Beware the Rising Ire of a Forgotten Generation

S. Paul Forrest

Confusion, frustration and outright anger are the only words I can think of to describe and define the undertones of a generation forgotten in the tides of history.  These words are more than just a collection of letters with meaningless application; they depict the feelings and moods circulating through a group of people that have become disgruntled to the point of anger amidst the fog of deception emanating from our political systems past and present.

Distrust in our government grows by leaps and bounds, sparked by the actions of people who are bent on monetary allocation and blatant self-service.  These “politicians” are the soldiers of a two-party political system that has become a farce, using popular media as a tool to promote their brand of control over the people.  Republicans and Democrats alike call on us to protect the interests of our nation when they are, in reality, only asking that we give them the right to use us as fodder in their personal agendas.  The time has come for real change and the deconstruction of the old ways and practices of a bygone era that has failed us all.

Today, we live in a world that is so clearly confused with these items of self-interest that many have become overwhelmed by the implications for the future of the country.  Corporations are buying Washington piece by piece and it seems there is nothing we can do about it anymore.  Have we just been sleeping, head in the comfortable warmth of the sand, and not realized the slow creep of decay in the foundation of this nation? Or, is it only now, like a slap across the face from a jilted lover, that we are finally awakening to it?

Recently, the lies and deceit which surged forth in this past mid-term election have only served to fill us with additional malevolence.  Corporate contributions, partisan attacks on naysayers, and purposeful lies to propel a dishonest agenda are at an all-time high.  Precipitated by the actions of modern politicians who claim to represent us, a new surge of movements and actions is unfolding to counteract the deception of an old era.  These movements have made clear that WE, as a people, will NOT accept the lies anymore.

The most potent of the platforms for change for these movements rests within the blogosphere.  No longer is modern media, with its corporate backing and purposeful misdirection, trusted.  New information is being delivered through electronic media which does not serve to censure the realistic words of a people.  Bloggers and Internet journalists are now the real informers of our society.  Many people still cling to the old ideals and channels of this deception, though, wondering why so many have taken the road less traveled.

The simple answer is this: For too long we have listened to meaningless rhetoric and promises of a better tomorrow.  For too long we have watched as our “leaders” deceived us to serve their own elite purposes.  For too long we have been lied to and told by our politicians and their media constituents that all they do and stand for is for our collective good.  For too long we have sat still and worked toward a change that served only those who would spit upon the masses without regard for our safety and only served to fill their coffers with the sweat of our labor.

Don’t be fooled into thinking the powers don’t recognize our rise, though.  In reaction to the blogger speaking their mind, the powers-that-be are poised to apply the label ODD.  Oppositional Defiant Disorder is a made-up illness that was introduced to define the behavior of "troublesome" children.  Now, it seems they are set to apply the label to anyone who will stand against them.  They have also introduced new “Patriot Act” bylaws that consider those who would speak out against their ill work as criminals; a direct assault upon the First Amendment of The United States Constitution.

The reality of it all is that corporations rule our politicians and our country.  If you truly want to know what a candidate thinks, research their largest corporate contributors; there, in the charter of said corporation, you will find the platform upon which candidates really stand.  It is best to ignore the campaign trail promises of change, and the hope you may have in it, for it is not the truth of the machine they are a part of.  The truth (the hard depressing truth) is so catastrophically detrimental to the American Dream that I cannot help but gasp at the implications.

In his novel, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald saw the American Dream as an ideal about discovery, individualism, and the pursuit of happiness.  In the 1920s, as depicted in the novel, easy money and relaxed social values had corrupted this dream.  It would seem we have not come very far from this age.  Today, like in Fitzgerald’s novel, monetary disfigurement of the truth has overwhelmed our country and is spreading with the ferocity of the plague.

The term “American Dream” was first used by James Truslow Adams in his book, The Epic of America, which was written in 1931.  He stated:

The American Dream is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. It is a difficult dream for the European upper classes to interpret adequately, and too many of us ourselves have grown weary and mistrustful of it. It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position.

This may have been the image in the past, but today this dream has become a nightmare filled with ghastly images of a people serving as slaves to the interests of the elite ruling party.  It has become painfully evident that politicians care only about a letter after their names instead of the people they were entrusted to represent. In his piece, A Two-Party Death Grip, Chuck Baldwin stated:

It is clear, therefore, that conservatives are more than willing to support and defend someone they know to be unfaithful to both their oath of office and to bedrock conservative principles. In other words, it does not matter a whit to them whether their candidate tells the truth, obeys the Constitution, or even demonstrates fidelity to the fundamental principles of liberty. If he has an "R" behind his name, conservatives will support him.

The same holds true for Democrats.  It would seem that rhetoric is all we hear from our “leaders” anymore, and they daily employ deception in an effort to quiet the voices of reason from the people.  Everyday, new items and issues bubble to the surface in this swamp of deception.

But change is coming and it will be in the form of an irate mass of bodies which have been whipped into a shape by the master’s leather, deformed and seeping with the putrid scars of seething ire.   We will overrun the standard of elitism that has infected this country and will send a message to those who will do us harm for their own personal gain that “Enough is enough!!”  We have taken all that we will take and now, as the whip rises for one more painful burst upon the backs of this great country, we will collectively stand and say, “NO MORE!”  We say to you who will do us harm, “Beware the Rising Ire of a Forgotten Generation.”