Blueberry Union

Sunday, March 09, 2008

Counter Culture

    The system, the anti-establishment, the counter-culture,those words would have been understood by my friends and I without any explanation when I was growing up. I don't know if it was because the social movements of the 1960's were still recent history, or if it was because of punk rock. There was a social/political movement that started a long time ago. It goes back at least as far as jazz and it continued for most of the 20th century including Elvis, the beatniks, and psychedelic music. I search the internet for hours and days, and I can't find what I'm looking for. Everything is a distraction.

    What you must understand is that "the system" is not a person. It doesn't have a human face. It's not the president of the United States, or the head of a corporation. It's bigger than that. It's like a machine that was created by human beings to help us cope with our environment. It may be as old as governments and armies but the system underwent some changes during the industrial age. Manufacturing and shipping companies became very lucrative enterprises. The federal reserve was put into the hands of private banks. Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln both warned about the power of corporations.

Thomas Jefferson
    "I hope we shall crush in it's birth, the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength and bid."

Abraham Lincoln
    "I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country... corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed."

    If I try to explain this to someone today, it's hard to do it. There is no one book to read. There is no single place where you can find all the information about it. I became aware of these things over a long period of time, through things I saw and read and through conversations with other people. I suppose I had an idea about it from the beginning but over time a lot of the information was filled in. If you don't even have an idea about it to begin with, you're probably not going to be interested.

    In my lifetime I have been fortunate to know some very intelligent people who shared their knowledge with me and pointed toward directions for research and so forth. I would not have been able to learn what I know now without them. The United States began as an agrarian (farming) society at a time when all societies in the world were agrarian societies, but with the advent of the industrial revolution a new technocracy emerged. there was a division of labor and management. Labor unions were formed to address the widespread exploitation of factory workers, coal miners and railroad workers. The labor unions did much to alleviate the poorest working conditions but the labor unions were eventually defeated by the industrialists.

    By the end of the 20th century the United States had become a world empire. Because of the internet and other military and technological advances it has become that much easier to manage business overseas. Most manufactured goods in the United States are imported from second and third world countries now. The process of getting people in this country to accept the way things are begins in grade school. John Dewey (the inventor of the Dewey decimal system) said, at the turn of the last century, that the public education system in this country should be designed to break down the sense of individualism among the students. In other words, from kindergarten on, children are instructed on how to be more like other members of the group, and behavior that is different from what is accepted in the group is discouraged.

John Dewey
    "To suppose... that a good citizen is anything more than a thoroughly efficient and serviceable member of society is a hampering superstition which it is hoped may soon disappear from educational discussion."

    The message is reinforced by Madison Avenue advertising agencies who are endlessly selling us the American way of life with radio, television and newspaper ads. There are many people who profit from the system. If you are willing to conform, if you are competitive and intelligent and able to obtain the money necessary for tuition, training, etc. you can be part of the crowd, or at least that's the promise. In reality there are many who are left out. There are many who want to be part of the system but who end up with low paying, dead end jobs because they're not smart enough or aggressive enough to beat the competition.

    My purpose is not to sit here and relate to you, point by point, all of my grievances against society. It's a feeling I have on a psychological emotional level. I would say the counter culture is a reaction to that. Other people feel that way too... an endless rat race, faceless crowds of people, my government telling me what to do, the most selfish and materialistic values represented with advertising. Everyone wants a bigger house and a new car, that's the message that gets sold to the consumers, but these things are not necessarily going to make you happy. They're just telling you that to get you to buy it.

    The counter culture is anyone who is opposed to all that. It could include people with a wide range of opinions. Some people think that the anti-establishment people are all drug users and communists but it's not necessarily so. Many of the drugs in the 1960's were supplied by the government, possibly as a plot to keep the actual revolutionary groups from having any effectiveness. The CIA developed LSD as an interrogation drug and heroin was flown back from Viet Nam in body bags. As far as the communists are concerned, most of the counter culture advocates that I know would not be willing to trade one oppressive government system for an even more oppressive government system. There are many controversies but most would agree, people are not aware.

    Dwight Eisenhower delivered a speech at the end of his term in office warning the public about the danger of the military-industrial complex. Until the 20th century our government had no standing army. Now, we not only have a large and powerful military system but it works in close cooperation with our largest private industries. The arms and weapons industry is big business. One example of this is General Electric, one of the largest producers of jet engines for the military and one of the biggest suppliers of nuclear reactors, they also own the NBC broadcasting company.

Dwight Eisenhower
    "Until the latest of our world conflicts, the United States had no armaments industry. American makers of plowshares could, with time and as required, make swords as well. But now we can no longer risk emergency improvisation of national defense; we have been compelled to create a permanent armaments industry of vast proportions. Added to this, three and a half million men and women are directly engaged in the defense establishment. We annually spend on military security more than the net income of all United States corporations.

    This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence -- economic, political, even spiritual -- is felt in every city, every State house, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society.

    In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist."

    A utopian view is needed. Other values need to be put forward, unless you plan on living in the past. Better solutions for living without conforming to the system should be tried, but first we must be able to resist whatever is oppressing us. A lot of people I know are very serious about what they're doing but they live very simple lives, they enjoy simple things, like human interaction, creative expression. They don't sit at tables and spend so much money to feel like they are having a social experience. There are art openings and free concerts and poetry readings all over the city. Do something subversive. You may not be able to change society. You may not be able to suddenly eliminate greed and fear and so on... and make everyone kind and altruistic, but you never know, and if you believe you can, then you are answering to a higher power than any government or social institution.
dukejones 3:22 PM - [Link]
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