The Ruling Class and an Undeclared Civil War

Over the past 73 years, devoid of any meaningful national misfortune, the American social order has undergone a major transformation. Historically, societies tend to stratify themselves along economic or pre-ordained class lines. The United States has long prided itself on the belief that class distinctions were no longer a part of a unique American culture. However, the current social structure has evolved into a near impregnable three-tier categorization in which the ruling class, that sits astride the social order, has revealed, thanks to the election of Donald Trump, open and unabashed disdain for the two lower classes and the unleashing of a radicalized army of malcontents. The citizens who provide the primary labor and resources for the economic engine of the country constitute the second tier. The third is comprised of those who have been betrayed by a self-serving education system and are conditioned to be totally dependent upon a government dominated by the ruling class.

Unlike any other period in the nation’s history, one stratum of society, the American elites of the past half-century, by their control of education, entertainment, the media and politics, have totally dominated and overwhelmingly and negatively influenced the culture and national character. They are chiefly responsible for what it is today. This American aristocracy is now entirely made up of those who have no recall or firsthand experience of the years of adversity prior to 1940. Their entire point of reference is never-ending affluence and the pursuit of pleasure within an overall framework of world peace. Yet this assemblage is dominated by a comparatively few committed ideologues and so-called intellectuals who are dedicated to permanently altering the economy and American culture. Nonetheless, they have been very successful in attracting many others by appealing to their vanity and avarice. Thus entrance into this class is not entirely a factor of birth or wealth but rather that of developing a mindset of superiority similar to the evolution of cliques within a high school setting. This attitude is further reinforced and promoted in the incubator that is the college campus, wherein this mindset is further enhanced by the academic elites waxing eloquent about the failings of the United States and the ideal of a classless society -- led, of course, by the pre-eminent class…themselves and their their naïve recruits. Once having left the bubble that is the university environment, the majority of these same recruits, still influenced by their university experience and desirous of maintaining a standing within the circle, look to the anointed leaders in the mainstream media, the entertainment industry and politics to set the agenda and dialog. Further, by being an accepted member of this class it is far easier to be ushered by the gate-keepers onto the path of making a substantial living be it in government, academia, Wall Street, the media or a myriad of non-profit advocacy groups. To achieve and retain these benefits, it becomes paramount to retain membership within the congregation and do their bidding rather than question what the pronouncements and policies of their titular leaders would do to the culture and well-being of the country at large. Thus, while proclaiming to be independent thinkers, no faction in American society is more acquiescent to groupthink and conformity. The reality is that the majority of those in the ruling class are mind-numbed eternal adolescents hell-bent on pushing the boundaries of ethical and moral behavior and viewing all political and policy issues as a war between their side and their mortal enemies (those who oppose the transformation of the nation into a socialist oligarchy, the concomitant erosion of liberty as well as unrestrained personal behavior). While there are a few comparatively independent thinkers within the group that do question the over-reaching of a powerful central government, their opposition is muted and limited to a more gradualist approach as their concession to remain within the fold. An all-powerful central government is vital to maintaining the elite’s power, income base and pre-eminent class status and must be protected at all cost. In order to retain their supremacy, the tactics of outright lies, innuendos, and character assassinations, as well as exploitation of national tragedies to impugn their adversaries, have been utilized by the foot soldiers in the mainstream media, the political establshment and the entertainment industry. The eight years of the Obama administration rudely awakened a sleeping populace. Many of whom, also benefiting from the overwhelming economic growth and absence of national adversity over the past half-century, had consciously chosen to ignore what was happening to the culture and future well-being of the country. Thus, the election of Donald Trump was in essence the revenge of the lower classes for not only the overbearing and condescending attitude of the elites but their ongoing success in transforming American society and culture. Faced with the exposure of their agenda and the real prospect of losing their status and influence, the disdain toward the lower classes, which had always bubbled beneath the surface, burst forth in a volcanic eruption of uncontrolled vitriol, anger and absurdity. The denizens of the ruling class unleashed their out of control foot soldiers on the citizenry, employing the tactics and weapons previously aimed at their political enemies. Today vast swaths of the American populace, whether they voted for Trump or not, are indiscriminately accused of being racists, misogynists, white supremacists, ignoramuses, religious zealots, xenophobes and malcontents. Intimidation and threats of violence are no longer condemned so long as it is directed at those identified as a threat to the hegemony of the elites. Various social media platforms are being hijacked and weaponized by the mindless and radicalized brain-dead army of elite wannabes, the ruling class chooses not to restrain, in order to terrorize and permanently cower those in the second tier of society -- the citizens who provide the primary labor and resources for the economic engine of the country. There is at present an undeclared and non-violent civil war being waged in this country. The underlying factor of any civil war is an elite ruling class desperate to maintain power at odds with a majority of a population seeking change. Also prevalent in most civil upheavals is the unleashing, by those determined to retain power, of the radicalized and ultimately uncontrollable dogs of war who more often than not devour their sponsors. Both elements are currently in play. While the ruling class publicly obsesses over Donald Trump and denigrates the vast majority of the population, they have planted the seeds, by their actions, for a takeover of the country by a radical element that will turn on them as they are presently doing within the Democratic Party. The American people must understand that the current ruling class will not willingly exit the stage or take on their mercenary army. Donald Trump, while perhaps accomplishing a significant degree of change, cannot induce their demise. This threat can only be marginalized through the determined utilization of political process which will encompass a number of political cycles and the long-term willingness to not be intimidated or cowed into submission. The future of the nation as founded is at stake.