One really has to wonder what wheels have set in motion and what we're being prepared for in this, the beginning of some hard times..
It's as though we're teetering on the brink of a scenario that will be as influential on the world as a whole as was the Great Plague..
And that quite rightly.. some of the blame has to fall on the shoulders of the man on the street for succumbing to the ubiquitous ad campaigns and buying.. and buying..and buying..
On tick, as they say, for the most part. We have been shamelessly profligate..
But certainly the balance of the blame falls on those we have put in power..
As it stands now, we have Barak saying that the American economy is 'very sick', and we can expect the condition to exacerbate.. as though the situation isn't blatantly obvious to even the least informed of the public..
Back to Barack and his economic woes in a moment..
We must be aware the Vlad Putin's going the lead Russia again.. this time with a longer term to bring Mother Russia a tad back from it's swing towards the Right..
After all, it is still Communist..'from each according to their abilities and to each according to their need' and all.. And what a magnificent parade was prepared for the West just a while back..
Haven't seen that much military hardware grinding through Red Square in decades..
Somehow though.. it still evokes a faint shudder, all that goose-stepping..
And before we get back to Barack..
The situation vis a vis the Pound Sterling and the Euro would be risible, if it weren't so dangerous..We saw the $Canadian worth more than a greenback for a while earlier in this economic overture, but it settled down to a more sensible 84 cents to the dollar American in short order.. But the situation here is dire. British unemployment is soaring.. British brands associated with quality are calling in the receivers.. British shops the likes of Woolworths will have the last of their outlets locked and their people paid off by mid-week next..
With the Euro at near parity with the Pound.. Gordon's going to need a plan to get something, out of what is rapidly becoming nothing..
Which brings us back to Barack, who's going to try his utmost to be a Hoover or an FDR..
But frankly, the DWP clone couldn't be sustained throughout American society today. The logistics would simply be far to complex and an expensive..
Maybe in a couple of years time, when it becomes a serious concern about how this bill can be dodged for a couple of weeks, so food can be put on the table.. when inflation sets in..
Maybe then the idea of 'working for the government' will force those who have the sense to get with a program..
It will be an easier pill to swallow for Europeans.. who can easily equate with National Service..
Which..rather circuitously.. brings us back to the original thought..
Where is the state of mind we're meant to adopt..what part of the Game are we being led into..?
Are we heading into an era of re-building and about to endure a purging of the decades of our self-indulgence..?
Likely not.
Are we headed towards the formation of formal or informal 'blocs'..?
Might be..
But, for a while, the middle class will understand the existence led by the lower middle class, and so on down the social ladder until you reach the middle and lower lower class, who've understood how difficult it is to just 'get by' from time immemorial..
After all, to quote Tim Minchen.. "You could always be a taxi driver in Beirut."