October 21, 2008
by Robert W. Barker

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Following WWII, the Greatest generation brought the middle class American into a position that the globe envied. The emerging US middle class grew exponentially in this period, the GI bill sent many to universities, and the returning GI's set up businesses, bought homes and went to work building a stronger America.

They felt pretty good about themselves with the victories over the fascist Axis powers and therefore they went about strengthening the middle strata of the American economic base.

The Middle Class is America's strongest asset; it is what makes the United States unique and solid.

Third world countries have modest or no middle class, the middle is the measure of the strength of social mobility in any given society. A person's ability to move up the social ladder is a true measure of the stability and dynamic state of the state.

Our mid range strata defines us and gives validity to the phrase, "power of the people."

I recall the Soviets sent an envoy in 1957 to the USA and when they came upon the automobiles in that huge parking lot they thought the Americans were putting on a show or lying, a planned display to boast, no way did that many workers own personal cars.  But when the shift whistle blew and the workers came out and drove away in individual cars, to their own homes; it hit them like cultural shock. The American middle class strength was undeniable and the Soviets knew then we were not going down.

When Vietnam was raging and the protest in the streets against the war raged at home, the Soviets heard of this and were impressed that the American people stood up to their own government. That well-noted fact was the beginning of the end for the Communist stronghold on its people. The Soviet people were not as gullible to swallow the party line lies of the oppressed Americans, after hearing of open protest which was not tolerated in Russia.  

Then, in the 60s and '70s, a group of alarmed conservative ideologues viewed the predominantly middle class US social upheavals as detriments. Women demanding equal pay and reproductive rights, African-Americans standing up for voting rights, working people pushing for fair wages, activists screaming for a clean environment, anti war, all spelled bad news for extreme conservative ideologies.

Suddenly the far right ideologues thought what they were seeing were indications of our social order disintegrating. It confirmed their trepidation, which echoed an alarm of the early founders like John Adams and Alexander Hamilton, who argued that augmented democracy could lead to social anarchy.  A ruling elite op erating under the "pretext" of democracy loomed as the most steadfast form of government to these people.

And a strong middle strata like we developed in the '60s and '70s meant people had too much time on their hands; and too little fear.

As a sociologist it is obvious to me that the industrial, commercial, service rendering mid social stratification is the hallmark of national economic success. And citizen's standing up for their Constitutional rights is to my thinking very American; to the right wing ideologues it caused trepidation.

In reaction to the liberated sixties enters the philosopher and far right ideologues, disciples of Leo Strauss and his elitist, nihilist, domination theory. Reminiscent of Nietzsche, Strauss beli eved in the ruling eli te or autocracy as the best form of government. Illusions of nationalism morals religion and democracy he taught them to practice, while surreptitiously tearing these populous precepts and paradigms apart.

In the sixties and early seventies {He died in1971} Leo Strauss preached a feigned adherence to the principles of democracy while causing the weakening and ultimate demise of the same.

His followers read like a who's who of Neo Con political movers Richard Pearl, Paul Wolfowitz William Kristol, Gary Schmitt, founder, chairman, and director of the Project for the New American Century (PNAC). PNAC is a neoconservative group whose members include Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, as well as a number of other senior foreign policy officials.

PNAC's recommendations and ensuing letters to President George W. Bush on methods to conduct the war on terrorism have anticipated to an uncanny extent precisel y what the administration has done.

And Sen. John McCain is sticking to the PNAC policy right down the line, trickle-down economics and weakened Constitutional guarantees, tax breaks for the wealthy elite and billions spent on Iraq.

Like so many conservatives today McCain may not consciously follow Strauss but his tenets are adhered to by proxy.

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In other words McCain swallowed the kool- aid as it is now engrained in their very thinking process, conditioned to the Neo Con policy and the Bush doctrine.

Strauss taught that the leadership should weaken the middle class and pretend Christian values but never let the doctrine of Christ influence decisions. It was a pretense towards democratic Christian principles that was taught to placate the masses and win their approval, yet Strauss stressed non belief in the faith.

So Leo's philosophical paradigms appealed to the far right ideologues in the USA and the program began in earnest to weaken the middle class. A weaker middle class meant a volunteer army willing to do whatever it takes, and far less liberal distractions. Less education means more recruits and workers that do not complain protest or demand safety or environmental responsibility.  

Since at least the days of President Reagan the Neo Con Straussians have had one goal in mind, to kill the middle class and turn America into a country that will be moldable.

Peons do not protest as much, have far less resistance to governmental programs or intrusions, and will take a smaller amount of the wealth and demand less from their government. Cuts in education funding left us far behind the modern world and only a slight step ahead of the Third World and they are closing fast.

Every Republican president since Reagan has run huge deficits and deep debt in order to weaken or stop the citizen entitlements they see as socialistic. Social Security, Welfare and Unemployment insurance as well as other safety net measures were disdained by the far right, and the debt was a way of weakening these entitlements.

Outsourcing became the next tool for the destruction of the middle class, labor unions viewed as the enemy to these elitist and they worked hard to dismantle the power of the workers unions by sending jobs to lower cost labor markets. This did two things it helped the industrial bottom line and brought the cocky middle class down a peg. Off shore business accounts to avoid taxes is another way to keep the mid section in check they are now saddled with a larger tax burden and huge debt due to loss of funds in these shelters.

The largest movement initiated from these people is war as Strauss calls for unvarying bellum in search of the illusive peace that never arrives.

They stir up xenophobic and ethnocentric emotions through trepidation and depend on ignorance and superstitious religious types to be too distracted and ignorant to notice the manipulations of our so called superiors. Giant debt naturally causes citizens to understand the demise of entitlements. Easing the emphasis on education funding, leaves us ignorant and willing to believe the unbelievable, an uninformed and backward constituency is easily malleable.  

Faking religion and dwelling on flash point sensitive issues like "gay marriage" or "abortion" to prompt the religious right into voting against their own interest is tantamount to their plans.

The death of the middle Class is a crux issue and the constant spending and out of control debt are two easil y discernable elements of Republican Neo-Con Straussian strategy.

It is incumbent to recall that previous to the Straussian Neo Cons the Republican Party prided itself on sound fiscal policy; now the Democrats encompass this attribute.

Balanced budgets and less debt help to strengthen the dollar; and the middle class generally advances. Entitlements are not sacrificed on the altar of conflict and our goals are far more for the general population and not just the elite wealthy.

Further the corporate elite and wealthy nihilists that make up these devious thinkers can operate concentration camps and stronger police presence drop Posse Comitatus and Habeas Corpus with scant protest.

Peons make far less noise then middle class citizens with critical thinking skills and political acumen.

As a populist believer in democratic ideals I find this appalling and highly dangerous that we have allowed this power grab by the autocratic elite and control over our media to corporate censorship.

As citizens of a Republic we need trustworthy information and not the noble lies Strauss emphasizes.

Leo Strauss encourages his followers to utilize Noble lies and they are in vogue in the Bush Administration. "Weapons of Mass Destruction," or "Niger plutonium acquisitions," and knowledge of "Valerie Plame," are so called noble prevarications.

These noble lies and so many others are examples of the influence of the Straussian elite.

Our middle class brethren are bitten by the old Puritan religious fervor and it often allows them to justify voting against their own economic interest.

Yet as financial institutions fall and the economic reality of depleted 401K's emerge and the incompetence and greed become apparent, I pray the middle awakens.

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Robert W. Barker [send him email] is a writer, professional photographer and travel aficionado from Eureka Ca. His work is carried on many web sites around the globe, a first novel recently copyrighted in the library of Congress, is soon to be published.

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