Shifting World Power

     It’s well known that the good energy of ancient civilizations like Egypt, Persia, China, Greece and Rome (to name a few) initiated mind-boggling technological, civil, agricultural, and architectural advancements and inventions… long before we gave them credit for it all.  

     But, each realm collapsed, usually after dastardly expansion or over-consumption.  Enter: the Dark Ages.  When you think of the Dark Ages, you think of Europe.  Yet, simultaneously, the Eastern parts of the world flourished.  

     Way ahead of Europe, China was the first to have observatories, card games, and water clocks (then in 1086, transformed into a mechanical clock—long before Europeans did so in the 1400s).  Chinese invented the farm hoe 2,000 years before the English.  Centuries before Western powers, they enjoyed football, gunpowder, ink, matches, paper, printing press (11^th century in China versus 15th century in Germany), suspension bridges, wheelbarrows, and global exploration via huge sailing ships.  An ancient Chinese treasure ship was 400” long, 10x longer than Columbus’ Santa Maria of 1492 (below).  In the 1420s, city walls of London extended merely 3 miles.  Nanjing’s walls went 20 miles, holding 3,000 soldiers.  

     Yet, in 1424, the Chinese Emperor died, and with him went the dream of overseas expansion.  Afterwards, the empire turned in on itself… and was still portrayed like that by the time European imperialists arrived and ravaged Asian lands.  Maybe the middle-level ministers feared international relations.  They definitely wanted to keep the status-quo.  It can be argued that the next emperor turned his back on what he was supposed to do: lead.  

     Many ancient cultures believed that their leaders/emperors/priests/shaman were selected by “above” to rule, and that they annually went alone to “high ground” for communication from “above”: to get instructions/advice on how to rule and what to do.  (Some claim that UFO’s were the “above”, but that's a different story).  Ancient Mayan, Japanese, Aztec, Egyptian, Chinese, Persian, Indian, Druid, Native American, Inca, Greek and Roman civilizations believed that their leaders had divine endorsement.  Even Biblical figures like Moses went alone to “high ground” for instruction from “above”.  (Nowadays, it's called a corporate mountaintop retreat or top-floor boardroom).  Ancient cultures feared that if the leaders disregarded what was expected from "above", then prosperity would be revoked.  That seems to happen, time and time again; history repeats.

     From 1500, new Chinese laws forbade the construction of ships that had more than 2 masts.  In 1551, it became a crime for Chinese folks to go to sea on a multi-masted ship!  While China was magnificently artistic and sophisticated, it stagnated in status-quo… turned away from the progress it had begun.  Interestingly, at the same time—and quite unbeknownst to the Chinese—Europeans had indeed begun global exploration.  Where the "spirit of development" was rejected, it immediately appeared elsewhere.  In 1498, Portuguese explorers arrived at the eastern African coast and forcibly established trading posts.  Spanish and Dutch trading companies ensued, followed by the French and English… massacring, colonizing and Christening all the way.  Finally, in 1635 the first English merchants reached in Chinese waters.  The barbarians had arrived.

     Ancient China was held together by centralized imperial rule.  Strangely, because they were “divided”, the smaller (and competitive) Europeans countries ended up ruling most of the world.  They were the forerunners of today’s multi-national corporations.  Compare that to the many “Harmony Palaces” of ancient China’s Forbidden City—itself a monument of undivided power.  (Although, if you’ve watched Chinese TV dramas or read history, you know that the concubine harem, military and ministries had plenty of discord and jealous infighting).  Nonetheless, great “empires” usually have a sudden tipping point where they begin to collapse… either gradually (like the Titanic) or rapidly (like the plague-infected Mayans). 

     In the 1600s, mismanagement and “closed-door” policies of ignorance allowed China to be overrun by infighting, invasion, famine and disease.  The last Ming emperor hanged himself in shame.  Confucianism to anarchy in only a decade.   Meanwhile, the Dark Ages evolved into the to Renaissance and the Enlightenment.  
     International trade and immigration literally caused Europeans to grow in height and stature.  Europeans used Opium Wars as a strategy to penetrate Asia for commerce and influence.  They won every time.  China degraded each time.  The ruling class of China seemed content to let the empire erode, as long as they lived in luxury.  Such careless attitude infected their whole system.  It persisted until “The Last Emperor”, Puyi, who even allowed Manchu citizens to be enslaved so that the 1930s Japanese would call him "an emperor".  Nowadays, social satirists claim that American politicians, businessmen and tycoons have the same infected attitude, as expenditure (and allowing companies to avoid paying taxes) runs ahead of national income (while they divert public enlightenment).

     A ruler is paid well by the citizens to uphold the dignity of the land.  That’s the trade-off.  Rulers must suppress their own interests/gratification, for the betterment and wellbeing of the land.  When self-indulgence and corrupt interests superimpose the ruler’s judgment, then the land suffers.  Sometimes, the ruler suffers, as a consequence, too. 

     In a turn of fate, China now manufactures the leading majority of goods, from cheap souvenirs and ballpoint pens to computers, plastics and cars.  All the while, America and European countries slide into the roles of “middle men” and “service providers” that don’t produce any goods.  [Go read The Lexus and the Olive Tree: Understanding Globalization].  Even Apple products are made in China and Taiwan.  It seems like the two hemispheres have switched roles again.  After 4 years of fighting WWII, America won the largest world economy and GDP in 1945, a gargantuan development from its Depression-era 1930s.  It also won the most influence in foreign affairs and commerce.  In 2013, China achieved the largest world economy.  China bought most of America’s national debt, while America called itself a premier world power.  Correct me if I’m wrong, but if someone else owns the debt/mortgage on your home, do you really own it? 

     Certainly, Science empowers countries to lead the world.  Ancient Arab mathematicians invented algebra in Bagdad.  Yet, a scientific revolution in the West allowed Western powers to take over.  Why?  Muslim religion prevented its scientist from studying their trade.  So, resources went to maintain religious leaders, instead of scientific progress.  A decisive moment that impacted their development.

     Forward momentum is needed to propel progress.  Centuries ago, the Ottoman sultan tried attacking Vienna, but inexplicable Ottoman hesitation allowed the Hapsburg Holy Roman Emperor to regroup and repel them.  Just like the inexplicable halt of Nazi’s who neared the Russian capitol, or of British troops nearing George Washington, or many other instances).  “He who hesitates is lost”.  “Time waits for no one”.  “Opportunity knocks only once”.  (Then again, American General Patton never liked to wait, but his amazing success and his conquering of larger enemies got him scorn from his superiors [and some say murdered]).  Just as the last imperial rulers of China made concessions to European powers, the Ottoman and Persian Empires soon shrunk against the same powers.  A pivotal moment had been lost, and it tipped the balance of energy. 

     Throughout global history, organized religions have deliberately hindered progress, as if God intended mankind to remain uneducated.  (There is a huge difference between “prayer” and “organized religion”, the latter usually involves huge amounts of money).  Before the dawn of Christianity, many ancient cultures/religions were amazingly advanced… but they were eliminated or swallowed up by the new religion.  It took centuries for people to question their authority (which was both royally political and religious).  In 1440 Germany, Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press.  In 1478, the Spanish Inquisition commenced killing educated people who challenged the Catholic Church; some of their acts were called heresy & witch trials.  In 1517 Germany, Martin Luther, renounced the sins, power plays, and profiteering of the Roman Catholic Church, followed by England’s departure from the Catholic regime in 1534.  In 1543, the Polish astronomer/genius Nicolaus Copernicus died.  In 1616, the Roman Inquisition of the Catholic Church famously condemned Galileo’s writings, which were ground-breaking.  Isaac Newton was born in 1643.  In 1662, the Royal Society of London started studying astrology.  In 1730, Benjamin Franklin began printing his own American newspaper to share knowledge and his many ideas/inventions.  

     A decade later, the Prussian empire made scientific breakthroughs in cannon accuracy and gunnery.  Europe used the development of artillery—which had been poorly put to use by Eastern empires—to conquer the globe.  “You snooze, you lose”, from the tale of the “Tortoise and the Hare”.  (Interestingly, it’s the technological advancements again [twice] of Germany in the Twentieth Century—while the rest of European and American powers turned inward/backward—that helped spark both World Wars). 

     You begin to see a pattern of ideas/energy/advancements being plucked and re-deposited from country to country, throughout history.  One group rises, then the aforementioned assets seem to transfer to another group.  The first group fails, while the new group rises.  As if a great tutor and benefactor relocates around the world, temporarily enriching different cultures.  That is, until self-centered rulers take over and ignore the teachings.  If the rulers' people allow/condone such takeovers and corruption, then it's their loss, too.  There is no power without “brain power”.  (The smart ones probably follow where the talent/energy goes).  

     From India, ancient teachings of yogi declare that, at any given time, there are only 100 truly talented souls on Earth that propel its maturation and progress.  That's one of the problems with hereditary ruling classes.

     The shame with our great country is that it began as an uncharted/unknown free land.  A blank canvas.  As it became The United States of America, it was chartered “Land of the Free”.  The Native Americans lived mostly peacefully before Europeans arrived (including the Vikings, Ancient Romans, conquistadors, and explorers like Lewis & Clark).  But the kingdoms of Britain and Spain eventually took over North and South America, respectively, and began a bloody pillage of the lands.  
     The USA wasn’t much better, with its treatment of the natives and Mexicans, or its treatment of the immigrant workers that it falsely lured to labor in its factories, railroads and mines.  The ridiculous Hays Code that governed early American movies was a contradiction to the Bill of Rights.  “Indian Giver” is a nickname for someone who gives and then takes away, yet America is infamous for repealing “land reservations” previously given to the Indians (Native Americans).  That is typical American hypocrisy to do an evil deed but blamefully label another entity for doing the same thing.  The USA's “laws of representation” are feeble.

(But that goes along with a “land of liberty” that also legally allowed slavery for 100 years and discriminations for 200 years.  Only in 2012 did the American president approve same-sex marriage, yet in 2015 13 states continue to ban it, thus the laws of "marriage" don't apply to gay couples in those states).  

     The USA soon realized that Central and South America held the keys to wealth.  In 1803, our fledgling republic made the Louisiana Purchase from Napoleon (who, because of his self-indulgent megalomania, was about to lose his empire).  The 1823 Monroe Doctrine told Europe to stay out of the affairs of the Western Hemisphere.  The 1840s coined the phrase “Manifest Destiny” that America was pre-ordained to expand to the Pacific Ocean.  The Gold Rush of the 1850s helped.  The American Civil War declared that industry had won over agriculture.  During the Industrial Revolution, President Teddy Roosevelt blazoned the way through the lands south of America and paraded "American strength" around the globe.  During WWII, America joined the fray, in exchange for all the technological inventions/advancements that Europe had created… and the request that England dismantle its Empire, the last in existence.  However, the cost of getting America militarized was the loss of FDR’s New Deal policies, labor protections, infrastructure advancements, and anti-“Wall Street Disaster” attitudes.  (Since then--and especially during President Bush, Jr's term--financial interests have worked to repeal laws that protect the public).
     America went from this...

to this

to this (symbolic of the era's "vision"),

to this

People had such pride,

but now get,

(You'll notice that the "biggest losers" received the most "federal bailout money" in 2009.  The Treasury Dept claims to have LOST $11.2 billion from helping GM, whose CEO currently makes $14 million [on paper] per year).

Grand spaces for citizens went from this,

to this

     Look around America today, and observe the repeating Wall Street/Industry failures, worsening job market, tax collecting snafu, crumbling infrastructure, growing national debt, and once-again widening gap between the Top 1% and the “free voting citizens”.  Renovations often occur--not by tax-paid gov't--but when citizens/organization do additional fundraising and community volunteerism (while still paying for gov't permits & fees).
     There was so much hope:

Such leaps of technological advancement, efficiency and speed in such short time!  

[After nearly 40 years of efficient Zeppelin air travel, they were discontinued after a fireball tragedy in New Jersey, yet airplanes still soar after NYC's 2001 disaster]. 

…all to give the people something great and grand and decent (like the Automat, below, or products by Hughes, Tucker or Tesla, or the ideals of those men and journalist Don Morrow, TV host Jack Paar and Senator/VP Hubert Humphrey).

*Look at my July 1, 2014 entry for more details:

https://halfwindsorfullthrottle.blogspot.com/2014/07/changed-values.html

     Yet, Big Businesses hampered the advancements that would've propelled our country forward, to maintain the mediocrity of their own products.  

Or they syphoned profits from methods like bottling public tap water...

     Political machines--ever so nefarious--"rode over" (and were allowed to ride over) those who tried to help, like Senator Humphrey, below.

     Considering its wealth and quantity of billionaires, when was the last time America completed a major (non-defense) infrastructure accomplishment? 

Yet, look at what other countries are accomplishing…

     Despite tech/sci advances, mass-farmed/produced non-nutritious foods have “empty calories” that actually cost the body to digest them.  People saunter around saying, “I work in Finance”, yet they have no clue what they’re doing… beyond following.  (hence Bernie Madoff, Enron, Marc Stuart Dreier and "The Wolf of Wall Street").  Across the nation, legions of upper-middle managers are inept.  Schools push failing students through unearned graduations.  Cities publically claim that “illegal immigrant labor” is “necessary”.  Insanely profitable insurance companies refuse to pay.  Land is overdeveloped on unstable ground.  
     American-made automobiles are anticipated/ridiculed as substandard… vaguely reminiscent of the former Soviet Union (which because of its self-indulgent megalomania, lost its "empire").  Once an automotive/industry forerunner, Ford Motors became an acronym for Fix Or Repair Daily.  Their products declined/eroded like Central Park (and most of Manhattan) in the 1970s.  The former and current profits went elsewhere.  Chrysler was so bad that efficiently-successful Mercedes Benz bought them in 1998 but spit them back out in 2007.  
     When you think of General Electric, General Motors, General Mills, Hershey Chocolate, or Microsoft, you don’t think of positive images or upstanding credentials.  [Look up Hershey or GE on wikipedia].  How little are American Customer Service agents paid?  $22,000 per year?  Despite that, how often is a call center or manufacturing facility located outside the nation, for cheaper payroll?  When you visit weather.com, how many ads and sensationalized stories load before the actual weather report?  Guess why television's QVC is so profitable.  How many households are burdened with overbearing interest rate payments?  Compare how much a realtor gets paid with how much the construction workers get paid, for working on the same apartment.  

     Compare the underprivileged students in the 1967 movie “To Sir, With Love” to the urban students in 1993’s Sister Act II, to the overprivileged students in 2010’s “The Social Network”.  All symbolize the uncaring, irresponsible products of so-called “modern” societies.  Compare that to the way modern Chinese students study so thoroughly and have “computer lab buses” that visit underprivileged neighborhoods to keep everyone “up to speed”.  America doesn't have that attention to formal education.  It doesn't even recite its own Pledge of Allegiance in public schools anymore (yet its money says "In God We Trust", but that's controlled by a different entity).  Many of its citizens aspire to emulate Kim Kardashian, Sean Combs, or the stars of Bravo TV's Million Dollar Listing or Real Housewives.  Many of its citizens are also uneducated, uncaring, unaware and blissfully ignorant… despite internet/literature/media access via everyone's handheld mobile device!

      Unfortunately, the gratifications and boons after WWII weren’t "enough" for the financial and industrial powers that controlled America.  Instead of a long-lasting heyday, a cheapening of American life ensued.  Look at pictures of how American cities deteriorated, twenty years after WWII.  You would've thought that such a world power would've sustained an amazing infrastructure, continued to accelerate its travel systems, and improved the lives of its citizens.  
     Instead, its citizens were ensured in "toxic housing market assets", foreclosures, and unregulated investment scams.  American trains haven't sped up since 1947, and it's a miracle if modern asphalt lasts more than a year.  Too many communities neglected with "budget cuts" and "not enough money", while major corporations evade taxes and the gov't bureaucracy gets more bloated.  (e.g.: it's unimaginable how many levels of gov't exist in just NYC--each with a tax-paid office, car, driver, administrative assistant, bodyguard, and expense account.  Assemblymen, borough presidents, borough boards, community boards, local senators, local congressmen, mayoral agencies, 28 official NYC Departments, 28 other Offices/Boards/Commissions, public corporations, District Attorneys, courts, layers of policing bodies, and a Public Advocate.  The oversized "checks" they give during photo shoots are even allocated to them by the gov't as reelection tools!  Somehow, poor or crime-ridden neighborhoods remain that way for 100 years.  Somehow, illegal immigration and human trafficking continues.  Somehow, the mass transit system still stinks.  Somehow, it took Disney to rid 42nd Street of prostitution.)  Does this resemble the idle ruling class of ancient China that condoned its decline?  
     Soon after the 1970s, American financial and industrial powers relocated their resources to foreign tax-free or cheap-labor locales.  Both kinds of locales are now experiencing success (with less severe exploitation of their populations, than in the past).  America's golden era doesn't seem to be lasting too long, but its bravado remains intense.

     While the historically warring entities of Europe have unified and now act like retired grandparents “all getting along”, America’s premier status is questioned by those who observe a resurgence of steady strengthening in Asia.  Has the tutor moved to a new group of eager people willing to learn and advance?  “Keep your eye on the ball”, is my motto.