Let me make the superstitions of a nation
and I care not who makes its laws or its songs either.
– Mark Twain

From a padded leather chair encrusted with diamonds, a fat ass with a golden microphone weighs in on the rising costs of fuel:

“Make more money.”

The absurdity of this demand, as if it were so easy, that we as a people simply chose to ignore, on a desire to sit at home and eat from handouts and charity, the potential for easy money. That people working 60 hour work weeks, a higher average than any other country, to try and make ends meet, are somehow too stupid or unable to simple make more money to pay for gas.
This man is evil. As is the entire corruptive forces of Conservatism. Supported by your tax money, massive corporate welfare is a behemoth of a machine. Only in a fiat of total control, can disparity of wealth be so offensive, so utterly against the principles of humanity. This is not class warfare, this is not distribution of wealth. This is the allowance of the Divine Right of Kings. The mixing of the religious right with corporatism has created a modern version of the Tudors.
We are returning to the God Instituted Monarchy. In the 20th century we called this Fascism. This is absolutum dominium.

Welcome to the 21st century, the beginning of true Authoritative Dominionism.

In the current mire of the political process every piece and scrap of the ineffectual concept of “what matters” is tossed into the media mediums like a metaphysical Safari Supper, latching on to the already American Idol and Reality TV burdened minds of the superficial proletariat; the dying essence of our country hanging on the whim of the rusting metal hinges formally known as bipartisanship. The average citizen is devoid the requisite “informed citizenry” clause of the defining document of our Republic, and as an inevitable response we are left with conflicting and opposing ideologies vying for the scraps of a large ignorant horde of people whose collective power is the abiding spirit of mob rule. To this, there is no answer. So much complexity on something that should exist in harmony. A revisionist history of this country is nearly complete, and the corruption of the concept of Natural Rights is quickly becoming the final fiat that will sink the ship, and anchor her to a stifling regression from which she may never return. A rotting hegemony, wrung dry of any reason, fast centrifuging towards the extremes, the country’s blood is being separated and we are but a few elections from thralldom.

I am a man lacking in tempered responses to dire situations. I also lack knowledge of how to weave a basket underwater. Very few things come to the point of mortification than that of the destruction of higher education. The place most responsible for protecting this country from radical extremism is first to fall victim to it. I ask this, if a degree in Coaching is a Mickey Mouse degree, what do we have left to call a degree from Liberty University?

There needs to be a new term. There are hundreds of unrecognized accreditation mills in this country, and they are in return giving “accreditation” to joke schools with the approbation of the Bush Administration and Congress, as if it were the job of the Federal Government to decide what should be accepted in Academia. This is beyond madness, beyond transcending insanity, and beyond putrescence. This is ass.

This does not just pertain to organizations like the American Accrediting Association of Theological Institutions, American Association of Bible Colleges, and the World Online Education Accrediting Commission, all battling in a tight race for most absurd and ridiculous organizations on the planet, no no no, this also includes Department of Education toilet bowl floaters. The golden turds of worthless creditors. This includes the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and The Association for Biblical Higher Education.

This country continues to revere ignorance. If a University in its mission statement excludes, as a badge of honor, basic science principles, why on Earth do we honor anything produced by that school, students included? These Universities do not believe in academic freedom. They do not believe in a battlefield for social and cultural ideas. They believe in one way of life only, and that this way ought to be honored to the highest degree in a system that was meant to reward higher education standards.

How long before we have completely revised science and history? With the combination of Frank Luntz-like punditry and degree-mill universities, why do people even ask why this country is getting dumber?

This is your list of the top ten things literally destroying this country:

1. Science education is confused with philosophy. Philosophy no longer rejects false logic and claims. Teaching that a “theory” is just a conjecture, a bit of possible explanation that has no backing, that Global Warming and Evolution is debatable.
2. Home-schooling. One person or group of a very specific one-minded world view can better teach a person over hundreds of teachers with varying degrees and expertise.
3. Fox News, in order to combat perceived liberal bias, has created an actual bias divide between once honorable media outlets. Tabloid news as legitimate. Highly biased conservative spin. The Banner. O’Reilly. Hannity.
4. Federalist controlled judicial system. They have fought to get power in the courts, and they have. Congratulations America, you are no longer free.
5. Push polling, loaded questions, loaded spam, loaded hoax emails.
6. Liberals not voting and “liberal”, the belief in limited government and maximized social freedom, as a bad word.
7. Talk radio monopoly. Rush Limbaugh, Mark Levin, and Sean Hannity, unlettered and uninformed loud-mouths with nothing to add to the debate except one-liners on perceived ideologies that don’t promote a fascist state.
8. The revision of history, including false quote mining and poor sourcing. Examples include the belief that this was a Christian Nation and was founded as such…
9. Out of control powerful executive branch. Powerful corporatism, free market allowance of pure monopolies, lobbyist and fear politics to manufacture votes. War powers, and the breach of the separation of church and state.
10. Last, but most important, the inexcusably uninformed citizenry and social conservatism.

NPR had a fascinating discussion this morning about the apparent increase in religious fervor around the world. Alan Wolfe with the center for Religion and Public Life at Boston College on the show made the case that the idea that religion was increasing is false. In fact, the world is becoming far more secular, which is not only good for economic and social wealth, but also good for peace. Of course, America is an open sore of an exception. Increase of wealth usually means a decrease of religion, but in America the increasing religion is in extraordinarily divisive, although it is not a revival, it may be a sign of a real religious death.

It gets me thinking.

As America moves closer towards a fascist state, liberal democracy has been turned into almost a swear word. No longer is it important if prosperity exists as an opportunity for all, no longer does equality of opportunity matter, no longer does civil rights and basic freedoms matter. Our country glorifies corporatism on the corporate owned venues of media and literature, (DaneAndrade.com is owned solely by me, Dane Andrade fyi) our country promotes strong militant nationalism and a national religion. It scoffs at violation of basic freedoms like privacy and freedom of association, one national language, one style of culture, and one desired ethnicity, and it wills a strong federal government. This is called, ironically, Conservatism.

Conservatism can’t be dying, but perhaps it is the cause of dying religion. Of course, by dying, I don’t actually mean that it is dwindling… rather, the highest producers, largest educated minority of this country, the most charitable and giving factions of this country are quickly turning away from dogma and the fetters of Christian hegemony.

There is a worrying trend however… Some have argued that where the open economy and free market exists, old world religion will also die.

This is where the flaw exists. Prosperity may kill religion, especially in the early stages., but the evolving religion will find a way to inject itself into free systems, like a tree killing vine. Here, the most prosperous country in existence, religion is killing us.

Prosperity Gospels.

The religious answer to the free market. The religious answer to growing secularism. Brand the faith under Joel Osteen and mega-church, and watch it flourish. Now, rampant monopolistic corporatism coupled with faith-guided politicians is destroying any residual essence of free market culture, ideas, and will ultimately cripple the economy.

What does Christianity offer Americans? Overpowering federal legislation that allows the government more power in the churches and the churches more power to enact powerful freedom destroying laws.

I’m done insulting benign faiths. My target remains forever, till the day I die, the fundamentalism of evangelical faiths in America and other countries. I have eternally sworn that it will be over my carcass that any words of the Bible are ever put into law in this country. As a member of Americans United I have found religious allies in this… people who understand that basic religious freedom starts with preservation of your own enemy’s faith.

America is the most powerful country in the world, and it is becoming a theocratic fascist state. This is undeniable. There is no compelling argument against it. Nothing. The only argument there is, by some, is that this is an acceptable path for this country.

I beg to differ.

I have graduated from school and inherited a world devoid of the promises of liberty and  the freedoms I read about in school. Instead of fighting for new freedoms, instead of marching down the streets as a new generation, new knowledge, better understanding, I find myself fighting unbelievable regression. Backwards. I can’t fight for new things, I have to fight for things that were once already decided. Things as simple of as the basic religious freedom of the citizenry. I did not inherit a free country. I walked into the scene as the destruction of law and the understanding of history were beginning. Instead of fighting for the rights of others, I have to fight for basic rights away from people who should know better… We have never regressed before… we have never gone backwards, towards darkness, like we are doing today.

This is an open cry to my ruling countrymen and women. You fucked things up for us. And you better believe we are pissed. Baby-boomer generation has royally ass-raped this country and my generation. Never before can I look back at a past generation and decide with such anger and bitterness, that they have failed their sons and daughters. This country is not safer. This country is not freer. This country is not more prosperous. What the fuck were you people doing this whole time? Worrying about what other people were doing in their bedrooms, worrying about fetuses, worrying about growing a massive military while stripping basic infrastructure growing programs to shreds, worrying about who was the sexiest actor in Hollywood, worrying about what people injected into their bodies… In the name of the things that offend you personally, you have crippled the people you meant to save. Damn you.

Everyone in my generation should be PISSED. These aging morons in Congress, on both sides, are living in age of personal self satisfying, while acting like they are giving anything back to us. An entire generation has raped for itself, leaving us with a dying planet, a dying ecosystem, a dying economy, and dying freedoms.

Their own system of self-preservation is also going to fail under them… What happened to the desire to leave this world a better place for your children? Overweight, television watching, moron voting, failures.

We don’t owe you anything. What have you given us? An opportunity to succeed? An opportunity to create? Massive national debt, limited freedoms, never-ending wars, terrorism, dogmatic religious fervor… Those are wonderful things. Thank you.

This doesn’t include them all. There are many people in my life, including my parents, who are superb exceptions. But they are outnumbered by the Fox News watching zombie horde.

You are even voting against us… as if you know better at this point. Why is my generation so against yours? Why are we voting so differently? Greedy bastards.

We are voting this time. Maybe I’m a cynic. It just seems like we’ve been lied to…

All I can say, I promise you my generation will be voting this year… and you will be seeing a change.