Class Warfare Truth-Bombing
The 99% and the truth
The advantage of the 1%
One reason class warfare is being so overwhelmingly won by the rich and powerful is this: they are a smaller group, they have fewer central issues to unite around, and they are consequently easier to unite. Of course, wealth and control of the message helps.
The strategy of the 99%
On the 99% side of the table, we need bottom-up change, a people’s revolution not a political party’s pretend outrage.
I’ve written several essays that issue a call-to-arms based on identifying singular, powerful, literal keywords upon which to unite. Keywords that are so undeniably spot on that they work for both the Red Church and the Blue Church. Keywords so powerful that they not only catalyze, but they utterly up-end and repudiate greed and divisiveness. Keywords focused on things like #fairness. Keywords that drive out the selfish monsters sitting in the seats of power.
We’ve had them in the past, and they worked: #liberty #freedom #justice #equality. #Occupy was an attempt at this. But we need a major refresh.
Who’s afraid of who?
This can be done. The rich and powerful are fearful. They’re buying land and building estates in places like New Zealand because they are worried. About us. They know we’re coming. But we are unstoppable, unless they can keep us divided against each other. And those days are drawing to a close.
Fear is a powerful weapon. And they are very, very afraid of us. They think if we see them militarize our police force, we will tuck our tails between our tiny, little legs. But why would they militarize? After all, America is literally the safest nation earth. They are doing it because they’re the ones who are afraid.
Why would they be afraid? Could it be because their pathological lack of fairness is being realized? Could it be because their greed has reached such epic proportions that it can no longer be hidden? Could it be because the most they want to share is something that’s never worked, something called “trickle down?”
Only the cynicism of the rich and powerful would try to sell a ‘trickle’ as something amazing.
- The richest 1% of Americans own 35% of the nation’s wealth. The bottom 80% own just 11% of the nation’s wealth. [1]
- In the 1950s and 1960s, when the economy was booming, the wealthiest Americans paid a top income tax rate of 91%. Today, the top rate is 43.4%. [1]
Keep in mind, it’s not solely individuals that we need to target. Corporations are grabbing unprecedented profits and stashing them outside the United States to avoid paying taxes. And our congress and their appointees are happily complicit.
So what do we do?
Simplify the message. A message so clearly and emphatically true that no one can deny it.
