On this day of nationalistic fanfare, let us not lose sight of the battle for Independence which lies before us - to free ourselves from the plutocratic slavery of corporate capitalism. It's unsustainable lust for profit, deregulation, and institutionally-bred consumer culture is accelerating toward a brick wall of unemployment, environmental consequence, and mass poverty resulting from the ever-growing concentration of wealth. The system is rotten at its core - sacrificing the health, education, and well-being of its working citizens in favor of cheaper outsourced labor in nations with little to no environmental or safety standards.
Our consumer culture was carefully and intentionally implemented in the early 1920s through the birth of Edward Bernays' Public Relations propaganda, (such as with "Torches of Freedom"), the standardization of planned obsolescence (beginning notably with The Phoebus Cartel), and through the gang-like territorial division of geographic regions to perpetuate the monopolistic powers of the handful of corporations which control customers in the US who are left with no alternative providers to choose from.
The social conditioning of consumer culture is such a fundamental core principle of American life that it would take a complete restructuring of the national educational system to counter the billions of dollars of marketing strategies implemented by private corporations each year to keep us buying what we don't need. Sadly, as this would work against the national economic interest in the short term, and as our political process is largely controlled by corporate lobbyists, it is highly unlikely that this will ever come to pass by the United States’ own action.
Regardless of our action or inaction, the capitalist system of infinite consumption and increased corporate deregulation is a principally unsustainable model. The system will collapse, either by the majority of the workforce being displaced by outsourced labor and by continued advancements in automation, or by the system's inherent destruction of the world it occupies.
And the visibly corrupt campaign finance system, along with voter fraud at the hands of the DNC and RNC, and the media blackout of “revolutionary” candidates like Sanders work tirelessly to ensure that the plutocracy remains and that the public voice is silenced.
But the revolution has begun. Without the help of mass media or corporate donations Sanders continues to pack stadiums beyond capacity with citizens dedicated to taking an active role in the democratic process. The internet and social media affords citizens decentralized access to news and journalism outside the scripted verbiage of the status quo. And the voice of dissent grows louder every day. Our Independence Day is coming. What part will you play?
