I was thinking this morning about the last historical parallel to this, the Depression and WW2. The people living at that time had some idea of what was happening around them immediately, and a much lesser idea of what was happening to the world. For instance, few people then (unless you were in them) even in Germany knew about Hitler's death camps. Sure they knew the Jews were being carted away somewhere, but the Nazis had a lie going that they were being taken back to their home county, or to a special country.

Right now, due to disinformation and a media that seems to be trying to make itself an actual player in these events (I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but those who are -Cat, E.Coli, etc- would probably be able to make a pretty strong case that Murdoch and Turner have their own interests..in the same way as -but a grander scale and a more intelligent execution than- Hearst and Pulitzer did in 1899), I think that the history books of 2050 or 2100 will be extremely interesting to read. We'd be able to learn about the big things that are happening around us, things that we mightn't have noticed now. We'd be able to see the gradual transformation from President Clinton of the Democratic Party to Emperor William of the NWO, for instance ;)

Damn, I wish we could cut straight to the end of this grand drama and find out just who wins, who loses, who dies and who rises. Whether Paul Milne survives and prospers. How wrong Ivan "Infomagic" Mingham is proven. (I am a total DWGI on his theories. Sorry.) Whether the Middle East is turned into a giant sheet of radioactive glass. If a Second Cold War begins, with the Evil Empire sprawling from Lisbon to Vladviostock. If south-east Asia becomes a series of Chinese provinces. Whether the black-helicopter boys succeed in their nefarious objectives to dominate the world ;)

Unfortunately, the guy behind the cosmic word processor may be like me. He may enjoy killing off characters for no good reason.

Anyway, a hundred years from now -I bet you that the kids doing history will regard the millenial sections of the text as being the most interesting. As good as the Revolution or WW2, if not better (since we could have both simultaneously, plus the Great Depression and what the hell, I may just go Infomagic.)

--Leo

-- Leo (lchampion@ozemail.com.au), February 11, 1999

Answers

I think this is interesting:

The head of state makes a speech to a packed house of legislators, and is cheered to the rafters for his flurry of visionary policy ideas. He calls for the restoration of cities and towns, and the revival of the nation's industrial base through new spending programs. He makes more housing a national priority. He promises more education spending, new resources for the armed forces, a secure system of old-age pensions, and more equitable health-care delivery. He takes the credit for a purported economic boom, and further promises to surpass all previous records in national productivity.

No, this isn't Clinton's state-of-the-union address. It was Stalin's 1946 speech, which concluded as follows: "The Soviet people are ready for it! Under the leadership of the Soviet government, with Stalin at its head, the Soviet people will transform the law on the new Five Year Plan into life."

For the whole article, go here:

http://www.aci.net/kalliste/

and scroll down to "Human Action and the Politics of Freedom".

Shades of future past...

-- Anonymous99 (Anonymous99@anonymous.com), February 11, 1999.

Anonymous99,

I would think that you could also find similar rhetoric in the speeches given by every political leader from Hitler to Bush.

Leo, I think you're right. We're in the midst of a revolution on many levels and it may well be the only way we humans can evolve to a higher level. Sometimes you have to dismantle the machine in order to rebuild and improve it.

It's either that, or we destroy ourselves.

We're humans capable of great love and compassion and anger and cruelty. We're at a crossroads here...

As the great, yet maligned, philosopher Microsoft once said nearly 100 years ago, "Where do you wanna go today?"

Mike ===============================================================

-- Michael Taylor (mtdesign3@aol.com), February 11, 1999.

Ah, Leo.

And just what makes you think the people writing history books a hundred years from now (assuming there are any) will be any more objective than you, or I, or anyone else for that matter, are today?

The Republic is dead. Long live the Empire.

-- nemo... (nemo@deepsix.com), February 11, 1999.