The Long Arc of Time

When considering the long arc of history, it’s important to remember that things, unfortunately, take centuries to work themselves out in politics, government and society, with all of the ebbing and flowing of the economy and the environment to happen in the meantime.

It took about 400 years for the English Parliament to work itself over the monarchy, and even longer than that before even universal male sufferage was allowed, let alone, universal adult sufferage.  During that time, it took two major civil wars to decide which institution was going to govern in society at large, the Jacobite Wars and the Cromwell Campaigns, and even then, the modern relationship between the Paliament and the monarchy wasn’t produced until the end of Victoria’s reign in the early 20th century, almost 800 years after the English barons put a sword to King John II’s neck and said “sign here” on the Magna Carta.

When you consider the United States, it’s taken us almost 100 years and a civil war of our own to decide whether it was ok to own slaves, and several more decades to determine that workers, indeed, have a right to fair and safe treatment in the work place with fair compensation for their hours worked.  We’re at a point in our history where, once again, our defacto nobility, the leaders of private corporations, industry and finance have and are taking more than their reasonable share of the profits of work while neglecting and/or abusing the rest of the population.  They got off lucky with Franklin Roosevelt back in the 1930’s and 40’s.

However, another Roosevelt does not appear to be emerging from amongst their ranks in order to do the right thing, however imperfectly that may have been done under Roosevelt’s administration.  Obama could have done it, but he played the game too much and got sucked into that, rather than being a genuine leader for our country and a savior to both rich and poor alike.  On top of that, you have the whole of Congress acting like an inbred, nepotistic madhouse, thanks to the influence of the Establishment wings of each Party and, of course, the outsider Tea Party who came to power and influence through picking off easy prey following the public’s disappointment with the Democrats in 2010.  The official Progressives are failing to protect the citizenry from the Republicans and the private elite, and the Republicans are, in general, ideologically and mentally defunct at governing.  With no one to turn to in government (and this being the first time that the American society has been faced with the prospect of having to do something on their own with regards to its government) it will be interesting to watch as the power in Washington declines as a result of its own boobery, senselessness, callousness, cruelty and focus on the small sense of ego while the rest of the general public gets angrier and angrier and angrier by the day, the month and the year.

With food stamps and government unemployment cut, plus with wages in decline and there being little work available for average Americans, I would really hate to be in this country within the next 10 years, if conditions remain essentially unchanged and attitudes and perspectives in government remain unaltered.

I’m going to iterate again, that I’m perfectly willing and, I think at this point, actually able to help the American government and the American society realize a better present.

It’s just a question of being recognized as such and getting in touch with the right people, in order to make that happen.

Think about it.

The Power of Love and the Love of Power

The Power of Love and the Love of Power

An interesting occurrence in history.

But one must define what is meant by power, in the long and the short run of it.

Because power is one of those things that’s fickle, especially when there is nothing to balance it out in the relationship.

Look at the Inca, for one example of this.

Or the Aztecs.

Or the British.

Or the Americans

Weak powers can do considerably more damage in the long term to “strong” states and powers, especially if they set aside their surface differences to embrace a common cause against the stronger power.

Even then, they can act as a thorn in the side of the supposedly stronger power, and sap that stronger power of its energy, resources and will to fight.

Thucydides had it wrong about human beings: we like compassionate leaders, in general.  They need to be willing and able to assert themselves and show their relative strength.  But by being compassionate and not bullying, they win over the smaller powers and groups to their side, thus enhancing their power and enhancing the well being of those weaker powers.

The Persians were onto something, with their empire that is regrowing by the year (thanks to the boobery of the West and the skill of the Iranians).

So were the Egyptians, whose Pharaohs actually more or less, ruled benevolently and compassionately, such that people were willing to go along with building massive structures in their honor.

It’s something that BDSM Dominants know intuitively or learn eventually, if they’re interested in actually keeping a positive relationship going with a submissive long after even the relationship has gone out.

It’s a standard operation of behaving well amongst people.

All other “power grabs” are merely a symptom of weakness in the mind, and that they are about to collapse if the weaker power plays their hand right (even if they are physically stronger than the other side in the conflict).

Empires come and empires go.

Only the people are left behind.

And that, is a core nugget from history.

One that the Greeks and, indeed, all of the West’s civilizations have failed to accept or appreciate at their own expenses.

Think about it.