The Popular Dissent
No one item of media accurately depicts popular culture. However the mood of popular culture can be seen to reflect the populace’s feelings and emotions. The re-release of Land of Conflict by Disturbed, particularly the video portrays a popular dissent. This is but one of many items of popular culture that reflect this trend of discontent. Another band whose songs paints popular dissent is Stained’s album Break the cycle. TV also displays these tendencies as well the now popular show: the 4400, by USA networks; whose plot revolves around a power struggle that is the eventual end of mankind.
The conflict between the haves and have nots is as old as time, Marx might have been the first to write about it and theorize on it but the fall of Rome was lead by this theme. Rome may have been a Republic but it was controlled by the Aristocracy, the rich; and the poor were but pawns to the rich. It cannot be denied that without a strong economy no stable government can exist. Much research has been done to this effect, a short list: Dr. Thomas P.M. Barnett, Lynn E. Davis, Stephen J. Flanagan et al. The weakening and eventual fall of Rome was of economic in nature. The accumulation of wealth in the Aristocracy was one of the contributing factors in the economic failure of Rome.
The Disturbed video clearly represents a dissent towards the rich and powerful, the symbol on the armies was but a sideways dollar sign, furthermore the politicians seemed to be serving the bureaucrat the one that enjoying the destruction, profiting from the turmoil.
Despite the Antitrust laws that America has the money is still consolidated in the minority of the rich. This can been seen by the corporate mergers, namely the reassembly of what was once the Bell monopoly. If companies are not monopolizing then they are likely partaking in an oligarchy; that is they cooperate to keep prices high, after all price wars are only good for the consumer. Also remember the research I was talking about well here is some more: “About 90 percent of the total value of stocks, bonds, trusts, and business equity were held by the top 10 percent [of the population].” So says Edward N. Wolff when talking about the United States. He also points out that the trend at least until 1998 was that the rich are getting richer and the poor poorer: “Between 1983 and 1998, 53 percent of the total growth in net worth accrued to the top 1 percent of households … the average wealth of the poorest 40 percent fell by 76 percent.” That’s not to say that this previous trend is not continuing.
The founding fathers modeled parts of the Constitution on ideas from Rome. The economic hardships that Rome experienced attributed to its fall. The economic hardships were led by greed. But greed is persistent, and little can be done about it. Rome fell to greed, will we? Will we follow Rome to the grave or will we be smarter then them? And if we survive, what will history attribute our survival to?
Unfairness will persist as long as selfishness does.
The land of bounty is the land of glutton, the land of glutton is the land of sin as sin is selfish desire.
The conflict between the haves and have nots is as old as time, Marx might have been the first to write about it and theorize on it but the fall of Rome was lead by this theme. Rome may have been a Republic but it was controlled by the Aristocracy, the rich; and the poor were but pawns to the rich. It cannot be denied that without a strong economy no stable government can exist. Much research has been done to this effect, a short list: Dr. Thomas P.M. Barnett, Lynn E. Davis, Stephen J. Flanagan et al. The weakening and eventual fall of Rome was of economic in nature. The accumulation of wealth in the Aristocracy was one of the contributing factors in the economic failure of Rome.
The Disturbed video clearly represents a dissent towards the rich and powerful, the symbol on the armies was but a sideways dollar sign, furthermore the politicians seemed to be serving the bureaucrat the one that enjoying the destruction, profiting from the turmoil.
Despite the Antitrust laws that America has the money is still consolidated in the minority of the rich. This can been seen by the corporate mergers, namely the reassembly of what was once the Bell monopoly. If companies are not monopolizing then they are likely partaking in an oligarchy; that is they cooperate to keep prices high, after all price wars are only good for the consumer. Also remember the research I was talking about well here is some more: “About 90 percent of the total value of stocks, bonds, trusts, and business equity were held by the top 10 percent [of the population].” So says Edward N. Wolff when talking about the United States. He also points out that the trend at least until 1998 was that the rich are getting richer and the poor poorer: “Between 1983 and 1998, 53 percent of the total growth in net worth accrued to the top 1 percent of households … the average wealth of the poorest 40 percent fell by 76 percent.” That’s not to say that this previous trend is not continuing.
The founding fathers modeled parts of the Constitution on ideas from Rome. The economic hardships that Rome experienced attributed to its fall. The economic hardships were led by greed. But greed is persistent, and little can be done about it. Rome fell to greed, will we? Will we follow Rome to the grave or will we be smarter then them? And if we survive, what will history attribute our survival to?
Unfairness will persist as long as selfishness does.
The land of bounty is the land of glutton, the land of glutton is the land of sin as sin is selfish desire.
posted by MMM at 9:35 AM
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