‘Serfs up! The War On The People

Posted on by Brian Colwell

Americans Embattled

Some argue that we still live as serfs in a feudal-like society and that the Age of Imperialism never ended. We work for corporations now instead of lords of estates, but still, the similarities are glaring. In complete disregard for the wisdom of Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations, the twisted elite wish us impoverished, indebted, and plugged into a system where we work forever and never get ahead. It’s not our production that fuels the economy – it’s our consumption.

Not only that, but Governments control money printing, inflation rates, wages, taxes, and, ultimately, influence one’s ability to achieve financial, business, and social success. Without any doubt, Americans are a people embattled: warred upon, surrounded by enemy forces, and beset by difficulties. The attack on the American People goes much further than the obvious, though. It is a well-planned, far-reaching, masterfully-executed, long-lasting type of war that preys on human nature…

The Art Of War

Highlighting tactics for use by those in power to keep themselves in control and the subjugated powerless to make change, Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War”, written 2,500 years ago, introduces manipulation as a primary strategy in warfare. Sun Tzu stressed the importance of intelligence operatives and espionage to the war effort, so he would have been well suited to today’s political climate. Despite the fact that the first annotated English translation of “The Art of War” wasn’t completed and published until 1910 (by Lionel Giles), there can be no doubt that the corporate and political elite, or their advisers, are well versed in the words of Sun Tzu.

“The Art of War” is divided into 13 chapters and often translated into a list-like format. This section will follow the same chapter naming used in the Fall River Press 2014 compilation of Sun Tzu’s immortal work. The author of this post has chosen select “rules of war” in each chapter to paint the picture of how Americans are being robbed of their resources for the benefit of the few and added his own comments at the end of each Sun Tzu quote. Consider the “enemy” for our purposes to be the 99%… us, the People, Americans.

Chapter 1: Laying Plans

  • “All warfare is based on deception.” (we can all agree that there’s plenty of deception in politics)
  • “If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him.” (Climate Change, the humbug of every Holiday, World leaders arguing with one another on Twitter, vape bans)
  • “If he is taking his ease, give him no rest.” (constant, never-ending war abroad, the War of Drugs, the daily grind that keeps us from thinking outside the box)

Chapter 2: Waging War

  • “… high prices cause the people’s substance to be drained away.” (housing prices, educational costs, trade wars)
  • “When their substance is drained away, the peasantry will be afflicted by heavy exactions.” (soul-crushing debt, bankruptcy, reverse mortgages)
  • “One cartload of the enemy’s provisions is equivalent to twenty of one’s own.” (oh, they’re collecting provisions, alright – income taxes, property taxes, estate taxes … but who actually pays the majority of the taxes? Hint: as a proportion of income, it’s not the elite)

Chapter 3: Attack By Stratagem

  • “In the practical art of war, the best thing of all is to take the enemy’s country whole and intact.” (a society reliant on government subsistence accomplishes this)
  • “Supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.” (bi-partisan politics that rarely moves important issues forward, professional government officials whose job it is to insight internal conflict. Add you own thoughts to this one!)
  • “Prevent the junction of the enemy’s forces; Isolating him from his allies.” (gender wars, race wars, social wars over correct pronouns, and the list goes on and on)

Chapter 4: Tactical Dispositions

  • “…the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.” (our love of the newest iPhone, addiction to carbs and sugars, the feeling that we “deserve” better without earning better for ourselves, the “poor me” society)
  • “The general who is skilled in defense hides in the most secret recesses of the earth.” (Have the elite finally created for themselves an unassailable position?)
  • “In war the victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory has been won.” (Have Americans already been defeated?)

Chapter 5: Energy

  • “… indirect methods will be needed in order to secure victory.” (prices of pharmaceuticals, healthcare costs, inflation)
  • “Indirect tactics, efficiently applied, are inexhaustible as Heaven and Earth, unending as the flow of rivers and streams…” (Here Sun Tzu tells our elite to be creative in the ways in which they extract resources from the 99%)
  • “By holding out bait, he keeps [the enemy] on the march; then with a body of picked men he lies in wait.” (the Lottery, the Kardashians, Hollywood, car commercials and credit cards offering special rebates and low interest rate financing – variable interest rates, of course)

Chapter 6: Weak Points And Strong

  • “The clever combatant imposes his will on the enemy, but does not allow the enemy’s will to be imposed on him.” (Americans vs. IRS, CIA, FBI, POTUS, “Too Big To Fail” financial institutions)
  • “If the enemy is taking his ease, he can harass him; if well supplied with food, he can starve him out; if quietly encamped, he can force him to move.” (war against guns, rising real food costs, property taxes that force people to move from their long-time neighborhoods as fixed incomes become worth less annually against inflation)
  • “Though the enemy be stronger in numbers, we may prevent him from fighting.” (remember … we’re the enemy, and anyway – would you fight?)

Chapter 7: Maneuvering

  • “Move only if there is a real advantage to be gained.” (reasoning for the lack of productivity of professional politicians, why stock buy-backs instead of business growth)
  • “Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night.” (2020 Presidential Race … platforms standing on issues without any real plans that will lead to resolution)
  • “A whole army may be robbed of its spirit.” (depression meds, the “dumbing down of America”, pill and alcohol addictions)

Chapter 8: Variation In Tactics

  • “[There are] commands of the sovereign which must not be obeyed.” (Impeachment 2020 – the elite aren’t about to lose power in this struggle)
  • “Reduce the hostile chiefs by inflicting damage on them; make trouble for them, and keep them constantly engaged; make servants of them.” (Snowden, Chelsea Manning, the great economic divide)
  • “The art of war teaches us to rely on the fact that we have made our position unassailable.” (to be among the top 1 percent of U.S. earners, a family needs an income of $422,000!)

Chapter 9: The Army On The March

  • “Humble words and increased preparations are signs that the enemy is about to advance.” (no worries for the elite here … from Instagram Thots to those living paycheck-to-paycheck, neither humility nor increased preparations are on the calendar for the 99%)
  • “If those who are sent to draw water begin by drinking themselves, the army is suffering from thirst.” (guy in charge: “So, here’s the plan – let’s lower interest rates and open up credit availability for the 99% to see what happens. Then, when everyone is leveraged out their asses, let’s start increasing interest rates! That’ll keep the 99% in lock-down for at least another generation. Solid plan, all. Good job, paychecks earned.”)
  • “The sign of men whispering together in small knots or speaking in subdued tones points to disaffection amongst the rank and file.” (hence the rise of the surveillance state, KYC, centralized internet, etc.)

Chapter 10: Terrain

  • “If you are situated at a great distance from the enemy, it is not easy to provoke a battle.” (so the elite involve themselves in every aspect of our lives, monitoring and manipulating always)
  • “Now an army is exposed to six calamities, not arising from natural causes, but from faults (or plans) for which the general is responsible. These are (1) Flight; (2) insubordination; (3) collapse; (4) ruin; (5) disorganization; (6) rout.” (where do you think we are now?)
  • “When the common soldiers are too strong and their officers too weak, the result is insubordination. When the officers are too strong and the common soldiers too weak, the result is collapse.” (yes, it’s that second one that’s the plan – the continued collapse of the American Middle Class)

Chapter 11: The Nine Situations

  • “If asked how to cope with a great host of the enemy in orderly array and on the point of marching to the attack, I should say: Begin by seizing something which your opponent holds dear; then he will be amenable to your will.” (government controlled retirement, interest rates, healthcare, long-term care)
  • “Keep your army continually on the move and devise unfathomable plans.” (who would have thought that the 1% would want to wage an economic war on the 99%?)
  • “Success in warfare is gained by carefully accommodating ourselves to the enemy’s purpose.” (politicians work for us because we pay their salaries, right?)

Chapter 12: The Attack By Fire

  • “There are five ways of attacking with fire. The first is to burn soldiers in their camp; the second is to burn the [food] stores; the third is to burn baggage trains; the fourth is to burn arsenals and magazines; the fifth is to hurl dropping fire amongst the enemy.” (first tax their homes, then tax their food, then tax their clothes, then take their guns, then elect President Trump…)
  • “In order to carry out an attack, we must have means available.” (yep, and the 1% have ALL the means)
  • “The enlightened ruler lays his plans well ahead; the good general cultivates his resources.” (since 1971, the US Dollar has been backed only by the credit of the US, allowing for massive injections of dollars into the economy. With a large percent of their wealth in stocks, this inflation, combined with historically low interest rates, has certainly been resource-building for the wealthy elite)

Chapter 13: The Use Of Spies

  • “Knowledge of the enemy’s dispositions can only be obtained from other men.” (thus, use the People against one another)
  • “Hence it is that with none in the whole army are more intimate relations to be maintained than with spies. None should be more liberally rewarded.” (the richly rewarded Google, Facebook, Amazon-type companies and their execs)
  • “Whether the object be to crush an army, to storm a city, or to assassinate an individual, it is always necessary to begin by finding out the names of the attendants, the aides-de-camp, the door-keepers and sentries of the general in command. Our spies must be commissioned to ascertain these.” (secret services meet social media)

Final Thoughts

Hopefully you’ve made it to the end of this blog post without throwing or smashing anything important. The unfortunate truth is that the American People are warred upon, but may not have the strength to combat the forces arrayed against them. What are your thoughts? Are we heading toward another Revolutionary or Civil War? Can change be made and if so, what would be the catalysts? What strong forces, leaders, armies, and/or technologies will rise to upend the Age of Imperialism?

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