Ike's Warning

At the end of his 2nd term as President of the USA, General Dwight "Ike" Eisenhower issued a sobering warning to the American public, and thanks to modern technology, to the entire world. Considering that it was the ex Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in WW2 issuing such a warning against the growing "military-industrial establishment", of which he must have been intimately aware, one would think there would have been an ongoing public demand for limitations to this growing establishment.

Indeed, the 60's and some of the 70's saw a significant amount of public concern for the military-industrial complex, which continued to grow, but much of the outcry was against war itself and governmental use of war for imperial purposes...keeping the mil-industrial companies out of the limelight. And then, the emerging entertainment and marketing (and illegal narcotic) industries helped to turn the peace movement into the "me" generation of the 80's. In most ways, we are still stuck in this "me" generation, although more and more seem to be waking up and trying to take back their freedoms through living responsibly and with awareness.

But, we have also mostly forgotten about Mr. Eisenhower's important warning. We have mostly accepted this "sleep" state, continuously enticed and lulled by leisure and entertainment. Even The Man of Change himself, the new President, tapped defence contractor lobbyist William Lynn as Deputy Secretary of State. Nooo, not a pawn, he. Not at all.

What Mr. Eisenhower didn't add in his warning, however, was that this military-industrial complex would begin to team up with corporate banking, big Media, big Pharma, big Chem and big OIL, to consolidate power not only in the US, but across the world itself. Perhaps he just did not wish to step outside his primary area of expertise and knowledge...the military.

This all sums up my reasoning to be against globalization as it is being presented to us. We "masses" are not yet evolved enough to not need (and usually want...desperately) some level of control and organization. And globalization as it is being presented to us now, sees those same huge corporate interests as the driving force and the body demanding global governmental control over the activities of the world's population. It is THAT group which is telling us how we must live, in order to fix the mess whose creation THEY oversaw.

I say it is about damned time we listened to Ike's warning.

Carpe Diem




Update: Here is a transcription of the entirety of the above cited speech. I urge everyone to have a read, it is not long but it is entirely brimming in wisdom.