from doctor visits, to cell phone billing plans, to 1040 tax returns, and obtaining handouts from the government. The song is a call to revolution. We are tired of being degraded and trivialized by the politicians and fat cat bankers that run this country. There is a growing army of angry citizens who know they are being manipulated and controlled. The time is approaching when violence will be required to take the power back from the fat cats. When people lose everything they have worked their whole lives for, there is nothing left to lose. Once the financial system implodes, government will be helpless to print more worthless currency. The uprising that will occur during this Crisis will be bloody, as those in power will not relinquish control without a fight. The flag of the righteous and unified will ascend. Thinking Americans are what the ruling elite fear most.
Bertrand Russell
This is the fourth Crisis period in American history. The prior three were the American Revolution, the Civil War, and the Great Depression/World War II. We've experienced two revolutions and one world war that killed 65 million people. There is no way to avoid what awaits us. Like the seasons, we must go through Winter before we can experience Spring again. The only question is what events will transpire to generate the public fury that always occurs during the Crisis era. Will it be a foreign conflict over oil that transforms into a World War? Will it be a nuclear missile exchange in the Middle East? Will it be a nuclear device detonated within the U.S. borders? Or, will it be a domestic civil war due to a total collapse of our economic system? The conflict is likely to be triggered by natural resources or lack thereof.
"When society approaches the climax of a Crisis, it reaches a point of maximum civic power. Where the new values regime had once justified individual fury, it now justifies public fury. Wars become more likely and are fought with efficiency and finality. The risk of revolution is high -- as is the risk of civil war, since the community that commands the greatest loyalty does not necessarily coincide with political (or geographic) boundaries."
Strauss & Howe -- The Fourth Turning
We are years from a final resolution. The cast of characters who will decide our fate is unknown today. Barack Obama will not be a major player in the climax of this Crisis. He will go down in history as the James Buchanan or Herbert Hoover figure that only insured that the Crisis would grow bigger and more painful through his actions. The country is likely to turn to an aging Boomer to lead the country through the violent phase of this Crisis. The initial phase of this Crisis has passed, much like the stock market crash in 1929 and the appearance of a recovery in 1930. The "solutions" that have been implemented thus far will drive our deficits skyward, drive the dollar downward, and ultimately push the economy into a depression. The confluence of a deepening depression with the onset of peak oil shortages in supplies and soaring prices between 2010 and 2014 will plunge the country into chaos. As the world loses confidence in the leadership of our country, they will exit our debt and our dollar. The collapse of the U.S. currency could result in a number of calamitous scenarios.
When governments are confronted with dreadful domestic problems and faced with lack of oil supply, a foreign enemy will materialize who just happens to have vast amounts of oil. Since the supply of oil will be just as restricted for China and other Far East countries, there is likely to be armed conflict. Once war begins, no one can predict which direction it will go. If it spirals out of control, nuclear annihilation is a possibility. The collapse of the U.S. dollar would result in millions of Americans being financially wiped out. Millions of angry Americans with no gasoline and no money might get unruly. The possibility of civil war will be high. Will the American military fire on American citizens? The ruling elite will order the military to attack the riff-raff, but they risk the military turning their guns on them. The greatest risk in this scenario is that Americans turn to a strong leader who assumes dictatorial power in the guise of safety and security.
"The Crisis climax is human history's equivalent to nature's raging typhoon, the kind that sucks all surrounding matter into a single swirl of ferocious energy. Anything not lashed down goes flying; anything standing in the way gets flattened. Normally occurring late in the Fourth Turning, the climax gathers energy from an accumulation of unmet needs, unpaid bills, and unresolved problems. It then spends that energy on an upheaval whose direction and dimension were beyond comprehension during the prior Unraveling era. The climax shakes a society to its roots, transforms its institutions, redirects its purposes, and marks its people (and its generations) for life. The climax can end in triumph, or tragedy, or some combination of both. Whatever the event and whatever the outcome, a society passes through a great gate of history, fundamentally altering the course of civilization. Soon thereafter, this great gate is sealed by the Crisis resolution, when victors are rewarded and enemies punished; when empires or nations are forged or destroyed; when treaties are signed and boundaries redrawn; and when peace is accepted, troops repatriated, and life begun anew. One large chapter of history ends, and another starts. In a very real sense, one society dies -- and another is born."
Strauss & Howe -- The Fourth Turning
