frankly i also have to say, that i really doubt any change for good president is ever gonna come near power. the board is simply set up that way..
If good people sit around and do nothing then we are doomed.
well, if good people stopped participating, then the government would fall apart.
stopped paying taxes and just ignored those fools in the big house.
and started our own thing.
completely bloodless and nothing done, except doing our own thing.
trusting the government, well, its like blowing off your own leg and then deciding to blow it up again in the hopes of the leg growing back..
BBC NEWS | Magazine | Secrets of the Wizard of Oz
By Rumeana Jahangir
BBC News
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is one of the world's best-loved fairytales. As Judy
Garland's famous film nears its 70th birthday, how much do its followers know
about the story's use as an economic parable?
Dorothy in Kansas conjures up nostalgic thoughts of childhood Christmases hiding
behind the sofa from the Wicked Witch of the West. Or those flying monkeys.
It's unlikely its young fans will have been thinking about deflation and
monetary policy.
But the story has underlying economic and political references that make it a
popular tool for teaching university and high school students - mainly in the
United States but also in the UK - about the economic depression of the late
19th Century.
At a time when some economists fear an onset of deflation, and economic
certainties melt away like a drenched wicked witch, what can be learnt from Oz?
The 1939 film starring a young Judy Garland was based on Lyman Frank Baum's
book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, published in 1900. It told of an orphaned
Kansas girl swept by a tornado into a fantastical world, but who wants to return
home to her aunt and uncle.
Thinking the great Wizard of Oz can grant her wish, she sets out to meet him
with her beloved dog, Toto, joined by a scarecrow, a tin woodman and a lion.
Baum published the book in 1900, just after the US emerged from a period of
deflation and depression. Prices had fallen by about 22% over the previous 16
years, causing huge debt.
Farmers were among those badly affected, and the Populist political party was
set up to represent their interests and those of industrial labourers.
The US was then operating on the gold standard - a monetary system which valued
the dollar according to the quantity of gold. The Populists wanted silver, along
with gold, to be used for money. This would have increased the US money supply,
raised price levels and reduced farmers' debt burdens.
Yellow brick code
In 1964, high school teacher Henry Littlefield wrote an article outlining the
notion of an underlying allegory in Baum's book. He said it offered a "gentle
and friendly" critique of Populist thinking, and the story could be used to
illuminate the late 19th Century to students.
Since its publication, teachers have used this take on the tale to help classes
understand the issues of the era.
SYMBOLISM OF CHARACTERS
Dorothy: Everyman American
Scarecrow: Farmer
Tin Woodman: Industrial worker
Lion: William Jennings Bryan, politician who backed silver cause
Wizard of Oz: US presidents of late 19th Century
Wicked Witch: A malign Nature, destroyed by the farmers' most precious
commodity, water. Or simply the American West
Winged Monkeys: Native Americans or Chinese railroad workers, exploited by West
Oz: An abbreviation of 'ounce' or, as Baum claimed, taken from the O-Z of a
filing cabinet?
Emerald City: Greenback paper money, exposed as fraud
Munchkins: Ordinary citizens
And Littlefield's theory has been hotly debated. He believed the characters
could represent the personalities and themes of the late 1800s,with Dorothy
embodying the everyman American spirit.
US political historian Quentin Taylor, who supports this interpretation, says:
"There are too many instances of parallels with the political events of the
time.
"The Tin Woodman represents the industrial worker, the Scarecrow is the farmer
and the Cowardly Lion is William Jennings Bryan."
Bryan was a Democratic presidential candidate who supported the silver cause.
But he failed to win votes from eastern workers and lost the 1896 election. In
the same way, the Lion's claws are nearly blunted by the Woodman's metallic
shell.
The Wicked Witch of the West is associated with a variety of controversial
personalities, chief among them the industrialist Mark Hanna, campaign manager
to President William McKinley.
In this scenario, the yellow brick road symbolises the gold standard, the
Emerald City becomes Washington DC and the Great Wizard characterises the
president - and he is exposed as being less than truthful.
Off to see the President
Yet none can help Dorothy return home. Eventually she discovers that her silver
shoes (changed to ruby for the film) have the power to take her back to Kansas.
The possible implication is that gold alone cannot be the solution for the
problems facing the average citizen. But Professor Taylor thinks it's unlikely
the book took sides. Instead he says it was merely explaining the story of the
Populist movement, some of whom marched on Washington DC in 1894 to demand
government improve their plight.
Their demand for the use of silver with the gold standard was not met, although
within a few years, inflation returned after discoveries of gold in South Africa
and other parts of the world.
In Baum's story, Dorothy loses her silver slippers in the desert before she
reaches home - a possible reflection of the decline of the silver cause after
1896
.
But not everyone believes The Wonderful Wizard of Oz includes any hidden
meanings.
"Nobody ever suggested it until 1964," says Bradley Hansen, who is a professor
of economics at the University of Mary Washington.
"There's no solid evidence that Baum had written it as a monetary allegory," he
adds. "While it may have grabbed students' interests, it doesn't really teach
them anything about the gold standard and, in particular, the debate about the
gold standard."
Professor Hansen thinks the author was just trying to create a new kind of
fairytale, the "Harry Potter of its time".
“ There's no solid evidence that Baum had written it as a monetary allegory ”
Bradley Hansen, economics professor
Soon after publication, Baum adapted his book into a stage musical for adults
which opened in 1902. Ranjit Dighe, who wrote The Historian's Wizard of Oz, says
it poked fun at Theodore Roosevelt and the Populists, but Baum was playing for
laughs, like Jay Leno.
Little can be learnt from Baum about the modern economic crisis, says Professor
Taylor, although in both instances people have demanded more government action.
The Bank of England has - as the Populists more than 100 years ago demanded -
provided a boost to the monetary supply, although the term "quantitative easing"
was probably little known in the 1890s. And ultimately the US defeated deflation
by creating money from new discoveries of gold abroad.
L Frank Baum died before the debates over his true intent had started. But in
the book's introduction, he stated that he was only writing to please children.
He was no doubt unaware of its future appeal to economics students.
according to buddha, the devil is just a mental construct, not really real.
your statement rudedog, really just beggars more questions, who is god then and who is the devil?
if the devil is just created by god, then why?
cause we as the children of god, need a challenge? (...that would be bit like taking your family pitbull and siccing him on the toddler in the family..)
and being made in the image of god does not say we are god, are we made in the essence of god? then where are our powers? where is our eternal life?
why do we have to die for it? pawns in the war between our parent and what our oldest sibling?
also, statements like this, "like your religion is ultimately right" are somewhat arrogant.
your beliefs are only believed by a handful of people.
where do you come off in saying it is the ultimate religion and holder of the truth?
have you read and studied all the religions? prayed to their gods? meditated on this?
which does remind me of the jews, "the chosen people of god" and look at the trouble it got them in?
Sso
Saw your same post in the run Paul thread...
How can you say the only war candidate would cause war?
Am I just missing sarcasm?
Here is a different interpretation , based on the same evidence.
Taking that there is God and the devil, then why is there evil in the world and why doesn't God put an end to it, and why was it even allowed in the first place if God is good? Did he create evil? And are we God if we are created in his image? All reasonable thoughts.
We are not God, but all are created by God (Hindu, Muslim, Jew, Christian, Budhist, etc), we are all children of God. God is good. The absence of God is not good. The devil is without God, not good, evil. The devil was originally an angel, a follower of God, but fell from grace. We, as humans, also have a choice to be a follower of God, and be good, or choose to have an absence of God. The world is perfect because we are allowed this choice. The bible says God will put an end to the evil of the world in His time, not ours. Then the followers of God will enjoy Him and the goodness He provides. There is no evil in heaven as those are with God. But there is more to being a good person to get to heaven or making social appearances at church. A relationship with God is the true reward. As I believe, we will all meet our maker at some time, and it may not be too late to have a relationship with God. I believe all who enter Heaven will be followers of Jesus Christ, who said Love one another. If we can love, all else falls into place. I know some Muslims who show me love, so I can't believe they are doomed to eternity. But I also believe they will see Jesus in all his glory and the truth will be know. Truth is truth, and the truth will always be.
@sso....I hear what you are saying and I don't mean to come across arrogant in any way. I'd like to have the time to keep up with this thread, perhaps my posts are a bit 'too the point, matter of fact'?
I don't have all the answers and I'm open to any ideas, my life experiences have lead me to where I am, hopefully evolving every day....I respect your thinking, it's all about planting the seed.