Anthony Wile
The Dow Jones industrial average has crossed 14,000 and the US mainstream media is celebrating. Presumably the powers-that-be expect that short memories shall convince US consumers that the nation is back on track.
It’s part of a larger dominant social theme, I guess, that hard times are gradually yielding to normalcy and that the current sociopolitical and economic system is not only resilient but also sound.
This is a pretty big disconnect, in my humble point of view, given what’s REALLY going on in the world. The upper half of Africa is aflame from supposed Al Qaeda incursions and Western counter-attacks, Spanish and Greek youth unemployment is over 50 percent, China and Japan are both struggling to keep their economies afloat and in the Americas, price inflation and drug wars are unraveling the fabric of various recoveries, including most significantly Brazil and Mexico.
But let’s ignore all that.
We’re supposed to focus on the good stuff. The nation – and the world – has been through a lot but now skies are turning bluer and people shouldn’t lose faith. Twentieth century memes do indeed transpose themselves to the 21st century; if everyone is lucky and believes hard enough, “America’s Century” can repeat itself in the 21st.
Are you “buying this”?
