An American Oz

(This story is an excerpt from my 2016 book, "Saving Democracy: The 2016 Presidential Election", still available on Amazon, and still relevant)

This is a story of a people who were seduced by an illusion that promised an idealized future of prosperity and security for which they only had to give over control of their lives and their resources to a group of Economic Wizards.  Being good and trusting people, they believed their leaders.  It was as old as the story of the Pied Piper.

It happened slowly, almost without them realizing what was happening.

It began with the building of a very attractive road.  One day the people noticed a construction crew beginning to lay the first paving stones of a new road.  They were not told where it was going, but they could see that the paving stones appeared to be yellow brick, almost golden.

As the construction continued, they saw that the contractors paid a great deal of attention to detail.  The contractors also built hotels and restaurants and other roadside attractions to make any trip on that road quite memorable and enjoyable.

Finally, the road was finished, people were encouraged to try it out, to make the trip along this fabulous road to its destination which was promised to be even more incredible.

People were eager to try it out and the new road was soon filled with smiling travelers and finally, nearly everyone decided to take the trip.

The trip felt like an adventure.  It wound through a lush countryside and eventually passed through a huge field of flowers…poppies.  At the end of that day the travelers found themselves tired and dreamy and ready for the magnificent hotel that awaited them.

They awoke the next morning in Oz.

They found themselves living in the American Oz…a walled Emerald City.  Every person found a pair of glasses with green lenses beside their beds and were told that everyone in Oz was required to wear them at all times.  They found that with the emerald glasses, they could see that green was the color of success.  There were many shades of green.  Those who were most successful wore darker green and those with the darkest green were allowed to move freely with people making way for them, even with slight bows of reverence.

The society seemed well organized and happy.  They learned that there was a President who was elected and was in charge and that he received direction and advice from the Wizard who lived cloaked in secrecy, and when he spoke directly to the people of Oz, he spoke in a very awe-inspiring and authoritative voice.

There were, of course, the necessary flying monkeys of the security state, there only to protect Oz from outside threats, but definitely exerting a chilling effect on any disagreeable actions.

Little did the people know that, while they were mesmerized by the illusions of Oz and by the flash and dazzle accompanying it, that all of the foundations of the American Dream and of their heritage of democracy were being undermined and destroyed.  While they were in rapture over the eye candy and games in the new entertainment arena, all the basic rules of life in America were being changed.

They saw occasional cracks in the illusion but were quickly distracted with the talk of a new foreign threat, some potential weather disaster, the latest celebrity scandal, or by a new war.

There were bubbles bursting around them, but their leaders continued to tell them to keep the faith and stay the course and that major threats could be withstood with duck-tape, sheets of plastic and continued shopping.

The people felt their sense of community dwindling as they were told that everyone was responsible only for themselves.  They answered the calls for more austerity but saw that it only led to more prosperity for those on top.

The walls were beginning to develop cracks, and the idea that nothing good existed outside the walls was beginning to be questioned.  There were even some who had removed their glasses for a time and reported that what looked green with the glasses was only grey in reality…not only that, but it was looking pretty old and tattered.

Some people remembered what life was like before the yellow brick road and the spell of the poppies.  They remembered life in an American Democracy.

Some had even seen behind the curtain of secrecy surrounding the Wizard and reported that it was, in reality, only a bunch of financiers scheming to get rich.

As bubbles continued to burst, the illusions became more and more unlikely and the attempts to sustain the illusions became more frantic…more war, more threats, more need for surveillance.

And finally, a new voice was heard in the land.  A voice questioning the need for financial Wizards.  This voice spoke of what the people already had suspected.  The voice told the people they could take back control of their lives and reclaim their resources.  It told them that what had seemed to be reality was just an illusion and not only an illusion but a scam, a flimflam to bilk them out of their resources and destroy their democracy.

They were urged to leave Oz and move back to their old lives in Democracy.

People responded to that message as it resonated with their perceptions of reality.

But in one last attempt to keep control, the Wizard pulled out all the stops to prevent the people from voting for that voice of reason and hope.

Finally, the Wizard and his ruling elite succeeded, and the election would only be between those who supported the principles of Oz.

Into that vacuum stepped the ultimate conman, full of bluster and empty promises, controlling the media with outrageous actions, provocations, and promising changes in Oz.

All of the courtesans of Oz thought he couldn’t possibly be elected, having great fun and making crude jokes about him.

He said he would repair the walls, buff up the illusions of Oz, identify the internal and external enemies and give them hell, and he would give all citizens new and better emerald glasses.

Then came the earthquake of the election.  The impossible had happened and now this new President with his Barnum and Bailey bluster, his crude and uncivil speech and actions was in charge of all the levers of power in the American Oz.

And change would indeed be coming.

Many were unhappy with how it all happened.  They were aware of the emptiness of the illusions, and they realized they had been hoodwinked to allow the Great Oz to run their lives and determine their futures.  It had all worked out badly for them and many were ready to leave Oz.

And that brought us to this American Watershed moment.

With the election, the walls of the American Oz fell, forcing the last remnants of the illusion to crumble, letting in the realities of the world and exposing the raw power behind the illusion of Oz.

There were many, the courtesans and acolytes of Oz, those who had been most green, even the intellectuals of Oz who had insisted that Oz was an inevitable reality; those whose livelihoods depended on continuing the illusions of Oz, who wanted only to make minor changes in, what they saw, as a great system…perhaps just a new president?

Would the people continue with new glasses to simply follow the new Oz into an unsustainable dystopian future, or would they regain their courage as citizens and follow the different drummer of democracy once again, restoring their heritage and moving back to a sustainable future?

The final question is, after their stay in Oz, have they found their brain again, and their heart, and, mostly, their courage to stand up for themselves and for humanity?

Let us explore how this happened and more clearly identify the choices the people of Oz must make.

Thus, the tale continues.