Deep Background

Stop Us If You've Heard This One Before... "We meet in the midst of a nation brought to the verge of moral, political and material ruin...the fruits of the toil of millions are stolen to build up colossal fortunes...governmental injustice (breeds) the two great classes - tramps and millionaires.' -- Populist Party founder Ignatius Donnelly (US, 1892). Election Year "Lies circulate - welcome Mister Oppurtune and Mister Convenient: they're turning into the truth." - paraphrased from the writings ofTristan Tzara. :: Perversion For Profit If turning a thing back on itself and viewing the results in a different way causes one heartache and grief, perhaps that individual is not equipped to function as an agent of change. Perversion is not restricted to sullied images of exposed skin, but also carries itself into the realm of thought, ideal, spirit and art. Twisting and gnawing the truth from the profane is an aspiration. :: He Would Certainly Know 'I believe we are on an irreversible trend toward more freedom and democracy - but that could change.' -- former U.S. Vice President Dan Quayle, 05.22.89. Mr. Quayle - long derided as a walking malaprop - currently serves on the Pentagon-based Defense Policy Board.
:: But They Still Loved Poetry... Typhus, hunger, execution by firing squad, dark apartments, people swollen beyond recognition. All the cemeteries had been pillaged. The city had not just changed, it had turned into its exact opposite. But people still loved poetry.' -- Anna Akhmatova, describing the city of Petrograd three years after the Russian revolution. :: The Fundamentally Wrong Impression That Lives On :: 'Some of us may have begun to see that he challenged not so much the British dominion as a thing we ourselves long dared to challenge, but the whole modern world, that has mechanized and arrested experience. His quarrel with us was wider and deeper than we thought.' -- Edward Thompson, writing on the trial and sentencing of M. Gandhi to six years' imprisonment for inciting opposition to the British rule in India, 1922. New Ideas Supression of ideas and bias against challenge is eternal. Thoughtlessness is ingrained in our collective psyche. Prejudice runs in the veins and must be flushed out repeatedly. Injustice is taken for granted. Some ideals go off track. Soundbytes tell us all we need to know. Please think! - anonymous. :: Twisted Implications and Matters of Faith (Exploited) 'I believe that my conduct is in accordance with the will of the Almighty creator...I am defending the handiwork of the Lord.' -- Adolf Hitler, writing in Mein Kampf. :: 'I am appalled by the number of Jews in this place. One cannot get away from them.' -- Sir Horace Rumbold, British Ambassador to Germany, 1928. In 1928, Jews comprised just over 4% of the Berlin populace. As the Nazis rose to power and took Hitler's notions of Jewish evils to their absurd conclusion, Rumbold would later recant and grow to despise racism. :: 'Death and Destruction to the foreigner and all his works' - slogan of The Boxers, who rebelled against European control of China in 1900. After the destruction of Catholic churches in Peking and the massacre of Christians nearby, the Allied powers moved to restore the status quo. The army of British, German,Japanese, French and United States troops was described as a 'holy force of Christian supplicants.'Armageddon Has Been Rescheduled William Miller, an American farmer and former atheist, first gained prominence on the evangelical scene in 1831 with his bold and very specific prediction of the coming end of the world by fire. Basing his theories on the Books of Daniel and Revelation, Miller had identified the date of Armageddon to be April 3, 1843. In the ensuing 12 years, Miller attracted well over 100,000 converts. On four occassions in 1843-1844, Miller called for his followers to gather on a New England hilltop in order to usher in Armageddon and the Second Coming of Christ. :: Believing that the dead would pass through to heaven first, many followers prepared by waiting in open graveyards. Some fanatics expedited matters by murdering relatives and committing suicide. :: Most purchased white 'ascension robes' (sold by Miller) - essential attire for acceptance into heaven.
<> Despite the fact that world survived April 3, 1843 (and each subsequent date he had prophesied), Miller went on to a career delivering more than 3,000 speeches predicting the coming end of the world. :: He also amassed a fortune from the sale of his white 'ascension robes'.