Having a Democratic president and having a democratically controlled Congress will not really solve our problems ... at least not fully, and not for long. Even with Obama as president, progress will be only in the short term, and it will only perpetuate the conflict, division and instability. Considering what's happened just in the last 45 years, it will probably just be a matter of time before another hypocritical right-wing demagogic scoundrel could take refuge in patriotism and religiosity and rise to power.
Almost any way you look at it, partisan politics is hopelessly flawed. It is inherently divisive and inevitably corrupt. It does not and cannot serve the interests of all the people. And the biggest part of the problem is that it's based on the idea that we should choose sides, fight for power over each other, and be forced to accept the results of a winner-take-all partisan contest for presidential monarchial power.
Furthermore, another big part of the problem is that it is fueled by money, which has invariably led to corruption. And that becomes even worse when you consider that 80 percent of the funding for the political campaigns of both major parties is invested by the wealthiest one percent of the population, who also pay for the army of lobbyists who continually influence and bribe members of Congress. And, the wealthiest few get what they pay for.
Even if Barack Obama could beat the system and try to change it, any success would probably be short lived, because partisan politics would inevitably enable someone to reverse it and restore business as usual. All it would take is a political climate ripe for some right-wing demagogue to rise to power appealing to prejudices, nationalism and religious bigotry once again.
However, prejudice, nationalism and religious bigotry are only parts of the problem, because greed and corruption have produced just as much trouble, inequity and unfairness. But, even today, die-hard Republicans are still in denial and cannot see that things are now as they were in 1929 after three successive Republican presidents in a row favored and gave license and free rein to the wealthiest few, at the expense of everyone else, and brought the Great Depression down upon America.
Joseph submits that we need a thorough reformation of government, along with a reformation of religion, to put an end to partisan party politics --- an end to division and polarization, an end to bribery and corruption, an end to congressional oligarchy, an end to the juvenile competition for the "throne" of sovereign power, and an end to the presidential form of monarchy.
We need to face the fact that the present American political-economic system is not merely wasteful, divisive and damaging. It does not produce government of, by and for the people. Not really. What it often does produce is government of, by, and for the rich, regardless of which party wins control of Congress and the White House.
Because partisan politics breeds and fosters dishonesty, greed and corruption, it can turn otherwise good people into disingenuous and dishonest demagogues who launch misleading, slanderous attacks against each other. And after each election, we become either winners or losers, and usually far more than half of the population is not represented by our government. In fact, most often (like during the last eight years) the great majority is not really represented and only the wealthiest few are truly represented.
Besides that, another Reagan or Bush could be waiting on the right wing, who has learned that he must not merely wave the flag, thump the bible and rattle his sword. He would not so blatantly favor and enable the wealthiest few, and would promise to provide more help to the middle class, the working poor and the poor. But, he or she would thus be even more deceptive.
If you think that is not true, just consider the political rhetoric of extreme right-wing ideologues like Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh, Dick Cheney and right-wing members of Congress in recent months, who have already made sure that the right-wing attack machine stays in high gear. Their rhetoric has been very divisive, and some of it has even created a hostile and dangerous political climate in America. Their comments have been presented as if they were true, when they are actually misleading and deceptive. Their rhetoric has falsely tried to deny that global warming and climate change is caused by careless human industry. It falsely tries to connect President Barack Obama to socialism and "Big Brother" government, to equate abortion to murder, and to equate international diplomacy with "placating the enemy and putting America at risk." Their kind of rhetoric has fomented political paranoia and anger among right-wing conservatives who are prone to the lynch mob mentality and are easily incited to violence, and even to murder, as has been demonstrated.
That's why we must prevent another divisive, deceptive, right-wing pretender from gaining the throne again. We must realize that Obama's presidency could be merely like putting a band-aid on an open wound, without treating the pervasive, underlying infection.
The point is that no president can lead us to unity and harmony, or to government that is truly democratic. But we can have government of, by and for all the people, and we can make it so we will never again be divided and Obama will not be replaced by a partisan "pretender to the throne." We will share the "throne" as equal joint heirs. We will be able to govern ourselves, determine our own destiny, and use the common wealth for the common good.
In other words, the king is dead, and having another is not in the cards.
(Most of the above was excerpted and quoted, albeit slightly revised or paraphrased, from the book Getting From Babylon to New Jerusalem: #3 in the Real Prophecy Unveiled Series, and from the web pages titled Another Prophecy and Partisan Politics. © 2003 - 2009 Joseph J. Adamson
