Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Doing Empire 'cause it Looks Good

Dear George,

It makes no difference who will be our new president; there are certain constants that will remain unchanged: the Corporatist State will thrive and our empire will remain untouched.

The Corporatist State will continue as the Corporatist State because the oligarchy says so!

Our empire, on the other hand, must be preserved even though it is bankrupting us. Ours is a unique empire. Historically, Empires have been profit centers for those who ran them. Ours in the first empire in history to operate at a net loss.

Just as an impoverished society matron refuses to hock her mink coat because it the only status symbol she has left, we cling to our empire because we are a hollowed-out parody of what we once were.

Consumerism has made us a nation of things, not vision. Racism is weakening our economy by driving out the immigrants willing to take the shit jobs Anglos won’t touch. We are a nation of functional illiterates mesmerized by a dumb-downed pop culture. Our economy thrashes about in a St. Vitus’s dance as another bubble pops and we discover that we have no soap left to float another because we are insolvent.

Common sense says dump the empire, but common sense never won an election. No president wants to go down in history as the president who lost our empire, because we are convinced that to lose our empire would be to lose our soul even though holding on to our empire is slowly rotting it away. But when you stand for nothing, appearances are everything.

Sure, we mouth our platitudes about democracy and freedom. But these words have no relationship to their original meanings. Both have been reimaged to mean, “Do as we say, or else!”

Another reason we cling to our empire is that is an important revenue stream for our Corporatists. There’s money to be made in decline. Defense contractors bloat as America shrivels. This is why Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson spent four days touring the Middle East, tin cup in hand, looking for money to keep us afloat.

So, rest assured, George, that whoever takes the oath of office in January will continue the madness. We’ve been mad so long it looks like sane.

Your admirer,
Belacqua Jones

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Empires have been profit centers for those who ran them. Ours in the first empire in history to operate at a net loss."

Empires start by being profitable but most end in finacial ruin.

Maybe the Empire's days are short?

Case Wagenvoord said...

Simon,

True, but I don't think we ever bothered with the profit phase.

Mark Prime (tpm/Confession Zero) said...

Ours in the first empire in history to operate at a net loss.

Bingo! Any parting gifts for the masses or just the 2%ers?

Case Wagenvoord said...

Only 2 percenters need apply.

Mark Prime (tpm/Confession Zero) said...

Shit...