Feature Article
January 2003
Eclectic Artists Publishing.
“The Populace Has No Clothes!”
Sections within this article:
In the classic parable, a ‘naive’ boy points out what should be obvious to everyone else in the crowd of dutiful citizens who act shocked by the boy’s accusations: namely, the emperor’s “new” suit consists of nothing more than the duds he was sportin’ at birth (of course, the conservative storytellers left the emperor wearing his underwear). Within the story we come to learn that the boy’s naivete (as opposed to the self-indoctrinated sophistication of the citizenry) was precisely the quality which allowed him to see the naked, unmistakable truth and then call ’em as he saw ’em. The boy was willing to be called a fool for seeing and speaking the truth.
It is this same spirit which drives the voice of Alter-Nation, and so we are now compelled to loudly proclaim a similar modern truth: “The Populace Has No Clothes!” Before the sophisticates among you dismiss this challenge as so much boyish nonsense, it might be more reasonable to take a few moments to understand what we mean by this, and what this means to you. (Especially in light of the great longevity, read ‘recurring applicability’, of the original tale.)
The Power of Parables
Parables are supposed to be didactic instruments which save the audience the trouble of having to suffer the same trials as the characters in the story. Unfortunately, humanity seems to prefer to learn all of its lessons the hard way, and especially over and over again, at least once per generation but usually much more often. In their triumphant anthem, The Who sang “We Won’t Get Fooled Again!”, but history (and those who control it) says: “Wanna bet?”
Even still, it is that most human of gifts, Hope, wonderous life-giving hope, that keeps the keyboard clicking tale upon tale in the belief that we can outgrow this torturously immature psychology and finally learn how to learn. As every good student knows, the most efficient form of learning is by analogy since rich knowledge can be gained without the time or expense of repeating the exercise. Metaphors and parables (fables, myths, etc.) are simply more complex forms of analogy, thus these forms are even better suited for teaching us about the very complex issues which arise in human relationships, whether socio-economic, spiritual or romantic.
Before the Gutenburg press enabled inexpensive distribution of Biblical texts, monks took great pains to enscribe these stories in precious parchment. Before that, civilizations, and even earlier tribes, preserved their parables in oral form passing them from generation to generation with the honor such collective wisdom deserves. Moreover, when we compare parables from various societies around the world we quickly notice an amazing amount of similarity between these tales, and especially their lessons. These facts demonstrate two key points: (1) There must be some very important lessons contained within these tales for so many people to have worked so hard to preserve them across the ages; and (2) Those lessons are universal, valid across all of humanity. It has been asserted that the ancient (original, untranslated) texts of the major religions are nothing more than a collection of stories intended to guide people toward happy and cooperative lives; while most of the dogmatic, superstitious and authoritarian aspects of such texts reveal the collective attempts of greedy and ambitious handlers to secure their own disproportionate power through creative editing and translation (sort of like the telephone game, writ large and often with purposeful changes injected).
If the demonstrably longstanding, long agreed, importance of learning the lessons contained within parables (fables, etc.) has failed to grab your attention, let’s try another tack. The enormous succe$$ of the “Star Wars” movie series (9 connected episodes, billions in revenues) was virtually assured (assuming competent execution of screenplay and cinematic technicalities) from the moment of its conception. The reason? Its storylines were constructed based upon Joseph Campbell’s well-documented research into universal mythologies (see Bill Moyer’s multi-part video interview of Joseph Campbell, “The Power of Myth”, an incredibily fascinating work in its own right). Star Wars creator-producer, George Lucas, brilliantly deduced that if he created a series of stories which exemplified the core, universal truths of humanity, inclduing its struggles of good versus evil, he would have a sure-fire audience pleaser; and he did. Thus, we realize that our behaviors are not hard to predict, nor are we hard to influence, as long as those who are motivated and ambitious choose to apply the lessons of the parables, and especially if we do not.
Okay, so parables have power… but how does all of this relate to our outrageous statement that “The Populace Has No Clothes!”?
The Tempting Tailors
They say the devil is a charming man. If so, why are we not suspicious of charming people? We are told, over and over, that we are “the most free”, “the bravest”, “the most generous”, “the richest”, “the most creative”, “the most honorable”, and even “the closest to God”. Who says all these things, and what kind of people are we if we believe them? Obviously, we are NOT “the most humble”. Is that a good thing?
In that famous “Emperor” parable, the emperor’s tailors were shrewd and brilliantly manipulative. Flattery was their art and everyone was eager to show how clever they were to easily see those things which the ignorant fools would fail to grasp even with concerted effort. Thus, it was a simple task to them tell them how insightful they were for seeing the Emperor’s New Suit. The beauty of the thieves scam was in it’s set-up: The “faithful” would believe that anyone who could NOT “see” the (actually non-existant) suit were shamefully unsophisticated, worthy only of scorn. Therefore, people who really could not see the new suit deluded themselves into believing that they could see it simply to avoid the humiliation of being outcast be their peers. This perfectly circular logic is the heart of both schizophrenic delusions and professional cons. Amazingly (or perhaps not so), it is also alive and well across vast segments of modern society.
What, then, of today’s major-party politicians and, especially, corporate leaders? Why don’t we instinctively mistrust them and their charming ways? Why don’t we view them skeptically, forcing them to prove themselves over and over, and doling out severe retribution for all who fail to live up to their promises? Why do we eagerly accept every excuse they offer? Perhaps, as the saying goes, “Flattery will get you everywhere.” But what does all of this have to do with the claim that the populace has no clothes?
But Naked?
To finally be direct about it: Our indoctrinated populace keeps pretending that they are the elite, and that they have similar goals and interests as the elite; the populace thinks they have the new suit when, in fact, the elite have been stealing the shirt off our collective backs for at least 150 years. Still, we keep supporting laws which give them ever-increasing wealth and power over us. How stupid, or delude, are we?
The tangible facts are incredible and obvious. When the average citizen routinely supports (i.e., votes for, opines in favor of, quietly allows, mindlessly repeats) policies which favor the elite over the rights, freedoms and economic interest of the average (read: upper-middle through lower classes) then their actions are irrational, even delusional. Despite the constant rhetoric to the contrary, wars are NOT being won but are instead being constantly fought, always nominally for democracy and always actually for elitist/corporate economic interests. Freedoms are constantly declining while taxes, costs and controls are constantly increasing (for everyone except the elite). The elite have succeeded in eradicating the concept of “class” in political debate when, in fact, class differences are arguably more dramatic (although less obvious) than ever. Our world is not becoming more equitable, it is becoming less equitable, and WE are the one who are allowing it to happen.
The populace has been stripped of its rights, of its economic sovereignty, of its land, of its political control, even of its dignity. But instead of demanding its fair share for the lives and labors invested, instead of recognizing the inequities within the current systems, instead of facing the raw truth and seeing it for what it is, our populace continues to delude itself with the beauty of its fine (non-existent) suit. Only ‘naive little boys and girls’ may dare see (and speak about) our reality: We are being used, manipulated, consumed, conned, cheapened, prostituted… we are nearly naked but we want to believe we are noble.
Reaping What We Sew
Pondering the parable, some may offer an excuse: If the crowd was tricked by the evil tailor then surely they are not to blame for believing that the emperor had a new suit. The escapist conclusion: the crowd (and each individual within it) is still noble, even if they are perhaps gullible.
Are we, then, even nobly innocent? In a word: No. With all apologies for our title simile which playfully mixes two sage metaphors, in the case of the suit worn by the populace, “we shall reap that which we sew”. What fabric have we choosen, and patterns are we repeating?
In truth we can claim to be neither innoncent nor noble. Not when we allow our government to bomb people 13,000 miles (20,000 kilometers) away who are not invading our homes. Not when we allow corporations to control our government, direct our military and foreign policy, and dictate the terms of life and environment around the globe. Not when we continuously re-elect the same two parties which have been tag-team sodomizing us for more than 90 years. Not when we have the opportunity to read and contemplate writings such as this but then choose to spend far more energy thinking about next week’s sporting events. Not when we ignore parables which have been passed down by our ancestors for thousands of years. Under such circumstances, any positive spin would be the height of conceit and self-delusion.
The truth, if we dare to face it, is that we (individually and collectively) are responsible for the perpetuation, indeed expansion and systematization, of injustice and suffering. Isn’t that precisely what Christ is quoted as saying? Don’t Christians believe that Christ died for their sins? When do we accept responsibility for our sins and vow to make necessary changes? If we reap what we sow (or sew and so), then the patterns of this tapestry clearly reveal the part we play, willingly or otherwise. The only reasonable, rational and honorable course of action henceforth is to see reality for what it is, recognize the facades, recognize the difference between interests of the elite few and the rest of us, and then vote, argue and fight accordingly.
We are NOT the elite, nor do we have anything in common with them, nor should we ever hope to become like them. Instead, we should vow to seek our FAIR share of resources during our lifetimes (nothing more), and to construct a civilization which rewards THAT set of behaviors.
For example, EVERY re-organization of the U.S. Federal Tax Code over the past 30 years has been a windfall for the elite shifting ever more of the tax burden onto the upper-middle, middle and lower classes. Each time, legislators and press pundits play-up the pittance of “tax relief” supposedly being offered as a carrot to average folks (e.g., a $300 tax rebate) while down-playing the BILLIONS flowing to corporations and their elite owners. By all math and logic, when taxes go down for corporations and the ultra-rich, they MUST go up for everyone else, so you can be sure that your taxes we increased more than the $300 paid out to you as a bribe for your short-term complicity.
The proposed 2003 tax code modifications are no exception, especially if the elite win the big prize: elimination of income taxes on dividends. By and large, widows, orphans, and struggling families (even most upper middle-class professional families) survive on wage-earned income NOT stock dividends. This is not the case for the elite, who count dividends as a major source of income and would therefore pay ZERO tax on large portions of their income (remember, they already pay NO social security, medicare or other so-called payroll taxes on this income (which amounts to about 20% of every dollar of wages earned by those with income under about $74,000 per worker per year). With no tax on dividends, small private corporations would have no reason to pay their owners a salary at all, but would instead pay out little or nothing but tax-free dividends to their few stockholders (especially since such a strategy would avoid about 20% in payroll taxes in addition to 28% to 38% Federal income taxes). Sure, the net income of the corporations would be taxed before the dividend was paid, but their total tax bite would STILL be much less than it is today, while yours will only be higher — regardless of what lies the salesmen tell you, remember that it is mathematically impossible to lower everyone’s taxes without cutting government spending, and NO government has reduced net spending in the last 40 years! Further, rather than stimulate capital spending by corporations (which is another claim made by tax-free dividend proponents) this change to the tax code would actually allow the elite to siphon BILLIONS out of corporations and expatriate these funds to future safehavens prior to the inevitable crumbling of the over-extended U.S. economy. A truly FAIR tax system would eliminate taxes on ALL forms of income, instead taxing only spending (including a tax on all money which leaves the U.S., even foreign investments, since this is essentially the same as spending the money — after all, it’s gone from the system which created that wealth). But the big money boys gave nearly $500 million (half a billion!) dollars in “soft” (unregulated) money donations after the new 2002 campaign limits laws were passed (but before they took effect January 1, 2003) to ensure that their political servants keep givng them billions in goodies. So why on earth would the increasingly naked commoners support a President or Congress which keeps enriching the elite AND giving those elite massive tax breaks? Simple: Commoners flatter themselves by imagine themselves cloaked in the trappings of the elite. Fat chance! Check the statistics then wake up and grab a fig leaf.
Summary & Conclusions
Every con man counts on our own greed to steal from us. The elite, and their dime-a-dozen political and corporate servants, are the best confidence game players in history. With precise technique, drawing generously from our own great expense of labor, they weave colorful economic lies into a brilliantly mesmerizing cloak which envelops us with the delusion that we are like them, and ultimately that we are them. They dangle these dazzling facades and we trade them our souls, all the time smiling that we will be the ones to beat the incredibly poor odds they have set against us. And every day of every year we strut proudly along the road to our future, flattering ourselves for our sense of style, when in fact we are wearing nothing but our own ignorance and greed upon our sleeveless, shackled limbs. The tailors nod broad-grinned approval as we parade past, and we interpret this as a sign of respect when, in fact, they are admiring their own deceptive handy work. If only we would remember that even a lion is caged at the circus, and even the highest-priced escort is still a whore, perhaps then we would spend a bit more time in front of a mirror.
Our only hope lies in humility, then introspection, then truth, then resolve, then action.
Of course, these may simply be the observations and opinions of a naive boy.
Thank you for your attention, interest and concern.
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