The system is rigged – The Ukiah Daily Journal

A stopped (analog) clock is right twice a day. And even Trump, a lifelong liar and corrupt fraudster who is now a convicted felon, occasionally tells the truth. The system is rigged. But what Trump fails to mention is that it is rigged for people like him: extremely wealthy, white men.

Systemic misogyny has oppressed women for thousands of years. Leonard Shlain begins in The Alphabet Versus The Goddess by asking, “Why did all the natural religions disappear at the same time?” This decline also marks the rise of city-states, dominion power, the emergence of the personal ego and patriarchy. He attributes this to the advent of alphabetic literacy, which is processed in the left hemisphere of the brain by recognizing differences in order and form. The transformative power of this form of communication has created a deep imbalance in the mind, leading to the global delusion that the world is absolutely separate, when in reality it is fundamentally united.

When the Christian Church emerged a few thousand years later and became the state religion of the Roman Empire, the oppression of women became an article of faith. Women were seen as the root of all evil, condemned for life, oppressed and even killed in order to preserve the religious purity of the community. Unfortunately, this oppressive attitude towards women is not limited to the Christian religions.

Even in these supposedly “modern” times, it is only relatively recently that women have been allowed to vote, own property, and have credit cards. Women are still routinely paid less than men for the same work, and the parts of the economy traditionally occupied by women are less valued.

Over the past half century, America has made great strides in empowering women. Women know they can be strong and intelligent, but also compassionate and caring, and are now represented in every part of our culture and economy. The “Me Too” movement has shone a spotlight on ubiquitous male sexual predators. But that progress is now facing organized resistance from backward Republicans who want to literally return to 19th century social mores.

Women know that misogyny is widespread. If you, as a man, doubt this, ask a woman who you believe will tell you the truth.

Systemic racism, the oppression of one race by another, has also existed for thousands of years. Jared Diamond describes in Guns, Germs, and Steel how the random distribution of the few domesticable plants and animals determined which civilizations thrived and developed and were then able to conquer and dominate other civilizations. For example, white Europeans enslaved black Africans not because of racial superiority but because of technological advantages.

In America, the cheap labor of black slaves was part of the economy almost from the earliest settlements. Even after the Civil War ended national economic acceptance of slavery, the continued sense of entitlement of whites institutionalized racial oppression. This continues to this day, affecting educational resources and employment opportunities, although great improvements have occurred. Again, there is resistance from backward Republicans who claim that racism no longer exists in America. Ask any person of color if that is true.

In contrast to misogyny and racism is the distortion of wealth-based society. The accumulation of sufficient wealth provides access to privilege (private law) regardless of gender or race. Since America’s founding, the rich have enjoyed exquisite treatment. Only when this delusional system of exclusive advantage collapses, such as in 1929, is the system slightly adjusted to support society as a whole, not just the privileged few. The 2007 housing crisis, a result of banking industry greed, wiped out $13 trillion in domestic wealth, yet only one person went to prison, and most of the major banks responsible are still in business today.

While many individual Democratic representatives cater to the super-rich, the party agenda is more socially inclusive. In contrast, the Republican party platform is entirely focused on expanding the privileges of the rich. The only achievements during Trump’s presidency were the filling of the courts with right-wing ideologues and the passage of a massive tax cut for the top earners, which in the process increased the national debt.

I understand the outrage of ordinary people who feel excluded because of their gender, race or economic status. Actual action is needed to change the system and actually allow for more equality. What I don’t understand is why many of these people think Trump or the Republicans have their interests at heart.

Crispin B. Hollinshead lives in Ukiah. This and previous articles can be found at cbhollinshead.blogspot.com.