#13colonies

American War of Independence, 1775 - 1783

A map illustrating the course and major events during the American War of Independence (also known as the American Revolutionary War or American Revolution) between 1775 and 1783 – an armed rebellion through which thirteen of Great Britain's colonies in North America sought independence. The insurrection stemmed from various reasons, amongst which the colonists' grievances over taxation without representation and limitations on self-governance. Starting with the battles of Lexington and Concord in 1775, the conflict escalated into a full-scale war between the Continental Army and the forces of the British crown, and in 1778, it turned from a civil war within the British Empire into an international confrontation as France and Spain joined the colonies against Britain. The war reached its climax with the final British surrender at Yorktown in 1781, leading to the Treaty of Paris in 1783, formally recognizing the United States of America as an independent nation.

Why would working class Americans vote for a political party that has done nothing for them over the last 44 years? Why are Americans so stupid? The Republican party, the GOP, has been feathering the nests of the wealthy, billionaires and oligarchs, since Ronald Reagan was president. Look at the facts and the reduction in wealth of the middle class over this period. The majority of Americans have been going backward economically, whilst the super-rich have been rolling in clover on steroids. How can a population of adults be gulled time and time again by lies and empty promises? Now, they have reached the nadir of conmen and grifters in Donald J Trump.

Gulled Americans Since Independence

If you take a look at Ken Burn’s American Revolution, which is a 6 part documentary just released on SBS and elsewhere, you can see the roots of this deception. The American Revolution was not a mass uprising of oppressed people under the tyranny of an evil monarch. No, it was led by a small of coterie of wealthy elites who did not want to pay more taxes than the bare minimum. The ‘so-called’ American Revolution was a civil war, with an equal number of loyalists to the British Crown wishing to remain colonists within the 13 colonies. For many it was a case of waking up one day and being confronted with a violent choice between supporting rebel patriots or remaining loyal to what had established your lifestyle in the first place.

Wealthy American Propagandists

Why are Americans so stupid? Americans are great propagandists and it has its genesis during this time in  1775-1783. Rabble rousers went to town with outlandish claims about all sorts of ‘hard-done-by’ stories, which boiled down to the great fight for liberty. Putting a positive spin on things is the American talent. Turning dissent and rebellion into the battle for liberty and independence was the MO of individuals like George Washington and Samuel Adams. Yes, the British governance of the 13 colonies was not perfect. The whole aristocratic side of British culture was unfair to ordinary working folk, but it was not a despotic regime, as far as the American colonies went. The American Revolution would not free slaves or indentured servants. What it would do is serve the wealthy elite of the American colonies with power and less taxes. George Washington and Benjamin Franklin were both land investors with property tied up in the Indian Territories, which the British had made off limits for the sake of the Indian tribes and reducing conflict inciting warfare. Economic concerns were as much to the forefront for the British, as any humanitarian ones. The 7 year war against the French and various Indian tribes had cost the Crown and was one of the reasons why higher taxes and duties had been introduced there. The whole ‘no taxation without representation’ certainly had merits; but the wealthy colonists desire not to pay higher taxes to pay for British soldiers who fought off the French was a reality as well.

The Lies Began At The Very Beginning

George Washington is transformed, over the mists of time, into a selfless war hero of unassailable magnitude. He did do great things to endure the might of an empire and prevail. However, he was a wealthy slave owner and had plenty of irons in this fire. All of these American forefathers were propertied men driven primarily by their self-interest. What has come down to us over the centuries in its purist form is the strong desire for wealthy Americans not to want to pay tax. This has flourished since the time of Nixon and Reagan, with the highest rate of income tax coming down from the 90% level in the 1970s way down to 37% today. That is a huge lowering, nearing a reduction of some two thirds. Have a think about that! At the same time, corporations do not pay their fair share of tax either. Is it any wonder that the American debt is $37 trillion? Services require taxation revenue to fund them. Republicans don’t want to pay tax, which means they are not community minded. These Americans want to have their cake and it eat too. Individuality and a tunnel vision concern with yourself does not make great nations. Make America great again is not going to happen via tax cuts for billionaires.

Why are Americans so stupid? Why do so many working class folk believe the lies and deceptions fed to them by the wealthy? They believe this cocktail of lies about ridiculous shit like African Americans getting free rides. Where is the evidence for this? Where are the wealthy African Americans, when you look at the economic data? Same goes with LGBTQI folk and refugees. Lies and distortions spread by Republicans protecting the interests of their wealthy sponsors. Wake up America you are being taken to the cleaners by Trump and his billionaire cronies. Elon Musk and the Big Tech oligarchs are fleecing us all, as we speak.

Revolution Or Misappropriation?

“One of the strongest impressions I came away with after watching the opening episode of Ken Burn’s American Revolution was the parallels with where the United States finds itself now. Especially, in terms of the disinclination for Americans to want to pay their taxes and obey laws. You can observe right back at the very start, this desire to take stuff and expect to remain Scott free (a Scott is a tax). Smugglers and traders alike, in the colonies, did not want to pay any duties. Although, wars had been fought against the French and Indians, which involved British soldiers, the colonists did not want to contribute to the wages of these soldiers via taxes commensurate with the costs involved.”

- (https://www.midasword.com.au/american-revolution/)

Why are Americans so stupid? 76 million morally bankrupt Americans voted for Donald J Trump at the last election. Morally bankrupt because they knew he was a convicted felon for fraud, sex offender found guilty of defamation of the victim in a civil suit and a compulsive liar. Why would they vote for such a disreputable man? They thought that he would facilitate them making more money than the alternative. Avarice, I would suggest, was their main motivation. What have they got, the majority of those who voted for Trump? A chaotic and failing economy with more than a million job losses since his ascension. Armed troops and masked thugs in the streets of US cities. Global condemnation of the Trump regime. Trump cosying up to Putin and America backing the bad guys in Russia. A dysfunctional coterie of crackpots and celebrity pay TV types running the country. 3 more years of this and it will be touch and go if America can survive the trashing of it by Trump.

“By a 57 percent to 13 percent margin they told pollsters America is on the wrong track, and only 32 percent agree that the US is a healthy democracy or even one that’s “somewhat functioning.”

Fully 64 percent of young American adults say the system is either in trouble or has completely failed.”

- (https://www.rawstory.com/raw-investigates/reagan-and-trump/)

“A tiny handful of billionaires are all that stand between us and a brighter future. The same imperialists in the White House starving Gaza are waging a war of terror against working people right here in the United States. Protests & music shook the #illinois state capitol last Saturday as working people demanded an end to this rotten system that puts profits above all else. Join the fight!”

- (https://www.instagram.com/p/DM65S7rMatv/)

“For three decades after World War II, America created the largest middle class the world had ever seen. During those years, the earnings of the typical American worker doubled, just as the size of the American economy doubled.

Over the last 40 years, by contrast, the size of the economy has doubled again, but the earnings of the typical American have gone nowhere.  

Then, the CEOs of large corporations earned an average of about 20 times the pay of their typical worker. Now, they rake in over 300 times. 

In the 1950s and 1960s, the richest 1 percent of Americans took home 9 to 10 percent of total income. Today they take home more than 40 percent. “

- (https://robertreich.substack.com/p/beyond-trump)

Robert Sudha Hamilton is the author of What Price Life?; America Matters: Pre-apocalyptic Posts & Essays in the Shadow of Trump; and other titles. NOW AVAILABLE AT APPLE BOOKS & GOOGLE PLAY BOOKS. Google Play Books AUDIOBOOK

©MidasWord