On Jun 14, 2006, at 11:53 AM, Jim Devine wrote:
the fact that it was distributed in the first place indicates the
fallibility of the SS conspirators, while the SDS' revealing of it
indicates the power of resistance. This doesn't fit with the top-down
nature of conspiracy theories, in which the secret elite gets what it
wants.
As far as I know, the "club of induction", as the essay referred to
it, was used even after the essay was pulled from the orientation
kit. In my original post on this issue, I included an article by Doug
Soderstrom, PhD, whose analysis more or less shows that a club
(albeit economic) is still being used to induce military enlistment
and the purging of certain demographics. The overt elite do have
secrets, facilitated by an irresponsible press, seems to me.
Is there a possibility that class itself exists as a result of
conspiracy and that conspiracies of the upper class are floated to
maintain a beneficial (to them) class structure?
"conspiracies" are floated to maintain the class structure, but
there's a lot of overt efforts to maintain that structure: as Sweezy
said a long time ago, the "normal" business of the state is to protect
"private property," which is central to the class system.
I agree somewhat. The preferred normal business of this American
state is the preservation of life, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness for ourselves and our posterity. This is, of course,
idealistic, but it is the mission statement paraphrased from the
Preamble of the Constitution. Rare is the mission that is fully
fruited. Although there is ample evidence that the founding fathers
never really, really intended equality for all, etc., they still said
so and so far the vision as enunciated is worth pursuing. The fact
that the tool they set up -- the remainder of the Constitution -- did
not and could not and will not foster the announced mission, does not
detract from the mission itself but only from the implementation of
it. Some of us have learned over the years that representative
democracy can be purchased -- usually requiring a conspiracy of some
sort.
The point I am trying to make is that when a conspiracy is even
partially exposed, it is up to the citizenry, its press and its law
enforcers to find out the truth of the matter. In every instance in
my lifetime that is important and that has involved a conspiracy of
some kind -- JFK, MLK, Fred Hampton, Gulf of Tonkin, Ruben Salazar,
Iran-Contra, crack cocaine, BCCI, Iraq War, election of GWB, the 911
circus, for starters -- citizens, the press and lawmakers have all
pull back on the reins as soon as they smell shit. Unless each of the
segments -- the people, reporters and cops -- does its job, none have
any right to complain of the smell on their plates and should not
expect their lives to improve.
Conspiracies exist naturally. The noxious thistle in the garden
starts out with a beautiful, inviting flower before it destroys the
harvest. When we citizens call off our investigations of wrongdoing
by dangerous people, or hamper those who are investigating by
dismissing them as conspiracy nuts, we're just pushing the day of
reckoning into the future, probably our children's.
Dan Scanlan
