Who Lost China...rather America?

In 1949, when the Chinese communists took power, an echo could be heard across the land, "who lost China?" The foundations for the myth, that Democrats were soft on fighting communism, were laid; the republican machine went to work and Aldai Stevenson would be defeated by Eisenhower for the presidency in the 1951 elections partly because Americans feared a communist takeover.

Soft on fighting communism is, sadly, such a loaded term that it has led to countless deaths in Korea, Vietnam, Chili, Cuba, Grenada, Nicaragua, etc. Communism was always doomed and its ultimate demise came not so much because of our policies toward it; but it's own policies toward itself--a country cannot politicize economics and expect to survive; a country cannot make an economy subservient to the needs and interests of a small, very wealthy, very protected minority.

Similar to members of the Communist Party, who had the full apparatus of the Party at its disposal to make the people obey, so too now, republicans in Congress have the full power of their corporate constituents with their extremely deep pockets to create the needed "reality" in the media to ensure their continued destruction of our nation.

This brings us to China.

Greed, God and Morality

In 1981, when Reagan took the oath of office, China was a backwater: underdeveloped, rural, oppressive and simply off the radar of the world's economy. At this same time, the politics of greed, of morality, of putting God in government, anti-gay, anti-abortion, military build-ups and Hollywoodian swagger took our nation by storm. The good old days, a throwback to an era of the GE Home Theater and of Reagan's "Time for Choosing" speech--which introduced Barry Goldwater at the 1964 Republican Convention--were upon us and all seemed simple, nice and reminded many of an America that had been the uncontested leader of the world.

Over the course of the next 8 years, and then 4 under Bush I, America focused on short-term, get-rich economic policies. "Government was the problem" dogma's and "get government off my back" rhetoric. Along with the rising power of the NRA and other neo-fascist groups, this combined to create an aura of the "American pioneer spirit."

Lost in the understanding of that spirit was that people, the original pioneers, found strength and glory in America because they were free to do and be what they wanted--no government was allowed to decide who they sleep with; whether they have abortions; whether they pray a certain prayer in schools, public ones, mind you. Yet, while taxes were being cut for the extremely wealthy, while financial regulations, set in place during The Great Depression, were being eliminated so as to allow for financial fiascos like the Savings and Loan debacle and most recently today's collapse, the republicans were forcing their moral agenda onto all of our lives--government was invading all aspects of social life.

While we were eating ourselves from the inside, wallowing in the worries of an overfed, over-consumed nation--the worries of a people with too much for its own good--the Chinese were building and building and investing and learning and studying.

When we did get a president who "got it", who understood the dangers of a China on the horizon, the republican-led congress spent 8 years trying to impeach him not for anything he did bad to our country; but, ultimately because he lied about having an affair!

(Do we really think the internet would have received government financing if a republican was president?)

China was creating a new and powerful infrastructure to take away our manufacturing base and we were endlessly cutting taxes for the wealthy who were using that money to invest in China's future. Wall Street, the republicans and the wealthy were decimating the middle class for personal gain and helping to create the China we see today.

Why are the rich NOT investing in our infrastructure?

When was the last time a wealthy, Southern, God-fearing republican took a chunk of the money he was returned from the IRS thanks yet another major government hand-out, paid for a road, a bridge or the "internetification" of a small, rural town? Never. Why? Because why would he bother? That, after all, is the obligation of the government.

Yet, a government without a tax base cannot keep its nation infrastructurally sound. What used to be our greatest resource, our truly amazing infrastructure, is quickly becoming our greatest weakness. Europe unites itself and spends and spends to make itself one, inter-connected continent--creating a base for its future.

China spends billions each day remaking it's infrastructure. Whereas the American factory owner simply fixes the machines he has, ones dependent upon oil and fossil fuels, the Chinese owner is putting in place the latest and best technologies. Like post-War Japan which was recreated by the American tax payer setting the stage for decades of economic brilliance, so too China will be the world leader only on a scale much, much larger and much, much more deleterious for the interests of America.

The Chinese middle class is making astounding gains each year! Their quality of living rises and people tells stories of how poorly they lived just 5 years ago; the American middle class recalls how well they were living just 10 years ago and how today it is harder and harder to get "jobs that matter, that pay not just the bills from today but help for tomorrow." A Chinese gain is an American worker's loss. Economists can spin this however they want, but, the Chinese boom is now our dilemma.

Yet still, the republicans are against all that President Obama has tried to do to make us more competitive; stronger, faster and more able to compete. "Less government" they whine like a hysterical bunch of witch-hunters.

Green technologies were our chance to have a new economic revolution in our nation. We still are the smartest and brightest. But, we are burdened with a 1950's view of the world and it is the modern day republican party. They just don't get it: today we are dependent upon and addicted to fossil fuels; we had the chance to harness the sun, wind and create grids so this power could be sent to parts of the country that need it; for this to happen, we need creative governance; tax breaks for small businesses working in these technologies; government investment in Research an Development--not in the R&D for new weapons!; we need a smarter, better educated American student.

But instead, we get God-fearing, flag-waving, gun-toting hysteria. We get "tea parties" and "less government" cries and we have our time-tested institutions abused by the Grand Old Party (see the Supreme Court and Southern congressmen screaming at the president during speeches to the nation); we get lies and 8 years of "no responsibility" for the most heinous crimes ever commited by our government against this nation.

Now, we get the party of no and its obstructionist strategy to win the next cycle of elections so it can get back to stopping our nation from improving, from getting smarter, stronger, more economically secure.

And, while they rejoice in their solidarity and their "no's" the Chinese are now leading the world in green technologies.

Tomorrow, we will not only be a nation where everything is "made in China;" but, we will be a nation where everything that is lit, propelled forward, creates heat or cold, will also be "thanks to China." And lest we forget, we owe more money to China than to any other nation.

So, who lost our America?