Until this is addressed whom ever gets elected will be just a puppet.
I tend not to offhandedly discount any reports of "behind the scenes" manipulations of our national or global destinies.
There
are families in the world with very strong sociopolitical bonds that go back centuries.
There
are individuals in the world with enough money to "buy"
anything - even those things that are
supposedly without price.
There
are those who, lacking
personal money or family connections to power, ingratiate themselves to those who do have access to both.
There
are secret, semi-secret, and not-so-secret societies with political ambitions and goals, among which are:
The
Freemasons - The Freemasons (or simply "Masons") are probably the best known of the, nonetheless, "secret societies". They are considered a "secret society" because their ceremonies are closed to non-members, and therefore very little factual information is known outside of the fraternity. There have been suggestions that the Masons are also
related to/in collusion with the Illuminati (the very existence of which is highly questionable), and the modern day remnants of the Knights Templar (also highly questionable).
The
Bilderberg Group - Founded in 1954, the Bilderbergs operate under a similar veil of mystery, which has made it the subject of countless conspiracy theories and criticisms. Since it's founding, it has convened every year as an exclusive, invitation-only conference of various world leaders, captains of industry, and media moguls. It's membership makeup is quite similar to...
The
Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) - With a current membership of almost 4,700 various world leaders, captains of industry, celebrities, and media moguls, the CFR is more of what I consider a "semi-secret society". Most of us are familiar with the name, but very few of us really have any idea what they actually do, and what their goals may be
beyond those stated (Angelina Jolie is a member, which makes me wonder just how seriously the CFR should be taken). The David Rockefeller Studies Program—CFR's think tank—is composed of more than eighty full-time and adjunct fellows who cover the major regions and significant issues shaping today's international agenda.
The
Trilateral Commission - The Commission was originally created in 1973 (although there were rumors about it in the early 1960's) by David Rockefeller to bring together leaders within the private sector to discuss issues of global concern at a time when communication and cooperation between Europe, North America, and Asia were lacking (David Rockefeller seems to have his fingers in more than one international "pie").
The
United Nations - We are all familiar with the U.N., whose apparent (but undocumented) goal seems to be world domination, and the creation of the fabled "One World Government". The U.N. is one of the "not-so-secret" societies, controlled (numerically) by international governments which are NOT full Democratic Republics (roughly 170 of 192 participants are not). We know who composes the U.N., and where they are headquartered
The "bottom line" is that if there are/were truly "secret societies",
how would they be known to us? If they are known, then they are by definition
not secret. What we actually
have are "closed societies" within our common society. These are organizations (groups) of people with like interests who have chosen to have their membership restricted to certain individuals, and their rituals and objectives kept behind closed doors. There's nothing illegal about any of that... but, such attitudes do create an atmosphere of
suspicion among the multitudes of outsiders. Suspicion of others isn't a criminal act either. A closed society (or social organization) can be found in your town without much effort.
Some rituals of
some churches, are known only to a select number of "worthies"within that church. Some social clubs have restrictions based upon the sex of prospective members. Some businesses actually get away with "sex discrimination" ("Curves" comes immediately to mind) - try
that with a Gold's Gym. Fraternal organizations were originally for "Men Only",
fraternal: brotherhood; of or denoting an organization or order for people, esp. men, that have common interests or beliefs.
a restriction which has been (for the most-part) broken down by SCOTUS in the last half-century. Then we have Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. There's also the Billionaire's Club, whose primary membership requirement is stated in it's name (and no, I am
not a member). Masonic Lodges have a well-deserved reputation for extreme protection of their rituals. It doesn't make
them bad people, it just makes those who are
curious more curious.
And the list goes on and on. There is a conspiracy theory for everybody, every organization, and every political inclination. The difficulty is in sorting out "the wheat from the chaff"... and there is a LOT more chaff than wheat. One of the most insidious organizations in the United States is not a "secret society", but rather, an
appointed committee.
The
Electoral College - which can negate the popular vote, thereby rendering the voting process worthless. The rationale for the EC was sound in the 18th century:
"There was one difficulty however of a serious nature attending an immediate choice by the people. The right of suffrage was much more diffusive in the Northern than the Southern States; and the latter could have no influence in the election on the score of African Americanes (this is an historical QUOTE - there were no African-Americanes [sic] back then, they were "Neg_oes"). The substitution of electors obviated this difficulty and seemed on the whole to be liable to the fewest objections."
There was also the problem of inadequate means of effective and timely communication between delivering candidate (and party) positions to the general population at that time in our history. There were no telephones, TVs or other means of rapid mass communications - not even the Pony Express. Verifiable news traveled
slowly, while
rumors raced through the states. A populace that was mainly ignorant of the facts surrounding an election could -
quite reasonably - be expected to make a totally uninformed decision that would not be beneficial to the country's well-being. However, there are no longer any "Neg_oes" or (involuntary) "slaves". Those terms have been replaced with "Black Americans" and "Democrats"
rolleyes
. IMHO, as times and technology have changed, so has the need for the EC. This antiquated vestige of the 18th century is no longer justified, as
any group that can override the will of the people in a free society is
unjustified. (However... such an act would require a Constitutional Amendment, inasmuch as the EC is enshrined within our Constitution.) But, I digress...
Who - that did not have
at least some shared interests - would want to belong to
any of these closed societies? Probably not many folks, but the air of secrecy provides many people with a natural desire (one which we call
curiosity) to "peek inside". I have accepted the fact that there
may be "Kingmakers" in the world today - as was Richard Neville (7th Earl of Warwick) during the "Wars of the Roses". The fact that something is not commonplace does not mean that it doesn't exist. What can we do about secret societies? Nothing. Do they exist? Yes. Do some of them have unfathomable power? Perhaps. Will they be behind the impending Zombie Apocalypse?
Yeah, right. Pax...
Censorship of common, non-derisive terms found in any standard English dictionary? How left-wing PC of us! :uhoh:
