There once was a kingdom in a land not so far away that was defined in the eyes of the world by its breathtaking sky-scraper castles and stained-glass cathedrals. These enormous structures could only be described as being the property of an elite group of men and women.
The general public had been repeatedly told that they must not refer to these gentle folk as royalty or nobility. They were not so different from us, after all. These blessed souls were simply born into the “better” families or “incredibly successful” in their various entrepreneurial endeavors. These were the Great Builders. They, of course, deserved everything they had come to possess.
The notion of class distinction had yet to manifest itself as an important issue in the minds of the majority of citizens in this laissez-faire society. Or, perhaps, the concept of social democracy had been subversively replaced by a politicized agenda of bigotry and fear. I guess it depended on who you talked to about it.
In any case, initially, these corporate headquarters, banks, insurance company buildings, medical complexes, and mega-churches were viewed with a great deal of awe and respect. Each edifice, everyone knew, had first been envisioned on paper by the greatest architects in the world and then painstakingly replicated by the best builders and guildsmen money could buy. The people on the streets could only be amazed by the sheer size and the omnipresent nature of these behemoth compounds.
Those who were lucky enough to have entered any of these self-contained biospheres beheld the most self aggrandizing assembly of halls, offices, and luxury suites ever conceived of in the western hemisphere.
Each nook and cranny explored was seen to be meticulously adorned with the gaudiest of filigree, over-the-top furnishings, and lavish appointments with the intent not only to impress but also to make the casual observer feel small and, to be truthful, somewhat insignificant. This effect, it was commonly known, could only have been achieved by a legion of enthusiastic and grossly over-paid interior decorators.
In the beginning, it was a boon to have a castle constructed in any given sector. Even those who were displaced by the great buildings, or pushed aside by the greedy merchants who clamored for the surrounding land, (like pups to a moma dog’s teats), did little complaining. Some felt a sense of economic security in the ever-expanding business districts, watching the spectacle in silence.
Truth be told, the average Joe was occasionally rewarded for the inconvenience. One in ten would get a temporary job that might even culminate with two weeks notice and a severance check. Now that was something!
In the early years of the Great Building Up, most citizens, who were relegated to the suburbs with their sprawling, overcrowded apartment complexes, and cheap tract housing thought themselves lucky. These people greeted each day with a shrug and a half smile. They believed, as they had long been told, that despite the barely-breaking-even nature of their existence, it was at least conceivable that they could move up a rung or two on the “ladder of success”.
Little did they realize that the once revered public education system had been infiltrated by cronies of the castle-makers. These would-be educators had come, sewing seeds of hope amongst the desperate. They worked tirelessly to quell any possible unrest. They “dumbed-down” everything so that no chillin would feel bad like they might get “left behind”, or sompin’. Even though everyone knew you only got “left behind” if you couldn’t afford a good private school.
The newspapers, television, radio stations, and wifi Signal Masters of the Internet, all owned and controlled by the Great Builders, were put to this task, as well. Eventually, everyone was programmed to believe that there were no guarantees in life but, somehow, the “possibilities” were endless. Oh, and wasn’t there something new you were supposed to be buying today?
Everyone got the message.
“It’s all a matter of being smarter and working harder than the next guy!” After all, this had been the eternal mantra served up like bananas and peanut-butter on Bunny Bread every morning for the past 10,000 years, or so,
Unfortunately, the availability of jobs and the “right” skills to be truly successful were both perpetually elusive.
As time passed, more and more of these glass and steel castles sprouted up throughout the land. More and more the common folks, those who had become increasingly dependent on the Great Builders, began to realize that the number of “successful” people, (multi-millionaires and billionaires), were fewer and fewer in total. It was almost as if a small, well positioned group of co-conspirators were flaunting their decadence in the face of a kingdom now populated mostly by working-class peasants. It had become the way of the world, or so it would appear.
Meanwhile, the great castle walls not only protected the “chosen few” from the darker, more unseemly side of life, but, unequivocally, physically separated them from everyone living outside of their fortress strongholds. Even now we look upon their video images with child-like envy.
At some point in this great epoch, the people looked to their various religions, seeking a common ground, a sense of equality with their affluent brethren. Instead they found that the wealthy had somehow managed to turn religion to their own benefit, as well.
Churches preaching the theology of capitalism flourished. Money from the Great Builders filled their coffers and turned their priesthood away from social and morality issues, instead focusing their congregations on the next big building project, or “the end of the world”, whichever might come first.
Those who attempted to raise the social consciousness of the masses were quickly silenced. A great deal of resources went into monitoring the various systems of communication and scanning them for signs of insurgency. Battalions of enforcers took the necessary steps to ferret out any would-be trouble-makers and to make sure they were discredited or otherwise silenced “for the greater good”. Lethal force was approved and monitored from several secret government-sanctioned security command posts. This was considered tantamount to the illusion of transparency.
It has been said, that since the dawn of civilization, there has always been a ruling class. Whether by cunning or by force, a scarce few often linked with powerful families, have controlled the wealth of entire nations. In this kingdom, this supposedly enlightened land, there would only be two classes of people in the end, the so-called Great Builders, and the rest of us.
We are, after all, at somewhat of a disadvantage.
Here the Great Builders have two armies. One is the traditional gang of mercenaries and thugs who live to kill and conquer in their guise of defending the kingdom. And in our kingdom a secondary force we call doctors, lawyers, and C.E.O.’s, (aka Indian Chiefs), also await further orders.
These are the Generals and Admirals, the Captains of Industry who purposefully control all of our resources, our money, and our level of indebtedness on any given day of the week. Their titles include the all-powerful Board of Directors, advertising copy writers, and a host of accountants who put a spin and a price on everything as far as the eye can see.
These are the old guard, the Academic and Medical Establishment that direct research grants to colleges and universities only to reap huge profits from the work of eager young minds; only to chain those same students to unimaginable debt in their solicitous gratitude.
These are the Specialists who perpetuate a system where services are only made available to those who come up with the big money. These are the End-life Care Providers who would, in the end, take homes and farms from widows and orphans.
These are the purveyors of justice, those commandos who skew the law to the benefit of the few, the wealthy. These are the Litigators of greed.
These are the bulk of our politicians for hire, those who would see the rest of us as sharecroppers and indentured servants, men and women destined to provide for the masters without complaint. They too seek the power and the good fortune of success and are often mystified when the corruption they perpetuate comes back to haunt them.
In this, our time, we, the undeserving, must gaze upon a land strewn with castles. There is no denying that they exist. And likewise, we must also accept the fact that, within every kingdom there will surely be those who consider themselves to be kings.
Well said, Michael. You left out the artists, writers and other 'out-lying folk' - the rebels and visionaries and mystics - the overlooked and under-appreciated ... I'm guessing they are your secret solution.
We've always had a feudal system. Most Americans just didn't know it, thinking they could get ahead by swimming up the trickle-down. But there was an acceleration beginning in the 1980s of a tearing down of social structures meant to give people equality that were established after the Great Depression and meltdown of the captains of industry of the late 1800s and early 20th century.
So, you have clearly pointed out in your parody that we have created and are rapidly growing a two-tier society of have and have-nots. This model has existed for some time in South and Central America, so we can see what we are rapidly becoming by looking at those countries.
Unfortunately, someone of the Builders you describe is favored by a large portion of the have-nots, who still think they are have-aspirers, to become president when there is no chance that they ever will join the ranks of the Builders.
Most of the people think that grabbing for the golden ring is achieved by honoring the oppressors. The myth of hard work and self-determination is entrenched deeply in the American psyche. It will take a lot to convince them, like this story, that we are headed in the wrong direction.
This is a political treatise that deals with the China issue from a completely new perspective. Disparaging as he may sound, from page to page, toward "the old system" and the Communist Party's various wiles, the author demonstrates his mysteriously
