Response to a friend ...

Note: To see the article to which I am referring go to the Guardian Unlimited website: http://www.guardian.co.uk

Puritanism of the rich
Bush's ideology has its roots in 17th century preaching that the world exists to be conquered
By George Monbiot
Tuesday November 9, 2004
The Guardian

This is VERY interesting!

"So why has this ideology resurfaced in 2004? Because it has to. The enrichment of the elite and impoverishment of the lower classes requires a justifying ideology if it is to be sustained. In the US this ideology has to be a religious one. Bush's government is forced back to the doctrines of Puritanism as an historical necessity. If we are to understand what it's up to, we must look not to the1930s, but to the 1630s." ibid.

That succinctly describes the raison d'être of the Bush regime ("regime" as in family) AND links it to their ascendant ideology.

However, I don't agree with the opening analysis regarding fascism. The writer describes the ground out of which fascism grew at that time as if it were facism itself.

Fascism is the use of the central government of a nation to actively benefit the owners of wealth (now typically monopolistic business cabals) as opposed to being the regulator of the marketplace (capitalism) or fostering/developing efforts to benefit its citizens (socialism). Of course, both fascism and capitalism claim they provide the greatest benefit to the most citizens in the long run. Socialism simply does it in the short term also.

Thanks for passing this along.

Don't be too discouraged by the happenings of the day. The cosmos nutures possibility out of chaos ... it builds on its string of luck ... on Earth its poster figure is the newborn baby--the symbol of potential--not the warrior.

One way I look at it is: Life is a winning streak in a cosmic game of chance, proving that love is one of the controlling rules in our game. Those forms of life that care for their young have reached conscious awareness, defining love as the active caring for another. Love works!

As in all randomness, we can look back and see the pattern, but we can't look forward and predict the future with any certainty. But out of the pattern we can discern the rules of the game, and determine probabilities of outcomes.

Mankind may fail as a form of life--the probability of that failure encreases daily--but the cosmos won't stop the game. For mankind, turning away from love as a guiding rule is throwing craps. The dice are passed.

Cheers!
NC Swede