Looking back, Woodrow Wilson
was re-elected president in 1916 on a platform that he had "kept us
out of war" and on the implied promise that he would "keep us
out of war." Yet, five months later he asked Congress to declare
war on Germany.
In that five-month interval the
people had not been asked whether they had changed their minds. The
4,000,000 young men who put on uniforms and marched or sailed away were
not asked whether they wanted to go forth to suffer and die.
Then what caused our government
to change its mind so suddenly?
Money.
An allied commission, it may be
recalled, came over shortly before the war declaration and called on the
President. The President summoned a group of advisers. The head of the
commission spoke. Stripped of its diplomatic language, this is what he
told the President and his group:
"There is no use kidding
ourselves any longer. The cause of the allies is lost. We now owe you
(American bankers, American munitions makers, American manufacturers,
American speculators, American exporters) five or six billion dollars.
If we lose (and without the
help of the United States we must lose) we, England, France and Italy,
cannot pay back this money...and Germany won't.
So..."
Had secrecy been outlawed as
far as war negotiations were concerned, and had the press been invited
to be present at that conference, or had radio been available to
broadcast the proceedings, America never would have entered the World
War. But this conference, like all war discussions, was shrouded in
utmost secrecy. When our boys were sent off to war they were told it was
a "war to make the world safe for democracy" and a "war
to end all wars."
Well, eighteen years after, the
world has less of democracy than it had then. Besides, what business is
it of ours whether Russia or Germany or England or France or Italy or
Austria live under democracies or monarchies? Whether they are Fascists
or Communists? Our problem is to preserve our own democracy.
Gary Edwards on 19 Jul 11Nice summary with a chilling conclusion. I can't believe i've been so wrong about the financial collapse and the End of the American Dream. In 2008 i set out to discover why the September financial collapse occurred. This was the beginning of my Diigo "Socialism and the End of the American Dream" list. Since then however, i've come to see that it isn't ideology that's behind the financial collapse and the assault on the American Constitution, Rule of Law, and the principles of individual liberty and freedom described in our Declaration of Independence. No, IT'S ALL ABOUT THE MONEY! Mark Levin argues eloquently and with great passion and insight that "Statism" is the problem. He argues that socialism, progressivism, communism and fascism are just forms of centralized government, authority, and control. For Mark, it's all about power. And that's Tyranny of the highest order. Today though, i see things differently. It's all about the money. And with that money comes the power to dictate, control and seize property at will. The Banksters are behind it all, and debt is their doomsday nuclear weapon of choice. Baron Von Rothschild once famously said that WAR is the most expensive endeavor governments can engage in. War means borrowing from banksters. It means debt. The problem for the Banksters has long been the lesson of Charlemagne and Napoleon: There is no way for the Banksters to collect their debt (and interest) from the victor. The only way to force Napoleon to pay was to create an opposing army (thanks to the ruling elites of England and the Duke of Wellington - who were not threatened by Napoleon. And since then, the Bansters have been beholden to the Brittish ruling elites). Balance of Power and the magic of Francois Metternich's Treaty of Vienna worked for almost 100 years after the defeat of Napoleon. The ruling nobility of Europe came apart with WWI, but the Banksters played both ends against the middle, and came out on top.
